Attraction is a bit weird sometimes because, once you get past the obvious stuff, there are some little things that change how someone comes across, and not always in a good way.
The rasp at the bottom
Having vocal fry is so common for a lot of women that they don’t necessarily recognize they’re doing it. Men do, though. Yes, several studies have found that men rate women with vocal fry as less attractive than those without it.
The words might stay the same. But when guys hear that creaky, gravelly sound at the ends of sentences, they tend to think the speaker is tired or bored. They might even assume they’re detached. A little crackle to the voice matters a lot more than you might expect.
When higher stops helping
That’s not all for voices. Most people assume that a woman with a higher female voice is attractive, and for the most part, that’s true. The problem is when a woman’s voice pushes too far up, though.
There’s a certain point where men stop liking higher-pitched voices. A lot of them think an excessively high voice is more babyish than feminine, and that’s why they dislike it. Men aren’t going to be using a pitch meter on a date, obviously. But their ears pick up quite a lot.
Making him work too hard
The idea of playing hard to get has gone way further than it needed to. The truth is, pretending not to be interested in a guy only makes you seem less likable. It’s even worse when the guy isn’t all that interested in the first place.
Acting unavailable can kill a guy’s interest completely. Put it this way, trying to create mystery by hiding your enthusiasm comes off badly. It’s less intriguing and more like, well, she doesn’t seem interested, so many guys get turned off by that.
Nothing seems to impress her
Being calm and reacting to absolutely nothing aren’t the same thing. Most guys rate women as being more attractive when they’re actually responsive during conversation. That means they show interest. That means they react naturally and engage with what’s being said.Â
Women who are constantly looking unimpressed or hard to please don’t seem attractive to guys. That sort of behavior just makes a woman seem like she’s trying hard to seem cool. A woman with total emotional flatness can come across as less interesting than she might think.
When the piercings take over
Having one small piercing usually isn’t too much of a problem. But it’s an issue when it becomes the main event, and even the research shows it. Men in one study rated pierced faces as less attractive than the exact same faces without piercings.
The ratings dropped further when the women had several piercings. Not every guy feels that way, of course, because some barely care. Yet there are quite a few who hate it when a woman’s jewelry pulls more attention than her actual face.
Making helplessness a habit
It’s okay to need help once in a while. A woman who acts like she suddenly can’t open a jar or make a decision, however, isn’t attractive. That sort of behavior gets old very quickly. Most guys prefer partners who seem capable and mentally sharp.
It gets tiring when you have to deal with someone who keeps playing helpless, which is kind of strange because asking for help can make someone feel closer to you. Still, there’s a line. Every little thing shouldn’t become ‘I can’t do this.’
Taking the eye angle too far
Research shows that many guys rate slightly upturned eyes quite positively. That’s one of the reasons why the fox-eye look itself is so popular with many women these days. The problem is, however, that some women exaggerate their fox-eye look so much that it doesn’t look right.
In fact, their faces start looking obviously altered because of how strong the angle is. Moderate changes can improve a woman’s attractiveness. Extreme changes can push ratings back down, rather than making someone seem more attractive.
Small differences between the two sides
The majority of human faces aren’t perfectly symmetrical, and that’s a good thing. It’d look really strange if they did. But clear facial asymmetry can make a woman seem less attractive to guys, as they tend to see more symmetrical female faces as being more attractive.
It could be an eyebrow sitting much higher, or it could be one side of the mouth pulling differently. They’re not exactly flaws or anything, and most men probably couldn’t tell you what looked different. But their subconscious notices. It makes them rate the face a little lower.
A smile that hides almost everything
One of the easiest things to miss is how much of the teeth show during a smile. It seriously affects how attractive a smile looks. The more upper teeth that are being shown in a smile, the better the rating the smile gets.
That means the opposite is also true. Not showing as many teeth makes a woman’s smile seem less attractive. It doesn’t mean you need to give huge, forced grins or anything, but you may want to show some more of those pearly whites next time.
Agreeing with absolutely everything
You’d think being endlessly agreeable would make dating easier. But not always. Studies have found that men usually prefer women who show some independence, rather than women who act like yes-women to everything they say.
Every restaurant doesn’t need to sound perfect, and every opinion doesn’t need to be shared. Guys do like agreeableness, sure, but they’re not interested in women lacking any opinions whatsoever.
Looking almost too far out of reach
You might be surprised to know that, sometimes, being gorgeous creates more problems than it solves. A man can look at a woman and find her extremely attractive. But then, almost immediately, he might decide she’s probably not for him, usually because he assumes she has endless options.Â
He might also think she’ll get bored. The research shows that men usually go for partners who feel realistically within reach, rather than the most attractive person available. It’s kind of funny, really. Being stunning can be enough to make a guy lose interest in a woman.
Letting expensive things do the talking
Everyone knows first impressions are important. That’s why some women make sure to carry around luxury handbags and expensive watches, as they want to give a good impression. None of these items are bad by themselves.
But the problem is that, together, they can make dating expectations look expensive before anyone has even ordered a drink. Some men read a woman with too many luxury goods as saying, ‘You’d better have serious money.’ That’s enough to kill the mood pretty darn fast.
Smoothing until the face stops looking real
There’s smooth skin, and then there’s skin that’s so smooth that it looks almost unnatural. The second type is something most guys aren’t really into. The truth is, they generally rate clear and even-looking skin as attractive, not completely flawless skin.
A lack of texture and small irregularities can make skin seem too polished. Extreme retouching, whether that’s through make-up or filters, can actually make a woman look worse.
Sources: Please see here for a complete listing of all sources that were consulted in the preparation of this article.
