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The Brad Pitts of the world have an edge over men like Bill Gates when it comes to attracting fertile women.

Women in the fertile stage of their monthly cycle are more likely to fantasize about masculine-looking men if their partner is not quintessentially masculine in appearance, according to a study co-authored by Christine Garver-Apgar, a postdoctoral fellow at CU’s Institute for Behavioral Genetics.

More surprising is the finding that a man’s intelligence has no effect on the extent to which his fertile female partner fantasizes about others, Garver-Apgar says.

A masculine face is defined by a pronounced chin, strong jaw, narrow eyes and well-defined brow. A less-masculine face includes a less-pronounced jaw and wider eyes like Pee Wee Herman.

The team interviewed 66 hetero-sexual couples in which women’s ages spanned 18 to 44. Their relationships ranged from one month to 20 years in length, and nine couples were married.

While the findings confirmed women gravitate toward males who show signs of good genetic quality that manifest in their looks, less-masculine men still are considered attractive life partners, researchers say. Rating a man’s “sexiness” seems unrelated to rating a man’s allure as a life partner.

 by Clint Talbott (Jour’85) in the Arts and Sciences Magazine.