Move over Vin, women prefer feminine men

It is bad news for the likes of Bruce Willis, Vin Diesel and Clint Eastwood - but for less macho men, there is hope. Psychologists have shown that women perceive men with more masculine faces as poor potential long-term partners.

Women see macho-looking men as less faithful, less warm and potentially poorer fathers. Men with more feminine features and a more healthy visage are judged as being a better bet for a long-term relationship.

"Women prefer great degrees of masculinity for short-term partners, but for long-term relationships what we are finding is that they prefer more feminine and definitely more healthy men," said David Perrett at the University of St Andrews, who led the research.

The team asked nearly 100 women to view images of faces that had been digitally enhanced to emphasise masculine or feminine features. For example, feminine faces had raised eyebrows, a smaller chin and nose and larger eyes. In separate tests they manipulated the faces' perceived healthiness. The viewers made snap judgments on a variety of factors including the man's social dominance, parenting skills and desirability. Women also showed a strong preference for healthy-looking men. According to Professor Perrett this is because a woman is subconsciously asking: "How long is an unhealthy person going to be around? How likely is it they are going to infect you?"

The research, which is published in the journal Personality and Individual Differences, may help people to understand their first impressions of people. "Yes, it's discriminating, but it's discriminating in a way that could help the world go round."