Women love tall, dark men – but research says that these relationships are short-lived.
Apparently, women prefer this specific physique for short-term relationships as it is attractive. But many women say this kind of man is every woman’s man.
Sunday World interviewed women on their thoughts on the “tall, dark and handsome” cliché, and they believe tall and masculine men offer a sense of security and have an ability to treat women right – especially in bed.
Noxolo Methula says she has always found tall and dark men to be extremely attractive, saying that lying on a tall man’s chest made her feel in a safe space as she would get wrapped up in his arms.
“I am not sure what triggered the thought that dark men were better for me, but I know that I would not be with a yellow bone man, it almost feels like we’ll both be spending too much time in front of the mirror in the morning as we rush to work,” says Methula.
Similarly, Mamello Lekalakala believes that men with these features are attractive but says they are most likely to be “players” and does not consider them for long-term relationships.
“You know, it’s fun as meet-at-a pub, and our fun ends there. A proper man who can feed his family has a one pack and not the six pack that we would drool over as we see them in swimming pool shorts. I like them but they are not lifetime partners, obviously not all of them. It’s a stereotype, I guess,” says Lekalakala.
A research paper, Strong Men Under Perceived Harsh Versus Safe Ecological Conditions, published in SAGE Journals, found that physical attractiveness would temporarily attract women and “may be willing to engage in quick sexual encounters, as formidable men may be less likely to invest if chosen as a long-term mate”.
It also found that women would differentiate a man’s body features and would prefer features that indicate social dominance over features that indicate commitment.
“Women in harsher environments may choose men with masculine characteristic for direct benefits since exaggerated masculine characteristics are indicative of successful intra-sexual competition.
“Experimental evidence shows that women in a threatening condition report a preference for masculine characteristics, as a consequence, impacting short- and long-term mating preferences,” reads the report.
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