Playing with dogs (actually getting down in the dirt and wrestling with them like they love) and making faces at babies.
Whenever they’re industrious at something they like. Music, woodworking, art, cooking, programming, anything. A busy, competent man is sexier than that same man being idle. ETA: I’m always climbing all over my husband when he’s busy. It confuses him.
I agree with other comments about being annoyed about someone getting a detail about their hobby/job wrong. A-dorable. My husband’s a programmer and he’s constantly yelling “That’s not how it works!” at movies. I’ve gotten more than a few lessons in computer science because of crappy movies.
I love men who hold eye contact - it’s sex transmitted!
There’s a little indentation on the inside of your hip bone … elegant earlobes … small eyes … reasonably thick forearms … the ability to buy batteries and fix little things without fanfare.
My husband does a, well, not excellent, but hysterical Macy Gray imitation. He actually does look a little like Kermit when he’s singing “I try to say good-bye, and I choke…”
My SO is NOT a dancer. The boy just has no rhythm.
Which is why it cracks me up when he spontaneously “busts a move.” It’s invariably terrible, and he’s aware of it, which is half the reason he’s doing it.
I like a guy who doesn’t mind looking stupid.
The way he sings totally off-key, with gusto, is also endearing. I mean he’s not even in the same neighborhood as the song. And I’ll just look at him when he’s doing it. And he tries to look offended. “What? I’m just singing along…”
Yeah, guys who are affectionate with animals make me melt.
Except spiders. Being terrified of spiders myself, you would think that I’d find guys who were not scared of them more attractive - but apparently it’s the opposite of that. I found it super-extra adorable when I guy I was hanging out with turned out to be just as freaked as I was when a Huntsman appeared out of nowhere. He called his sister and she came to get rid of it for us, laughing heartily. That willingness to refer the problem to his sister even though it’s a typical Guy-Thing to be the Arachnid Response Unit was also pretty hot.
Also, as others have posted, being willing to act silly and/or outside of macho stereotypes is seriously endearing. Dancing in the kitchen, doing silly voices/impressions. It’s all totally cute.
My partner picks up my little cocker spaniel and sits him on his knee and plays with him like he’s a ventriloquist’s dummy sometimes when he thinks I’m not around. It’s adorable. He’s also not embarrassed to hold his leash in public even though he looks like a Disney character. He’s got that rugged outdoor look to him and it’s a hilarious combo with a foofy little dog.
I love a man with a huge, I mean huge, vocabulary. Bustin’ out the ten-dollar words and the exotic forms of profanity, and then slipping in a little more common tongue. It’s all good. If I lived in days of yore I’d have totally lost my virtue to the first silver-tongued bard that wandered my way.
Someone who can commit acts of chivalry in a way that seems totally natural and also like “sure, I know you can pull your own chair out, but I’m gonna anyway” pushes all my dyed-in-the-wool raised to be a women’s libber buttons. It’s sort of naughty but nice. Yes, of course I can take perfectly adequate care of myself, but whee, I’m going to let this guy help me put my jacket on. It’s pretty silly… but there it is.
I’m weird, but I find self-control to be an insanely attractive trait in a man. Self-control, patience, mental focus… hell, I developed a crush on a friend of mine just by noticing how he never uses profanity and routinely beats me in Scrabble only because he’s so patient. (He’s also great with children, and has a really cute sense of humor. Too bad he’s studying to be a priest now. sigh)
Self-control, though…whew. Conversely, if you lose your temper around me over something trivial, that’s a dealbreaker right there.
Doing nice things without expecting anything back. This morning on the Tube I saw a young man offer his seat to an older man with a cane who had just entered the carriage. The young man clearly wasn’t with anybody he was trying to impress, and presumably knew that the strict British social mores prevented him from picking anybody up on the train (;))-- he was just being kind to a stranger on his way to work. And by “kind to a stranger” I mean “suddenly really attractive to me”. (Alas, he buried his head in The Economist and my attempts at solicitous eye contact were thwarted.)
I love good hands. My husband has the most wonderful hands - long-fingered and strong.
And I agree with Audrey Levins - guys who don’t mind looking silly are a real turn on. My husband is constantly changing the words to songs, then sings them at the top of his lungs just to make me laugh.
I notice [approvingly] when men take a few sartorial risks. Retro leather or denim jackets, unusual glasses, silly ties, unusual or antique cufflinks, one-of-a-kind keychain fobs… these are expressive, visually interesting things, and can serve as conversational icebreakers. I’m pretty shy normally, but even I can still manage to say something like “nice jacket… haven’t seen anything quite like that before”.
Of course, it can be a fine line between “eccentric fashion sense” and “gay,” but no one said life is fair.
Upper body strength is a big thing for me. I guess as the baby sister of 6 giant brothers, I grew up with certain expectations… like that a man should be able to throw me over his shoulder. Yes, I DO like it that you’re so much stronger than I am.
Nerdy glasses on a handsome man.
Musical ability. meow
Artistic ability? I may very well chew on you. Especially if I catch you absentmindedly sketching something beautiful.
Oh yeah, I will also never kill a man who washes the dishes.
I had a crush on my boyfriend for a while before we started dating, but I remember the particular date that sent me home giddy with happiness and barely able to sleep.
Two major things stand out then. One, he’s a total gun nut and seeing how excited he got talking about his guns was adorable. Two, when we said goodbye he said to me, “ok, I need to kiss you before you go” and then put his hands on my face and pulled me close. I still get all happy just thinking about it.
