Adiposity, compared with masculinity, serves as a more valid cue to immunocompetence in human mate choice

Abstract

According to the 'good genes' hypothesis, females choose males based on traits that indicate the male's genetic quality in terms of disease resistance. The 'immunocompetence handicap hypothesis' proposed that secondary sexual traits serve as indicators of male genetic quality, because they indicate that males can contend with the immunosuppressive effects of testosterone. Masculinity is commonly assumed to serve as such a secondary sexual trait. Yet, women do not consistently prefer masculine looking men, nor is masculinity consistently related to health across studies. Here, we show that adiposity, but not masculinity, significantly mediates the relationship between a direct measure of immune response (hepatitis B antibody response) and attractiveness for both body and facial measurements. In addition, we show that circulating testosterone is more closely associated with adiposity than masculinity. These findings indicate that adiposity, compared with masculinity, serves as a more important cue to immunocompetence in female mate choice.

Perception of health from facial cues

“…For example, while both Thornhill & Gangestad [9] and Boothroyd et al [1] found that facial masculinity was negatively related to male participants' reported number of prior colds and flu, mixed results were found regarding the relationship of male facial masculinity to length of infections and antibiotic use, and no association with 'stomach flu' was found. Rated facial masculinity has been associated with general health measured as a composite score from adolescent medical records [10] and to one aspect of immune function [18]. Rantala et al [18] found that men with more masculine-looking faces were able to mount a stronger antibody response to a hepatitis B vaccination.…”

“…Rated facial masculinity has been associated with general health measured as a composite score from adolescent medical records [10] and to one aspect of immune function [18]. Rantala et al [18] found that men with more masculine-looking faces were able to mount a stronger antibody response to a hepatitis B vaccination. Facial masculinity did not, however, mediate the relationship between immune response and facial attractiveness, suggesting that perceived masculinity was not being used as a cue to assess mate value.…”

“…Ratings were averaged across participants for each face. [18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29] were taken using a camera in D65 lighting in a photographic booth painted with spectrally neutral grey and colour reference card (Gregtag Macbeth Mini ColorChecker Pantone). Clothing was covered with a grey-coloured board to prevent coloured reflection from clothing affecting facial illumination.…”

Aggressor or protector? Experiences and perceptions of violence predict preferences for masculinity

“…Sexual selection in males could have operated through female mate choice (Little, DeBruine, & Jones 2011a;Little, DeBruine, & Jones, 2011b) and/or through male-male competition (Puts, 2009;Little, Jones, & DeBruine, 2013;Barber, 1995). A great deal of attention however has been put into studies of women's masculinity preferences reflecting mate choice at the individual and population level (Rhodes et al, 2003;Thornhill & Gangestad, 2006;Rantala et al, 2013;DeBruine et al, 2011;Batres & Perrett, 2016), while less emphasis has been given to the effects of male-male competition at any level of study (de Bara et al, 2013;Batres & Perrettt, 2014, Snyder et al, 2011). Studies at the population level have utilized measures of health (e.g., mortality), violence (e.g., homicide rate), and education (e.g., high-school attendance rates), which are aggregated indicators that summarize the state of a population as a whole.…”

Male Facial Masculinity as a Cue to Health Outcomes

“…Finally, Rantala et al (2013) examined the physical masculinity of the same men (mean age = 23, SD = 3.9) from whom they had gathered the immune response data discussed above. They found that although some indices of dimorphism did correlate with immune response strength to the vaccine, this could not explain anything female observers found attractive about those men.…”