A young man was at a local bar when a beautiful woman caught his eye. Absolutely everything about this woman was perfect.

He observed that she had clear, smooth skin, which indicated she was physically healthy. He analyzed her higher forehead, her fuller lips, her shorter jaw and narrower chin. She strutted around the bar with a body mass of 20.85 and an alluring 7:10 waist-to-hips ratio.

Her features were perfect and her face was symmetrical.

This woman‘s DNA was obviously flawless: it was clear that she was going to produce the most superior children out of every female at that bar.

Aaron Lethbridge / Castleton Spartan

Couple Erica James and Dalton-Jesse Cummis goof around outside of
Huden. Some students have physcial preferences when it comes to finding
a partner while others prefer certain personalities.

So, the young man bought her a drink.

Psychologists believe there are strong, subconscious factors influencing why we find someone attractive. From an evolutionary perspective, science argues that heterosexual women tend to be attracted to a man who seems like he could protect her and her future children, or a man who will be able to provide for their future family.

Straight men, supposedly, have one thing clear in their subconscious mind: they are looking for a woman with the best genetics to produce strong and healthy children for them.

But that’s not really what’s going through our minds, is it?

In psychology major Gabe DeLisa’s eyes, there are two main things that are attractive when it comes to features of a woman.

“Eyes…and cleavage,” DeLisa chuckled.

That doesn’t sound too evolutionary based, does it?

“Big arms and a smile,” said MDS major Hilary Perry, when asked what specifics she is attracted to.

Captain of the women’s hockey team Anna Daniels said she has a thing for nice teeth.

But Communication major Marco Lam looks for something different – that doesn’t have to do with looks.

“For me, honestly, I am attracted to girls that have great personalities, and also have some of the same hobbies that I do, like soccer and just being outdoors in general,” Lam said.

What about smell?

Sometimes, the discussion of pheromones (chemical attractants secreted by animals to find mates) can arise when discussing human attraction.

In fact, humans do not have pheromones. But smell does play a role in why are attracted to someone. Studies show that humans can find our immune system match (someone whose genes compliment ours, hint-hint baby-thoughts) by his or her smell.

Weird, huh?

Global studies major Eric Ginter said he likes “a girl that smiles a lot, who seems optimistic about life.”

Professor Burnham Holmes also said he finds attractive what some of the other interviewees said: “Eyes and smile.”

When asked what they found unattractive in a person, interviewees were just as quick to identify what is bad, as what was good.

DeLisa and Holmes both said cigarette breath was a turn-off.

“Unless you like ashtrays,” Holmes said.

Ginter said a lack of confidence was a turn-off for him. Lam, contrastingly, said, “some girls think they can get any man just because they have big tits and an ass. I hate girls like that.”

Daniels noted that guys who are “too skinny or too short” don’t quite do it for her. Perry said a man’s “gross teeth” were a deal-breaker for her.

DeLisa, Holmes and Lam all struck a similar note when making clear that one thing in particular is really unattractive in a woman. And it had to do with booze.

“Being too drunk,” Holmes said. Lam answered “girls that drink and party too much.” Or as DeLisa phrased it, “too drunk, stupid drunk.”

It seems like heavily-inebriated women are waving red flags and maybe the evolutionary perspective would have an answer as to why sloppy-drunk women are turn-offs.

Maybe men, subconsciously, want a wife who is not a hot-mess?

Or just a wife who can handle her liquor.