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Science
May 30, 2026
Analyzed by GPT OSS 120B

Women’s Faces Rated More Attractive Even by Other Women, Study Finds

AI Summary
A massive cross‑cultural analysis of 1.5 million facial attractiveness ratings shows women’s faces are consistently rated higher than men’s, even by female raters. The gap narrows with age, disappearing around the eighties, prompting fresh debate on evolutionary and social explanations.

Global Study Quantifies Gender Attractiveness Gap Across Ages

The research team led by Dr Eugen Wassiliwizky at the Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics compiled the world’s largest dataset on facial attractiveness, drawing from 52 studies across 76 countries.

Numbers Behind the Gap: 1.5 Million Ratings Reveal 60% Preference

  • 1.5 million attractiveness ratings
  • 17,000 distinct faces evaluated
  • 30,000 individual raters
  • Average female face rated more attractive than 60% of male faces
  • Gap strongest in Western cultures, present across all sexual orientations

When participants rated themselves, the gender gap vanished, underscoring the role of external perception.

Implications for Evolutionary Theory and Social Perception

The findings revive debate over Darwinian sexual selection. While Darwin noted male ornamentation in many species, he considered humans an exception where male competition dominated. This study suggests a universal bias toward rounder, more feminine facial structures, which may be linked to infant‑like features rather than purely cultural norms.

Historical language—"the fairer sex", "le beau sexe"—reflects a long‑standing perception that the research now quantifies.

Future Research Directions and Societal Shifts

As the attractiveness gap diminishes after age 80, researchers hypothesize that facial structural differences shrink with age, reducing perceived bias. Ongoing work will explore:

  • Neuro‑cognitive responses to facial roundness across ages
  • Cross‑cultural variations beyond the current dataset
  • Potential impacts on age‑related social dynamics and media representation

The study, published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, calls for cautious interpretation but highlights a robust, global pattern that challenges purely cultural explanations.