Women on the Pill Choose Less Manly Men

smiling man — Being on the pill may decrease a woman's preference for masculine-looking men.

(Image credit: Yuri Arcurs, Shutterstock)

Women using the birth control pill prefer men with less masculine faces compared to nonusers, new research suggests.

Millions of women use hormonal forms of contraception, and some studies indicate the pill could affect partner preferences. A new study shows women were attracted to less masculine male faces after going on the pill, while their ratings of the attractiveness of female faces were unaffected. And in couples who first met when the woman was on the pill, the men were less likely to have manly faces than those who met when the woman was off the pill. If supported, the findings could have important implications for how relationships are formed.

Many factors can influence human attractiveness. Some research suggests that a preference for masculine or feminine traits may be linked to genetic benefits for a couple's offspring, such as strong immune systems. And a few studies have found that women prefer more masculine traits during the fertile phase of their menstrual cycle. The new study investigated how the pill affects these preferences.

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The study, detailed online March 23 in the journal Psychoneuroendocrinology, compared the romantic preferences of straight women ages 18 to 24 who were taking oral contraception against those who were not. Researchers showed the women composite images of young male and female faces, which could be manipulated to appear more or less masculine (based on features like cheekbone prominence, jaw height and face width). Scientists then told the participants to alter the male faces so they were most attractive for either a short- or long-term relationship, and to alter the female faces simply to be the most attractive.

Next, the researchers looked at whether taking the pill influenced women's choices of partners. The scientists compared 85 couples who reported using the pill when they met to 85 couples who reported not using it. Researchers took photos of the faces of the men in each couple and had volunteers judge the manliness of each. The volunteers also rated computer-tweaked versions of the images that accentuated differences in masculinity, for instance making a wide lower jawline (a manly trait) even wider .

Even though the study is interesting and well done, Wedekend said, it faces limitations because it's not a double-blind experiment, a rigorous condition under which neither participants nor researchers know who's in the experimental group. Women who are on the pill "may have an idea already what the pill does to them, and that influences the experiment," Wedekind said, adding that these women may be biased toward men who are more "stable" and less masculine-looking.

Tanya was a staff writer for Live Science from 2013 to 2015, covering a wide array of topics, ranging from neuroscience to robotics to strange/cute animals. She received a graduate certificate in science communication from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and a bachelor of science in biomedical engineering from Brown University. She has previously written for Science News, Wired, The Santa Cruz Sentinel, the radio show Big Picture Science and other places. Tanya has lived on a tropical island, witnessed volcanic eruptions and flown in zero gravity (without losing her lunch!). To find out what her latest project is, you can visit her website.