Feminization of Pop Culture Men
To start this, I'll open with what studies show women tend to find physically attractive in men (assuming they're heterosexual). According to studies, when women are not ovulating, they find more feminine featured men attractive; a guy who, according to the theory, appears to be more likely to stick around and be supportive, should there be a child (rounder face, bigger eyes, more youthful (baby-faced), less aggressive, etc.). During ovulation, though, they look for men with more traditionally masculine traits: strong jaw, squarer face, more muscular, etc. The theory states that this is because they're looking to have a kid and want the best physical features available for their kid. (Interesting side-note: women tend to find the scent of men who have more different genes/immune systems more attractive (different from their own, that is))
To complicate the issue, when women are actually pregnant, they are the same as the non-ovulating group; they tend to find more feminine features attractive in men for the same reason as previously stated. In the past 50 years, the birth control pill has been released, right? So, what does this pill do? It tricks the body into thinking that it is pregnant, while it actually isn't. This, theorists believe, has caused women to tend to favour more feminine, baby-faced men more and more over the past 50 years until now our pop culture "masculine" icons are particularly effeminate when compared to the days of John Wayne or Rock Hudson.
So what's the lesson to this? Nothing, I just thought it was interesting.
The studies make women out as though they are a slave to their hormones! I LOVE Tom Welling no matter what day of the month it is! There are way too many individual differences to consider other than hormones and it's all correlational anyway.
Ddon't blame me for reporting the facts. It's just what the studies say, as well, you should know better than to argue that there's too many individual differences. This is statistical analysis of many participants, which means this is the mean result; It may not apply to any particular person, but it's the average of all of them.
I believe you have menstrating and ovulating mixed up...during menstration women actually prefer the most feminine males and during ovulation they prefer the most masculine males...however the middle ground is up for variation based on personal preference. And yes the pill basically takes the only time that women prefer masculine men away--the lesson! if you don't want babies, look like one...you'll attract women on the pill ;)
Side note of interest: Men prefer women during ovulation because of the pheromones that women emit at this time. There was a study based on strippers that found that ovulating strippers actually earned more during this time than any other time of the month! This is proof that women go through heat and men respond to it~ just like cats.
@Anonymous: Yeah, you got me. I'll change that. Interesting stripper study, too; I'd never heard of that one.
And then, there is of course the Freudian theory of subconciously projecting your ideal image of yourself onto another person, and therefore you find them attractive. Then when that projected image fades, and you see the person for who they are, often you aren't interested anymore, because they are no longer your subconcious ideal. This is why a lot of people have a "type". i.e. a guy loveing girls with long blonde hair, blue eyes, etc. and only dating girls with those characteristics. Good thing I still liked Russ when the subconcious projection faded.
Hmm...interesting! I must say, I don't particularly like how feminine men are these days (the Zac Efron types) but I don't like the extremely big guys either. Best eg I can give would be the Matthew Perry or David Duchovny in X-Files type of men! :P I don't think they are feminine, are they? But I do like a sensitive bloke...not too sensitive but just right! Thanks for enlightening us! :)