What do John McCain, Seal, and Harry Potter have in common?Facial scars and, according to a new study, an advantage in attracting women—but only for a fling.Researchers from the University of Liverpool report that women prefer men with facial scars as short-term partners over men without facial scars.For long-term relationships, however, scars don’t make a difference.
The researchers came to this conclusion after showing 147 women images of men’s faces with mild scarring or without, and asking the women to rate the men as potential short-term or long-term mates. Previous research has shown that women prefer men with square jaws and well-defined brow ridges for short-term mates and more feminine facial features for long-term mates.The researchers offer an explanation for their new results in the press release:
"Women may have rated scarring as an attractive quality for short-term relationships because they found it be a symbol of masculinity, a feature ...
