If Science Says Facial Hair Is Sexy, It’s Sexy

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April 18, 2010

“Results suggest that facial hair is worn to enhance a man’s marriage prospects by increasing physical attractiveness and perception of social status. Men shave their mustaches, possibly to convey an impression of trustworthiness, when the marriage market is weak and women might fear sexual exploitation and desertion.”

— A new study shows that facial hair “increas(es) physical attractiveness and perception of social status.” (via Andrew Sullivan)

I mean, they used a regression. What more evidence do you need?

Also, be sure to check out this diagram, which explains everything.

BSKY

Seth Fischer

Seth Fischerâ€™s writing has twice been listed as notable in The Best American Essays and has been nominated for The Pushcart Prize by several publications, including Guernica. He was the founding Sunday editor at The Rumpus and is the current nonfiction editor at The Nervous Breakdown. He is a Dornsife PhD Fellow at USC and been awarded fellowships and residencies by Ucross, Lambda Literary, Jentel, Ragdale, and elsewhere, and he teaches at the UCLA-Extension Writerâ€™s Program and Antioch University, where he received his MFA.

3 responses

Kunal

April 18, 2010

Nice job Seth, but a little self-advocating!
Seth Fischer

April 18, 2010

Kunal, you can’t argue with science.
Sarah

April 18, 2010

Thanks, Seth. Now mustaches will be forever linked in my mind to “sexual exploitation and desertion.”