Why some women fancy feminine men

Girls influenced by being at single-sex schools

Female students who attend single-sex schools are more attracted to feminine looking boys, British researchers claim.

The BBC News reports that the study of 240 children aged 11-15, led by scientists at St Andrews University, suggests single sex education can have a ‘significant impact’ on the type of people the students find attractive.

Girls showed stronger preference for facial femininity in both male and female faces.

Boys were less affected by attending single sex schools, though they did demonstrate a preference for the company of more masculine faces.

Dr Tamsin Saxton, who led the study, told the BBC: ‘Interestingly, the weakest effect of “visual diet” was in relation to boys' judgments of girls' faces.’

The affects were weakened for students living with siblings of the opposite sex, though their judgments were still noticeably influenced.

Previous studies have suggested women tend to prefer men with feminine faces such as Leonardo DiCaprio or Jude Law for long-term relationships. But this is the first study that examined the cause and effect of adolescent preferences.

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