Beauty Gap Fades With Age, Study Finds

Across cultures and centuries, a notable 'gender attractiveness gap' exists, with female faces consistently rated as more attractive than male faces, even by other women. This phenomenon, observed globally, surprisingly diminishes as people age, becoming nearly imperceptible by the time individuals reach their 80s.

The largest dataset on facial attractiveness, comprising over 1.5 million ratings from nearly 30,000 raters across 76 countries, confirmed this robust effect. While the average female face is deemed more attractive than about 60% of male faces, this gap narrows considerably with age, suggesting a potential link to shrinking structural differences between male and female faces.

Evolutionary biologists have long debated the origins of this attractiveness difference. While some theories point to sexual selection, the study's findings suggest that cultural explanations alone may not suffice, given the effect's universality. The preference for more rounded facial structures, common in females, might also play a role, though further research is needed.

Historical perspectives, such as Susan Sontag's essay on the double standard of aging, highlight societal pressures on female beauty. This study supports the idea that the perceived value of women is often tied to youth and beauty, a standard not equally applied to men. The data shows a steady decrease in the attractiveness gap from age 18 until its disappearance around age 80.