Abstract
Darwinian aesthetics assumes that universal standards for facial attractiveness provide cues to mate quality. Despite the claim that male the masculinity of male faces signals mate quality, previous studies have revealed that females do not necessarily find masculine faces so attractive. Based on the findings of two studies, we argue that this is partly because both females and males tend to perceive masculine faces as threatening. Studies 1 and 2 indicate that perceptions of anger and/or threat from masculine male faces elicit ratings of such faces as being less attractive. However, in Study 2, when females looked at masculine male faces with neutral expressions, they tended to prefer indirect gazes over direct gazes. These findings suggest that the biological and fitness-related goals that are common to both males and females and those that are not shared may have different influences on the attractiveness ratings of masculine male faces.
