The Independent's journalism is supported by our readers. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn commission. 

This is what men and women find most sexually attractive in the opposite sex

Women are most concerned about their partner’s height, while men put are occupied by their partner’s weight

Olivia Petter
Saturday 07 August 2021 10:45 BST
Comments
(Shutterstock / Prostock-studio)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

What people find attractive differs between individuals, but according to a new YouGov study, many straight men and women are attracted to the same specific things.

Women are more concerned with their partner’s height, the organisation’s annual Body Image survey found, while men put more emphasis on their partner’s weight.

The survey asked more than 2,200 Britons to describe both their own body types and what body types they are attracted to.

Three in 10 of participants said they consider their body to be “average” while one fifth said they believed they were overweight.

Additionally, six per cent described their body as fat and 13 per cent used the word “chubby”. One in seven of those who responded said they were slim.

As for what men and women want physically from one another, the survey found that 67 per cent of women prefer a partner who is taller than them, while on six per cent said they’d want to be the same height, and just one per cent saying they’d like a partner who is shorter than them.

Conversely, more than a third (35 per cent) of men said they prefer a partner who is shorter than them, while 16 per cent said they’d like someone who is the same height and four per cent said they wanted a taller partner.

Generally, men were more likely than women to say they didn’t have a preference about their partner’s height.

As for weight, one fifth (22 per cent) of men said they prefer partners who are slimmer than they are, while 15 per cent of women said the same.

Women were found to be more likely than men to say they have no preference about their partner’s height.

You can find the survey’s full results here.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in