Men’s attractiveness predicts their preference for female facial femininity when judging for short-term, but not long-term, partners

It is well established that women’s preferences for masculinity are contingent on their own market-value and the duration of the sought relationship, but few studies have investigated similar effects in men. Here, we tested whether men’s attractiveness predicts their preferences for feminine face shape in women when judging for long- and short-term relationship partners. We found that attractive men expressed a stronger preference for facial femininity compared to less attractive men. The relationship was evident when men judged women for a short-term, but not for a long-term, relationship. These findings suggest that market-value may influence men’s preferences for feminine characteristics in women’s faces and indicate that men’s preferences may be subject to facultative variation to a greater degree than was previously thought.