Islamic veiling (hijab) and attractiveness. Jan 2014

Do Muslim men find women more attractive when they wear a hijab, burqa, or none of the above? How does sexuality influence our preferences for tall or short partners? And what are the best things to look for in a partner if you’re planning to take them home to meet the parents?

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Pazhoohi and Hosseinchari reported this month that men find women who wear a full veil (chador) are less attractive than women who wear clothes that don't conceal the body. But does the effect depend on the body shape of the wearer, or whether men judge women's attractiveness for a long- or short-term relationship?

The articles covered in the show:

Pazhoohi, F., & Hosseinchari, M. (in press). Effects of religious veiling on muslim men’s attractiveness ratings of muslim women. Archives of Sexual Behavior. Read summary

Valentova, J. V., Stulp, G., Třebický, V., & Havlíček, J. (2014). Preferred and actual relative height among homosexual male partners vary with preferred dominance and sex role. PLoS One, 9(1), e86534. Read paper

Apostelou, M. (2014). Parental choice: Exploring in-law preferences and their contingencies in the Greek-Cypriot culture. Evolutionary Psychology, 12(1), 54-72. Read paper