There still doesn’t seem to be a clear definition of what actually makes a person “attractive”.

Physical beauty (attractiveness) has long been an amorphous shape, a controversial subject philosophers could not unite upon. They couldn’t settle whether it was subjective – that is, based on each individual preference – or if it was objective, a characteristic that defines attractiveness. It is an antimony, a paradox that that has long perplexed the philosophical world and seem to reach no end-point.

But before answering the question “what makes a person attractive?”, the science of attraction has to be debunked first.

Initial Attraction

In a hypothetical scenario, Ginny is scrolling through her Instagram feed, when she suddenly sees a selfie of a male stranger. Instantly, her heart rate and breathing quicken along with her thoughts as she smiles and admires his facial features and body. Everyone experiences that ineffable attraction to someone else at some point in their lives, a sudden stimulation of love and admiration. But what is its origin?

The scene painted above is an example of initial attraction, something that is emanated from the human brain as a result of specific brain activity. Helen Fisher from Rutgers University spoke in a Ted Talk in 2008 about studies her team was carrying out regarding attraction, and what they discovered was that the human brain determines if someone is “attractive” in the snap of a second. On a side note, her research also brought light to the biological consequence of being in love: activity in the ventral tegmental area (specifically the A10 cells), which release dopamine, a pleasure stimulant.

In addition to brain activity, the evolution of the human mind also plays a major role. Scientists propose that the determination of attractiveness has to do with mates subconsciously choosing heritable traits. It is human nature, part of what scientists call “the reptilian core of the brain”. This further proves Darwinism, from where the phrase “survival of the fittest” comes from.

The two human mechanisms described above make up part of the basis of attraction, attraction factors that are common in all human beings. It doesn’t vary, as it is already biologically established in all bodies. But obviously, you don’t experience the warmth of initial attraction on every person your senses detect.

A list of “attractive” physical traits

If we are judging strangers, the physical aspect of attractiveness is arguable the most relevant. After all, a picture of random person doesn’t reveal their personality, voice, or etiquette, but shows us their physical appearance, their first impression on our mind. As mentioned before, the human brain judges someone almost instantly, so it would make most sense that the mind is most focused on the physical aspect of a person first (i.e. their face) before analyzing other aspects that make up an individual, like personality.

Here are seven factors of attractive people.

1. Symmetry

Humans are perfection-seeking animals. When it comes to symmetry, the more symmetrical and less “irregularities” there are, the more “perfect” it is, in essence. (Think about it, why else was the eraser invented?) Studies and surveys have shown that symmetry plays a significant role in determining attractiveness, specifically the symmetry of the face, lips, and nose, and that symmetrical faces were preferred over asymmetrical faces.

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2. Masculinity

Generally, masculinity in men indicate their power, virility, and health and is thought to be a driving factor of attraction from females. However, this does not always hold true. Bulging muscles and facial hair does not necessarily mean attractive. Lately, we have seen the rise of e-boy culture, a Gen Z subculture, that features much less masculine males, and through surveys, they aren’t any less “attractive” than more masculine males. A study suggested that in more developed environments, people tend to prefer less-masculine men over the more masculine, and that it was vice versa for poorer environments.

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3. Leg to Body Ratio (LBR) and Legs Length

This ratio is commonly implemented in judging attractiveness, something particularly valued by modelling agencies. Backed by research, it seems that from a general perspective, average-length to long legs (+5% in length) were viewed as attractive for both genders, though excessively long/short legs decreased in attractiveness.

Longer legs are also signs of healthy nutrition and positively-regulated puberty. Because the growth of a person decreases to an insignificant rate after puberty, it can be inferred that they grew up in a pleasant environment, with sufficient nutrient intake.

Research on the relationship between longer legs and attractiveness is still minimal, so nothing can be set in stone yet. In addition to the ambiguity of LBR, keep in mind that the attractiveness of certain leg lengths also vary depending on the society and its culture.

4. Eyes

Ever heard of “dreamy” eyes? Or eyes that seem to be on fire with passion? Just like the facial bone structure, it is one of the first facial features that we notice in someone else. After all, when meeting someone (whether its in a virtual or humanly fashion), we always want to lock eyes before talking or listening.

Some eye colors are termed “beautiful” because of the vibe it sends off, or the color of the iris. Obviously, this is a much more subjective topic and is not even remotely backed by science. Although through surveys and studies, researchers have been able to form a solid connection between the shape of the eyes and youthfulness.

A specific part of the eye, the limbal ring, remains a dark tone when people are in their youth, and slowly fades away with age. Turns out, limbal rings are also indicators of health, being darker when one has a stronger circulatory system.

Author’s note: I showed the two images below to 30 teens, and the majority chose the left image, the eye without limbal rings. Clearly a very subjective trait.

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5. Facial Bone Structure

Facial bone structure is one of the most valued traits in attractiveness, because it is arguably the first thing we notice about someone. Because the human mind judges someone’s attractiveness so quickly, the initial decision of marking a person and “attractive” or “unattractive” physical attractiveness often comes from the face alone. There are two popularly discussed facial bone features that (by societal standards) control how attractive a person is: height of the cheekbones and the sharpness of the jawline.

High, prominent cheekbones have long been universally preferred, as they reveal the sexual maturity of the person. Similarly to leg length and LBR, cheekbones tend to stop growing as one ages. Also, a 2014 brain study revealed that the cheekbones are also associated with the trustworthiness of a person, these judgements originating from the amygdala of the brain, a mass of grey matter in charge of experiencing emotion. Turns out, our brain makes these decisions in milliseconds, “even before their face is consciously perceived.“

When reading faces, , two signs of masculinity, whereas fainter jawlines tend to send off “weak-willed” vibes. Yes, a very subjective facial feature that undoubtedly gets perceived in many different ways, but from a general stance, most people prefer sharper jawlines.

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6. Hair

Along with being an aesthetic for the head, hair is a sign of high levels of estrogen, which is a promoter of hair growth and an indicator of youth. Good hair quality can easily be distinguished from average hair, due to its lustre and softness. Also, hair can be modelled into different hairstyles that emphasize or hide other features of facial features, like the length of the face.

Facial hair (in males) is more connected to masculinity and youth and can help define jawlines when “pruned” correctly.

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7. Scent

We often don’t realize that scent plays a HUGE role in sexual attraction, and everything about it has to do with the olfactory system.

First, how does smelling work?

The olfactory mucosa, is a mucous layer located at the upper nasal cavity. Composed of a variety of specialized olfactory epithelial cells and receptors that detect smell, it is one of the oldest senses in evolutionary history. Essentially, how smelling works is that an odour passes through the nasal cavity and instigates the receptors, which then pass the signal onto the olfactory bulb.

An uncertain theory of the relationship between scent and attraction lies in pheromones, chemical messengers emitted from sweat glands. Acting like exogenous hormones, they are capable of triggering social and physiological responses in others after being detected by the vomeralnasal organ (VNO). This all happens subconsciously.

Another theory is that men can sense that a woman is in her menstrual cycle. As a result of her being in the most fertile state, men can actually subconsciously detect the odours emitted from ovulating females. This can cause male testosterone to rise in level, which can potentially induce courtship and causes them to increase in competitiveness, something females generally prefer.

Counterargument and Conclusion

But the perspective of beauty varies for each individual! And you are absolutely right. Attractiveness is not something that can be judged from an entirely objective point of view, since every person has their own preferences. Some people may prefer certain ethnicities over others. However, there are certain universally accepted traits that have either been popularized by society or simply have science that backs it up.

That is what makes the term attraction so beautiful; it’s mysterious.

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Art by Anastasia A.