Women Express Their Sexual Interests With Taller, More Dominant Men – Is Gender Inequality Hard to Avoid?

March 15, 2022

Author: Ph.D.  – La Trobe University

Translator: Phan Thi Dong Hoai – Teacher, Hoa Sen University (HSU)

The saying we often hear is that the most attractive men are “tall, dark, and handsome” and research proves that straight women tend to prefer partners who are taller than them.

One study found that, on average, women were most satisfied with the height of their male partners who were 21cm taller than them. On the contrary, men are most satisfied with the height of their female partners who are 8 cm shorter than them. Not only do women want men who are taller than them, but they also seem to want taller male partners.

Women’s choice of taller men may indicate their preference for men who are more proactive, strong, and dominant. This may be due to the way biological evolution has shaped our brains. And from there, culture and existing norms may have formed that people expect that a man is usually taller than his female partner.

Luckily we can change our culture.

Animal Kingdom

Sexual dimorphism – where one sex is significantly larger or otherwise different in appearance from the other – is quite common among animals.

In some species – such as spiders, including the Australian redback spider – females are larger than males.

But in mammals, including us humans, males are usually larger.

Among living animals, our close relatives such as chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans – males are always larger than females. Physically, they are stronger and have larger and sharper canine teeth.

While such traits benefit males in competition with each other, they also allow them to physically and sexually dominate females.

Women’s Preferences Always Favor Dominant Men

Besides height preference, women also tend to prefer outstanding male attributes such as physical strength and masculine facial features. Jordan Peterson, a psychologist who often creates controversial arguments, took the matter further by claiming that women don’t like men who don’t have strong personalities.

Large, strong, dominant males are best able to protect their mates and offspring from other males and are better able to provide food and other resources. throughout our evolutionary history. From an evolutionary perspective, it is thought that women are adaptable and attracted to such men and will choose them as their mates.

Research supporting this argument found that women with a high fear of crime, in comparison, tend to prefer men who are physically stronger, stronger, and more dominant. Additionally, women who scored lower on the dominance of their male partners tended to prefer men who were taller than them.

Unfortunately, the preference for larger and more dominant men often comes with a price. For such men, although they may protect their partners from other men, there is also a risk of aggression towards their partners.

By choosing larger and more dominant men, women are more likely to be physically and sexually dominated by their partners. Crime statistics show that victims killed by intimate partners are mostly female.

Does Biology Predispose Us to Gender Bias

Evolution by natural selection has no predetermined purpose and is not directed towards any goal. That simply describes how physical and psychological traits become more common if they help an organism pass on its genes.

Women’s desire for large, dominant men was likely a successful means of genetic breeding, even before Homo sapiens evolved.

Although we are not blind to the characteristics of size, these sexual and romantic preferences are not determined by conscious choice, nor are they always based on reason or desire. want. We don’t choose what we find attractive, like other animals whose brains are also the result of evolution. 

So the fact that women who like male partners tend to dominate them does not mean that they desire to be dominated. Genetics have rewarded through evolution the aim of creating offspring with male characteristics such as height, but the price to pay comes with the dominance of meninges in the family. Women are at risk of violence from intimate partners as part of a strategy to counter the threat of violence from other men.

Growth

Although biologically based preferences are largely beyond our conscious control, they do not rigidly determine our behavior or make us incapable of taking action. We can resist our instinctive desires and urges, and make rational choices about how we behave.

Biological perspectives shape our culture, and culture serves to reinforce our biology. Even in the modern world, we continue to maintain cultural norms that emphasize larger, stronger, and more proactive characteristics in men and still place a greater emphasis on gentleness and submissiveness in men. female.

But this is not “simply cultural,” as many might argue. Women’s almost universal preference for large, strong, dominant men suggests that culture is an accompaniment, not a cause, of this process.

And culture is always changing, this change is reflected in the progress society has made in gender equality. We can challenge cultural norms that lead to the destruction of those who dare to change these norms. We can intentionally create and nurture values ​​that compensate for our biological shortcomings. This could lead to a more equal society, where women would no longer feel the need for unnecessary and unwarranted protection.

But we need to take our thoughts seriously to understand ourselves and gain the strength to break free from the biological constraints placed on us. Perhaps then, things that are not useful to us will no longer be attractive.

The Conversation newspaper and author  allowed Gendertalkviet to translate into Vietnamese and post the full text. On behalf of the Gender Talk Editorial Board, we would like to send our sincere thanks to the Author and The Conversation Newspaper for allowing us to republish the full text. The contributions of The Conversation Newspaper and the author are very valuable and meaningful.

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