It’s one of the key conundrums men constantly find themselves questioning: what do women really want?
No one will ever have all the answers, and those answers will obviously differ from woman to woman, but an online survey of 1,000 conducted by Princeton, New Jersey’s Opinion Research Corporation can confirm 20 key characteristics that ring true for the majority.
The key learning is that personality trumps physical attractiveness every time, and it’s not even a close race – it’s a landslide.
According to Men’s Health, only 13% of women in the study said that being muscular is important for physical attractiveness, whereas a whopping 66% said that a man’s moral integrity will “make them quiver.” Yeah… quivering is a good thing, fellas.
In no particular order and grouped by category, here are 20 characteristics that women find attractive in the perfect man, of which only four are physical.
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Character Traits
Faithfulness, dependability, kindness (67% of women said they find this attractive), moral integrity, and fatherliness (defined as the desire to be a dad, as well as the patience and care necessary to bring up children).
Personality Traits
Sense of humour, intelligence, passion (not the sexual kind, but an active enthusiasm in the pursuit of an interest or hobby), confidence, and generosity.
Practical Skills
Listening (53%), romancing, being good in bed, cooking and cleaning, earning potential.
Physical Attributes
Sense of style, handsomeness, height, muscular build (13%), fitness (only 12%)
If you’re thinking, “Holy shit, how are we supposed to balance all of these things?” – that’s a completely fair question. The answer? Just be cool. Not cool in the same way as you thought you were in high school for smuggling a six-pack of Corona’s into your mate’s 16th. But cool in the sense that you’re in control.
Men’s Health coined it as cool in the ‘attitudinal sense’. You know what you want, you can balance your emotions, and you’re astutely self-aware. Nail these things and you’ll come to know which of the 20 characteristics above you need to improve on, and the attractiveness will naturally follow.
