Guys, are you good dancers? Your superior moves may indicate greater body symmetry — a factor in mate selection.
“Dancing is believed to be important in the courtship of a variety of species, including humans,†writes researcher William M. Brown, PhD, an anthropologist with Rutgers University. His paper appears in the latest issue of the journal Nature.
Mating studies revealed that women seek out males with bodily symmetry, he explains. If the potential mate has a great degree of asymmetry, he or she is judged to be less than optimal. In numerous species, asymmetry is linked to greater rates of disease and early death, and lesser success in fertility — all important to their selection as mates.
A guy’s or girl’s symmetry (or lack of it) affects their attractiveness in other ways, too – like odor, voice, and facial appearance, Brown notes.
Brown explains that in species where fathers invest less time than do mothers in the offspring, females are expected to be more selective in mate choice — and males to invest more in courtship display. Thus, females would be the judge of a male’s symmetry (and mating potential) — as told in his dancing ability, Brown theorized.
