View source for Sexual attraction

{{short description|Attraction on the basis of sexual desire}}
{{about|sexual attraction among humans|sexual attraction among other animals|Animal sexual behaviour}}
{{redirect|Sex appeal|other uses|Sex Appeal (disambiguation){{!}}Sex Appeal}}
{{pp-semi-indef|small=yes}}
{{use mdy dates|date=October 2024}}
[[File:Eugen de Blaas The Flirtation.jpg|thumb|right|250px|''The Flirtation'' (1904), by [[Eugene de Blaas]]]]
'''Sexual attraction''' is [[interpersonal attraction|attraction]] on the basis of [[sexual desire]] or the quality of arousing such interest.<ref name="Sexual attraction">{{cite web|title=Sexual attraction|publisher=[[TheFreeDictionary.com]]|access-date=December 16, 2011|url=http://www.thefreedictionary.com/sexual+attraction|archive-date=March 31, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120331224102/http://www.thefreedictionary.com/sexual+attraction|url-status=live}}</ref> '''Sexual attractiveness''' or '''sex appeal''' is an individual's ability to attract other people sexually, and is a factor in [[sexual selection]] or [[mate choice]]. The attraction can be to the [[physical attraction|physical]] or other qualities or traits of a person, or to such qualities in the context where they appear. The attraction may be to a person's [[aesthetics]], movements, voice, among other things. The attraction may be enhanced by a person's [[body odor and sexual attraction|body odor]], [[human sex pheromones|sex pheromones]], adornments, clothing, perfume or [[hair style]]. It can be influenced by individual [[Genetics|genetic]], [[psychological]], or cultural factors, or to other, more amorphous qualities. Sexual attraction is also a response to another person that depends on a combination of the person possessing the traits and on the criteria of the person who is attracted.

Though attempts have been made to devise objective criteria of sexual attractiveness and measure it as [[Individual capital|one of several bodily forms]] of [[capital asset]] (e.g. [[erotic capital]]), a person's sexual attractiveness is to a large extent a subjective measure dependent on another person's interest, perception, and [[sexual orientation]]. For example, a [[Homosexuality|gay or lesbian person]] would typically find a person of the same sex to be more attractive than one of the other sex. A [[bisexuality|bisexual person]] would find either sex to be attractive. [[Asexuality]] refers to those who do not experience sexual attraction for either sex, though they may have [[Romantic orientation|romantic attraction]] or a non-directed libido.<ref name=asexualityarchive>{{cite web|title=Things That Are Not Asexuality|url=http://www.asexualityarchive.com/things-that-are-not-asexuality/|website=Asexuality Archive|date=2012-05-27|access-date=2015-12-16|archive-date=2019-04-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190421095539/http://www.asexualityarchive.com/things-that-are-not-asexuality/|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Interpersonal attraction]] includes factors such as [[propinquity|physical or psychological similarity]], [[Intimate relationship#Intimacy|familiarity]] or possessing a preponderance of [[Koinophilia#Physical attractiveness|common or familiar features]], [[similarity (psychology)|similarity]], [[Interpersonal compatibility|complementarity]], [[reciprocal liking]], and [[reinforcement]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Miller|first1=Rowland S.|last2=Perlman|first2=Daniel|last3=Brehm|first3=Sharon S.|title=Intimate Relationships|edition=4th|publisher=McGraw-Hill|year=2007|isbn=9780072938012}}{{page needed|date=December 2012}}</ref>

The ability of a person's physical and other qualities to create a sexual interest in others is the basis of their use in [[sex in advertising|advertising]], [[Sex in film|film]], and other visual media, as well as in [[Model (person)|modeling]] and other occupations. In evolutionary terms, the [[ovulatory shift hypothesis]] posits that female humans exhibit different sexual behaviours and desires at points in their [[menstrual cycle]], as a means to ensure that they attract a high quality mate to copulate with during their most [[Fertile window|fertile]] time. Hormone levels throughout the menstrual cycle affect a woman's overt behaviours, influencing the way a woman presents herself to others during stages of her menstrual cycle, in an attempt to attract high quality mates the closer the woman is to [[ovulation]].<ref name="Pillsworth">{{cite journal|last1=Pillsworth|first1=Elizabeth G.|last2=Haselton|first2=Martie G.|last3=Buss|first3=David M.|title=Ovulatory Shifts in Female Sexual Desire|journal=Journal of Sex Research|date=February 2004|volume=41|issue=1|pages=55–65|doi=10.1080/00224490409552213|pmid=15216424|s2cid=26680290|url=http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/comm/haselton/papers/downloads/ovulatoryshifts.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120710082800/http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/comm/haselton/papers/downloads/ovulatoryshifts.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 10, 2012}}</ref>

==Social and biological factors==
[[Human sexuality]] has many aspects. In [[biology]], sexuality describes the reproductive mechanism and the basic biological drive that exists in all sexually reproducing species and can encompass [[sexual intercourse]] and sexual contact in all its forms. There are also emotional and physical aspects of sexuality. These relate to the bond between individuals, which may be expressed through profound feelings or emotions. [[Sociology|Sociologically]], it can cover the [[Culture|cultural]], [[Politics|political]], and [[Law|legal]] aspects; [[philosophy|philosophically]], it can span the [[morality|moral]], [[ethics|ethical]], [[theology|theological]], [[spirituality|spiritual]], and [[religion|religious]] aspects.

Which aspects of a person's sexuality attract another is influenced by cultural factors; it has varied over time, as well as personal factors. Influencing factors may be determined more locally among sub-cultures, across [[sexual field]]s, or simply by the preferences of the [[individual]]. These preferences come about as a result of a complex variety of [[Genetics|genetic]], [[psychological]], and cultural factors.

A person's [[physical appearance]] has a critical impact on their sexual attractiveness. This involves the impact one's appearance has on the [[sense]]s, especially in the beginning of a relationship, among them:

* [[Visual perception]] (the symmetry of [[Facial symmetry|the face]], [[physical attractiveness]], [[Human skin|health]], and how they act or move, for example, while dancing);
* [[Hearing (sense)|Audition]] (how the other's [[human voice|voice]] and movements [[sound]]);
* [[Olfaction]] (how the other smells, naturally or artificially; the wrong smell may be repellent);
* [[Somatosensory system]] (for example touch and temperature).

As with other animals, [[pheromone]]s may have an impact, though less significantly in the case of humans. Theoretically, the "wrong" pheromone may cause someone to be disliked, even when they would otherwise appear attractive. Frequently, a pleasant-smelling [[perfume]] is used to encourage the other person to more deeply inhale the [[air]] surrounding its wearer,{{Citation needed|date=June 2007}} increasing the [[probability]] that the individual's pheromones will be inhaled. The importance of pheromones in human relationships is probably limited and is widely disputed,{{unreliable source?|date=December 2012}}<ref name="disputed">{{cite web |last=Adams |first=Cecil |date=1987-01-30 |title=Will pheromones make you irresistible to the opposite sex? |url=http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_206.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080821153502/http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_206.html |archive-date=2008-08-21 |access-date=November 30, 2006 |work=The Straight Dope}}</ref> although it appears to have some scientific basis.<ref>{{cite web |last=Graham |first=Sarah |date=August 29, 2001 |title=First Evidence of a Human Response to Pheromones |url=http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?articleID=0007F9B4-B6D4-1C60-B882809EC588ED9F&sc=I100322 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140309134759/https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/first-evidence-of-a-human/ |archive-date=Mar 9, 2014 |access-date=November 30, 2006 |work=ScientificAmerican}}</ref>

Some people exhibit high levels of [[sexual fetishism]] and are [[sexually stimulated]] by other stimuli not normally associated with [[sexual arousal]]. The degree to which such fetishism exists or has existed in different cultures is controversial.

Pheromones have been determined to play [[Human sex pheromones|a role in sexual attraction]] between people. They influence gonadal hormone secretion, for example, follicle maturation in the ovaries in females and testosterone and sperm production in males.<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://evolution.anthro.univie.ac.at/institutes/urbanethology/resources/articles/articles/publications/226-2005-humanPheromones-sexAttraction.pdf |title=Human pheromones and sexual attraction |journal=European Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Reproductive Biology |volume=118 |issue=2 |pages=135–142 |access-date=2018-09-19 |doi=10.1016/j.ejogrb.2004.08.010 |pmid=15653193 |year=2005 |last1=Grammer |first1=Karl |last2=Fink |first2=Bernhard |last3=Neave |first3=Nick |archive-date=2019-07-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190726230615/http://evolution.anthro.univie.ac.at/institutes/urbanethology/resources/articles/articles/publications/226-2005-humanPheromones-sexAttraction.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==High anxiety==
{{primary sources|section|date=December 2012}}
Research conducted by Donald G. Dutton and Arthur P. Aron in the 1970s aimed to find the relation between sexual attraction and high anxiety conditions. In doing so, 85 male participants were contacted by an attractive female interviewer at either a [[suspension bridge effect|fear-arousing suspension bridge]] or a normal bridge. Conclusively, it was shown that the male participants who were asked by the female interviewer to perform the [[thematic apperception test]] (TAT) on the fear-arousing bridge, wrote more sexual content in the stories and attempted, with greater effort, to contact the interviewer after the experiment than those participants who performed the TAT on the normal bridge. In another test, a male participant, chosen from a group of 80, was given anticipated shocks. With him was an attractive female confederate, who was also being shocked. The experiment showed that the male's sexual imagery in the TAT was much higher when self shock was anticipated and not when the female confederate shock was anticipated.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Dutton|first=Donald G|author2=Arthur P. Aron |title=Some evidence for heightened sexual attraction under conditions of high anxiety|journal=Journal of Personality and Social Psychology|year=1974|volume=30|issue=4|doi=10.1037/h0037031|pages=510–517|pmid=4455773|citeseerx=10.1.1.335.100|s2cid=31921849 }}</ref>

== Enhancement ==
People consciously or subconsciously enhance their sexual attractiveness or sex appeal for a number of reasons. It may be to attract someone with whom they can form a deeper relationship, for [[companionship]], [[procreation]], or an [[intimate relationship]], besides other possible purposes. It can be part of a [[courtship]] process. This can involve physical aspects or interactive processes whereby people find and attract potential partners, and maintain a relationship. These processes, which involve attracting a partner and maintaining sexual interest, can include [[flirting]], which can be used to attract the sexual attention of another to encourage romance or sexual relations, and can involve [[body language]], conversation, joking, or brief physical contact.<ref>[http://www.sirc.org/publik/flirt.html SIRC Guide to Flirting. What Social Science can tell you about flirting and how to do it.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201217211243/http://www.sirc.org/publik/flirt.html |date=2020-12-17 }} Retrieved October 13, 2009.</ref>

== Sex and sexuality differences ==
{{Sex differences}}
{{Update|section|reason=Most sources here are from the 1990s, please demonstrate what the view is in recent secondary scientific sources|date=September 2023}}
Men have been found to have a greater interest in [[Casual sex|uncommitted sex]] compared to women.<ref>Buss, D. M., & Shmitt, D. P. (1993). "Sexual strategies theory: A contextual evolutionary analysis of human mating". ''Psychological Review'': 100, 204–232.</ref> Some research shows this interest to be more sociological than biological.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Conley | first1 = T. D. | year = 2011 | title = Perceived proposer personality characteristics and gender differences in acceptance of casual sex offers | journal = Journal of Personality and Social Psychology | volume = 100 | issue = 2| pages = 309–329| doi=10.1037/a0022152 | pmid=21171789}}</ref> Men have a greater interest in visual sexual stimuli than women. However,<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Ellis | first1 = B.J. | last2 = Symons | first2 = D. | year = 1990 | title = Sex differences in sexual fantasy: An evolutionary psychological approach | journal = Journal of Sex Research | volume = 27 | issue = 4| pages = 527–555 | doi=10.1080/00224499009551579}}</ref> additional trends have been found with a greater sensitivity to [[Social status|partner status]] in women choosing a [[sexual partner]] and men placing a greater emphasis on [[physical attractiveness]] in a potential mate, as well as a significantly greater tendency toward sexual [[jealousy]] in men and emotional jealousy in women.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Wiederman | first1 = M. W. | last2 = Allgeier | first2 = E. R. | year = 1992 | title = Gender differences in mate selection criteria: Sociobiological or socioeconomic explanation? | journal = Ethology and Sociobiology | volume = 13 | issue = 2| pages = 115–124 | doi=10.1016/0162-3095(92)90021-u}}</ref>

Bailey, Gaulin, Agyei, and Gladue (1994) analyzed whether these results varied according to [[sexual orientation]]. In general, they found biological sex played a bigger role in the psychology of sexual attraction than orientation. However, there were some differences between homosexual and heterosexual women and men on these factors. While gay and straight men showed similar psychological interest in casual sex on markers of [[Sociosexual orientation|sociosexuality]], gay men showed a larger number of partners in behaviour expressing this interest (proposed to be due to a difference in opportunity). Self-identified lesbian women showed a significantly greater interest in visual sexual stimuli than heterosexual women and judged partner status to be less important in [[Romance (love)|romantic partnerships]]. Heterosexual men had a significantly greater preference for younger partners than homosexual men.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Bailey | first1 = J.M. | last2 = Gaulin | first2 = S. | last3 = Agyei | first3 = Y. | last4 = Gladue | first4 = B. | year = 1994 | title = Effects of gender and sexual orientation on evolutionarily relevant aspects of human mating psychology | journal = Journal of Personality and Social Psychology | volume = 66 | issue = 6| pages = 1081–1093 | doi=10.1037/0022-3514.66.6.1081 | pmid=8046578}}</ref> People who identify as [[Asexuality|asexual]] may not be sexually attracted to anyone. [[Gray asexuality]] includes those who only experience sexual attraction under certain circumstances; for example, exclusively after an emotional bond has been formed. This tends to vary from person to person.

== Sexual preferences and hormones ==
The [[ovulatory shift hypothesis]] is the theory that female humans tend to exhibit different sexual behaviours and desires at points in their cycle.  Two [[Meta-analysis|meta-analyses]] published in 2014 reached opposing conclusions on whether the existing evidence was robust enough to support the prediction that women's mate preferences change across the cycle.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Gildersleeve |first1=Kelly |last2=Haselton |first2=Martie G. |last3=Fales |first3=Melissa R. |date=2014 |title=Do women's mate preferences change across the ovulatory cycle? A meta-analytic review |journal=Psychological Bulletin |volume=140 |issue=5 |pages=1205–1259 |doi=10.1037/a0035438|pmid=24564172|type= Meta-analysis }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Wood |first1=Wendy |last2=Kressel |first2=Laura |last3=Joshi |first3=Priyanka D. |last4=Louie |first4=Brian |date=2014 |title=Meta-analysis of menstrual cycle effects on women's mate preferences |journal=Emotion Review |volume=6 |issue=3 |pages=229–249 |doi=10.1177/1754073914523073|s2cid=4641508 }}</ref>  A newer 2018 review does not show women changing the type of men they desire at different times in their fertility cycle.<ref name="Jones2018">{{cite journal|doi=10.1016/j.tics.2018.10.008|title=Ovulation, Sex Hormones, and Women's Mating Psychology|year=2019|last1=Jones|first1=Benedict C.|last2=Hahn|first2=Amanda C.|last3=Debruine|first3=Lisa M.|journal=Trends in Cognitive Sciences|volume=23|issue=1|pages=51–62|pmid=30477896|s2cid=53715304|url=http://eprints.gla.ac.uk/172391/7/172391.pdf|type=Review|access-date=2021-12-19|archive-date=2022-11-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221128130731/http://eprints.gla.ac.uk/172391/7/172391.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

In males, a masculine face has been positively correlated with fewer respiratory diseases and, as a consequence, masculine features offer a marker of [[health]] and [[reproductive success]].<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Thornhill|first1=Randy|last2=Gangestad|first2=Steven W.|title=Facial sexual dimorphism, developmental stability, and susceptibility to disease in men and women|journal=Evolution and Human Behavior|date=March 2006|volume=27|issue=2|pages=131–144|doi=10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2005.06.001|bibcode=2006EHumB..27..131T |url=http://facelab.org/bcjones/Teaching/files/Thornhill_2006.pdf|access-date=2016-12-02|archive-date=2016-12-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161203065648/http://facelab.org/bcjones/Teaching/files/Thornhill_2006.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Ovulation===

Hormone levels throughout the menstrual cycle affect a woman's behaviour in preferences and in their overt behaviours. The [[Biological ornament|ornamentation]] effect is a phenomenon influenced by a stage of the menstrual cycle which refers to the way a woman presents herself to others, in a way to attract potential sexual partners. Studies have found that the closer women were to [[Ovulation cycle|ovulation]], the more provocatively they dress and the more attractive they are rated.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Haselton|first1=Martie G.|last2=Mortezaie|first2=Mina|last3=Pillsworth|first3=Elizabeth G.|last4=Bleske-Rechek|first4=April|last5=Frederick|first5=David A.|date=2007-01-01|title=Ovulatory shifts in human female ornamentation: Near ovulation, women dress to impress|journal=Hormones and Behavior|volume=51|issue=1|pages=40–45|doi=10.1016/j.yhbeh.2006.07.007|pmid=17045994|s2cid=9268718}}</ref>

It is possible that women are sensitive to the changes in their physical attractiveness throughout their cycles, such that at their most fertile stages their levels of attractiveness are increased. Consequently, they choose to display their increased levels of attractiveness through this method of ornamentation.<ref name="Haselton 509–518">{{Cite journal|last1=Haselton|first1=Martie G.|last2=Gangestad|first2=Steven W.|date=2006-04-01|title=Conditional expression of women's desires and men's mate guarding across the ovulatory cycle|journal=Hormones and Behavior|volume=49|issue=4|pages=509–518|doi=10.1016/j.yhbeh.2005.10.006|issn=0018-506X|pmid=16403409|s2cid=7065777}}</ref>

During periods of hormonal imbalance, women exhibit a peak in sexual activity.<ref name=":1">{{cite journal | last1 = Adams | first1 = D. B. | last2 = Gold | first2 = A. R. | last3 = Burt | first3 = B. A. | year = 1978 | title = Rise in female-initiated sexual activity at ovulation and its suppression by oral contraceptives | journal = The New England Journal of Medicine | volume = 299 | issue = 21| pages = 1145–1150 | doi=10.1056/nejm197811232992101| pmid = 703805 | title-link = oral contraceptives }}</ref> As these findings have been recorded for female-initiated sexual activity and not for male-initiated activity, the causation appears to be hormonal changes during the menstrual cycle.<ref name=":1" /> 

Research has also found that menstrual cycles affect sexual behaviour frequency in pre-[[menopausal]] women. For example, women who had weekly sexual intercourse with men had menstrual cycles with the average duration of 29 days, while women with less frequent sexual interactions tended to have more extreme cycle lengths.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Cutler|first1=Winnifred B.|last2=Garcia|first2=Celso R.|last3=Freiger|first3=Abba|title=Sexual Behaviour Frequency and menstrual cycle length in mature premenopausal women|journal=Psychoneuroendocrinology|date=December 1978|volume=4|issue=4|pages=297–309|pmid=523588|doi=10.1016/0306-4530(79)90014-3|s2cid=1553727}}</ref> [[Hormonal contraception]] can affect the sexual attraction.<ref name="n135">{{cite journal | last1=Alvergne | first1=Alexandra | last2=Lummaa | first2=Virpi | title=Does the contraceptive pill alter mate choice in humans? | journal=Trends in Ecology & Evolution | publisher=Elsevier BV | volume=25 | issue=3 | year=2010 | issn=0169-5347 | doi=10.1016/j.tree.2009.08.003 | doi-access=free | pages=171–179| pmid=19818527 | bibcode=2010TEcoE..25..171A }}</ref>

===Male response to ovulation===
Changes in hormones during a female's cycles affect the way she behaves and the way males behave towards her. Research has found that men are a lot more attentive and loving towards their partners when they are in the most [[Fertility|fertile]] phase of their cycles, in comparison to when they are in the [[luteal]] phases.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Pillsworth|first1=Elizabeth G.|last2=Haselton|first2=Martie G.|date=2006-07-01|title=Male sexual attractiveness predicts differential ovulatory shifts in female extra-pair attraction and male mate retention|journal=Evolution and Human Behavior|language=en|volume=27|issue=4|pages=247–258|doi=10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2005.10.002|bibcode=2006EHumB..27..247P |issn=1090-5138}}</ref> Men become increasingly [[Sexual jealousy|jealous and possessive]] over their partners during this stage.<ref name="Gangestad 975–982">{{Cite journal|last1=Gangestad|first1=Steven W|last2=Thornhill|first2=Randy|last3=Garver|first3=Christine E|date=2002-05-07|title=Changes in women's sexual interests and their partners' mate-retention tactics across the menstrual cycle: evidence for shifting conflicts of interest.|journal=Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences|volume=269|issue=1494|pages=975–982|doi=10.1098/rspb.2001.1952|issn=0962-8452|pmc=1690982|pmid=12028782}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Human sexuality}}
{{columns-list|colwidth=22em|
* [[Body odor and subconscious human sexual attraction]]
* [[Erogenous zone]]
* [[Evolution of sexual reproduction]] 
* [[Human height]]
* [[Human physical appearance]]
* [[Human sexuality]]
* [[Interpersonal attraction]]
* [[Koinophilia]]
* [[Mating system]]
* [[Physical attractiveness]]
* [[Sex in advertising]]
* [[Sex symbol]]
* [[Sexual arousal]]
* [[Sexual capital]]
* [[Sexual dimorphism]]
* [[Sexual field]]
* [[Sexual polarity]]
* [[Sexual reproduction]] 
* [[Sexual selection]]
* [[Westermarck effect]]
}}

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Notes==
{{Refbegin}}
*{{cite journal |vauthors=Feinberg DR, Jones BC, Law Smith MJ, etal |title=Menstrual cycle, trait estrogen level, and masculinity preferences in the human voice |journal=Horm Behav |volume=49 |issue=2 |pages=215–22 |date=February 2006 |pmid=16055126 |doi=10.1016/j.yhbeh.2005.07.004 |s2cid=14884832 }}
* On peculiarities of Russian sex appeal, see {{cite book |author=Draitser, Emil |author-link=Emil Draitser |title=Making war, not love: Gender and sexuality in Russian humor |url=https://archive.org/details/makingwarnotlove0000drai |url-access=registration |publisher=St. Martin's Press |location=New York |year=1999 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/makingwarnotlove0000drai/page/13 13–32] |isbn=978-0-312-22129-4 }}
{{Refend}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20021108135519/http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/biology/b103/f02/web1/dfernandez.html Sexual Attraction Among Humans]
*[http://www.faceresearch.org/ FaceResearch] &ndash; Scientific research and online studies on the role of faces in sexual attraction
*[http://flatrock.org.nz/topics/relationships/reunions_set_off_sex_urges.htm Reunions Set Off Sex Urges], Article on sexual attraction among birth relatives sparked by [[family reunion|reunion]].

{{Human sexuality}}
{{Human sexuality and sexology}}
{{Evolutionary psychology}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sexual Attraction}}
[[Category:Sexual attraction| ]]
[[Category:Physical attractiveness]]
[[Category:Evolutionary psychology]]