Fancy tall men? You’re also likely to rate yourself as attractive, new research shows

Whether it’s a sense of humor, a good job or a bodybuilding physique, every woman has a different idea of ​​her ideal man.

But a new study suggests that how a woman perceives herself may influence the qualities she looks for in a partner.

The research shows that women who consider themselves handsome are more likely to be attracted to taller men.

It’s possible that women who consider themselves attractive think they deserve a tall man – because tallness is a desirable trait.

On an evolutionary level, a taller male may be seen by females as someone who can protect them from danger or produce healthy offspring.

“It is suggested that these sexually dimorphic traits reflect the genetic quality of males, in addition to the ability to provide direct benefits (e.g. protection, provision of resources),” the experts say in their paper.

The researchers from Texas A&M International University recruited 247 heterosexual women with an average age of 24 years for their study.

Participants were shown a series of images of men of different heights and “shoulder-to-hip ratios.”

With a high shoulder-hip ratio, the circumference around the shoulders is larger than around the waist.

A high shoulder-to-hip ratio is generally seen as an attractive feature because it means bulky, muscular arms and little fat around the abdomen.

In the images, the men’s heights ranged from 160cm (5ft3in) to 190cm (6ft3in), and for comparison each man was pictured next to a 172cm (5ft8in) woman.

Pictured is a man with a short height of 160 cm (5 feet 3 inches), but with a higher shoulder-to-hip ratio – with the circumference around the shoulders being greater than around the waist

Pictured is a tall man – measuring 190 cm (6 feet 3 inches) tall – but with a lower shoulder-to-hip ratio. For comparison, the male figures were shown next to a woman

Analysis found that the women generally rated men as more attractive, masculine, dominant and higher in fighting skills as the men’s height and shoulder-to-hip ratio increased.

However, women who rated themselves as more attractive tended to give higher ratings to taller men.

This suggests that women with higher self-esteem or confidence in their attractiveness set higher standards for their potential partners, especially when it comes to valuing height, the researchers said.

Writing in the diary Evolutionary psychological sciencethey said that it has been suggested that being tall and having a higher shoulder-to-hip ratio reflects a man’s ability to protect and provide resources for his partner.

They added that their finding did not extend to all height increases in men, but only with regard to men who were taller than the woman they were pictured next to.

“This could indicate that women with higher mate value tailor their preferences specifically to men who are larger than themselves,” they wrote.