Interesting study: apparently stubble=good mate and beards=masculine, older….
The explanation for the preference is not clear, but experts in human evolution say that that facial hair may be a signal of aggression because it boosts the apparent size of the lower jaw, emphasising the teeth as weapons.
However, it seems to be only be in certain cultures, which seems to me to negate the more primal interpretations. I’d also like to how this changes over generations…
Dr Nick Neave, who carried out the study with Kerry Shields, said: “There are large cultural differences in perceptions of facial hair, and we are hoping to expand on this research by conducting a large-scale study assessing female perceptions of male facial hair in different in as many countries as possible.
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