Relationships between pathogen disgust sensitivity and preference for male facial masculinity in gay men in China

• The relationship of disgust and facial masculinity preference was examined in gay.
• Preference for facial masculinity was negatively correlated with pathogen disgust.
• Preference for male facial masculinity was not related to moral or sexual disgust.

Recent studies suggested that pathogen-related factors were positively correlated with preferences for sex-typical characteristics in heterosexuals. The present study examined the relationship between pathogen disgust and individual male facial masculinity among 295 gay men in China. Disgust sensitivities were assessed by the Three Domain of Disgust Scale. Each participant was then asked to choose a preferred face in each of 10 pairs of male faces presented sequentially, with each pair consisting of a masculinized and feminized version of the same base face. Results showed that preference for male facial masculinity was negatively correlated with pathogen disgust, but not with moral or sexual disgust domain. Chinese gay men with high pathogen disgust showed stronger preference for facial femininity in male faces. Facial masculinity preference was related to pathogen disgust, but not to moral or sexual disgust domain, regardless of sexual orientation.