Is it just me or have you also heard this a million times from that girl you have a massive crush on? “He’s such an asshole. I hate him!” She says this as you congratulate yourself for being the nice guy. All this right before she sleeps with that asshole. Falls in love with him even, as you spend your days contemplating what the fuck happened. Well, science has an answer for your troubled questions, Mr Friendzoned. Women love bad boys and assholes, and the answer apparently lies in their drinking and smoking habits.
A study on the subject by Belgium’s Ghent University proves this is innate to the female nature and much less cultural.
239 women, aged between 17 and 30, were asked to read short profiles of a selection of men, which included their smoking and drinking habits. The ladies were then asked to guess what they thought the men’s attitudes to love, danger and risk-taking would be. Before asking them about their judgement on what kind of relationship the men would be most suitable for.
Results pointed out how men who smoked and drank alcohol were more attractive to women. At least on a short-term basis.
The study claimed that women considered the smokers and the drinkers as more suitable for short-term flings and one-night stands, because they seemed more ‘sexually open’. A follow-up study on 171 men confirmed their tendencies toward said behaviour, based on their smoking and drinking habits. Men who drank more were found to be less inhibited sexually, while smokers were generally interested in short-term relationships.
The study claims that the ‘sex appeal’ is attributed to how risky the man appears to be.
Apart from the fact that we all know that we all want what we can’t have, researcher Eveline Vincke called this a male mating strategy. “The experiment showed that women perceive men who smoke and drink as being more short-term oriented in their sexuality than non-users,: Vincke was reported saying by Dazed Digital.
The study said that as male physical risk-taking behaviour gains attractiveness in short-term mating contexts, it might be a subconscious short-term mating strategy in men. And, what shows you’re risky more than a healthy abuse of your own lungs and liver?
Things we do for the ladies. Jeez!
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