New research finds women’s buttocks play a more stable role in male physical attraction than breasts

A new research study published in Evolutionary Psychology indicates that men tend to prioritize a woman's buttocks over her breasts when it comes to physical attraction. The research suggests that while both features are generally valued, a distinct subgroup of men places a stronger emphasis on buttocks as a central and stable indicator of attractiveness.

The study, conducted by Mehmet Mehmetoglu, a professor at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, analyzed survey responses from 395 Norwegian men. The participants, predominantly young adults and unmarried at the time, were asked to rate the importance of a partner's buttocks and breasts on a scale of one to five. The results revealed four distinct subgroups of men, with the largest group comprising 53% of the sample, the "Highly Body-Oriented" men who rated both breasts and buttocks as highly important.

The second-largest group, constituting 20% of the sample, consisted of "Moderately Body-Oriented" men who showed a balanced but less intense interest in both features. A smaller third group, making up 18% of participants, was classified as "Buttocks-Oriented," showing a strong preference for buttocks with an average rating of 4.5, while giving breasts a much lower average rating of 2.5. The remaining 9% of the sample, the "Body-Unoriented" group, placed minimal importance on either feature.

The study found that high ratings for breasts always co-occurred with high ratings for buttocks, suggesting that for most men, breasts serve as a complementary feature rather than a primary preference on their own. Moreover, the researchers found that certain broader attitudes predicted which group a man was likely to fall into.

Men who placed a higher value on sexiness were 501% more likely to be in the "Highly Body-Oriented" group compared to those in the "Body-Unoriented" group. Additionally, greater materialism increased the likelihood of belonging to the "Buttocks-Oriented" group by 86%.

The findings challenge the notion that breasts and buttocks are equally important indicators of female physical attractiveness to men. Instead, the research suggests that buttocks play a more central and stable role in male physical attraction, possibly due to their evolutionary significance in signaling youth, fertility, and health.