Voice and Attraction
What Effect Does Voice Pitch Have on Attractiveness?
Men with deeper voices are more appealing to women according to a study of the Hadza tribe in Tanzania published in Biology Letters. The Baritone male beats his Soprano opponent in the attractiveness game for evolutionary reason says Professor David Feinberg, who helped analyse the findings.
A Deep Voice Is the Peacock’s Tail of Masculinity
“We think it's similar to a peacock’s tail,” said Feinberg of McMaster University in Ontario. “The tail doesn’t help the peacock in the world, all it really does is attract females. In this case, it’s testosterone that makes the voice more masculine at puberty.”
49 men and 52 women from the Hadza tribe, aged 18 to 55, were interviewed. The Hadza are one of the few remaining hunter-gatherer tribes and do not practise birth control, a factor key to the legitimacy of the study. Recordings were made of the men and women speaking about their reproductive history.
Men with Lower Voices Produce More Children
The frequency of pitch was noted and analysis showed men with deeper voices fathered more children. The deepest voiced man had 10 children, nine of whom were still alive, whereas the highest pitched had only one surviving child from three fathered.
Apart from a deep voice signifying robust genes are there other social factors at work?
Coren Apicella, who conducted the interviews, said, “Maybe these men who have lower voice pitch are more attracted to women, they have higher testosterone levels and are able to have greater access to mate.”
Are Men with Deep Voices More Physically Attractive?
A study at Northumbria University in the UK found similar results. A member of the team, Sara Grant, said:
“I recorded a number of men speaking and also took photos of them. Men and women were asked to rate the voices on things like attractiveness, dominance, confidence and sexiness. They were also shown photos separately and asked to rate them.”
“Both women and men rated deep voiced men more highly,” she continued “and the men with deeper voices were also those with more attractive faces.”
Is a Deep Voiced Man a ‘Better’ Choice of Mate?
Professor Feinberg does not necessarily think so.
“No, not at all,” he said “men with higher levels of testosterone are putting themselves at risk physically and sexually. In many cases it’s more desirable to find someone who is going to stick around and help raise a family. These are admirable qualities in a partner.
People are looking for the best of both worlds.”
Related Article
References
BBC
The Guardian
