Just about everyone is drawn to physical indicators of health (clear skin, good teeth, etc.). And I haven’t met anyone who wasn’t drawn to confidence, intelligence, and a sense of humor. But what I’m interested in is characteristics that are important to you in a partner that might surprise other people.
A personal example (I am a woman attracted to men): A man’s hair is very important to me. He can be balding, that’s fine, but I cannot abide long or unruly hair anywhere on the body. The men I’ve dated have had their hair either completely shaven, or buzz-cut short: the kind of haircut that needs to be maintained every couple of weeks. Any facial hair must also be shaven off, or regularly trimmed with stray cheek and neck hairs shaved off. The men I’ve dated have trimmed or plucked nose hairs, shaved chest and pubic hairs, gotten eyebrows waxed. It’s a personal preference of mine that seems like it’s not a big deal to a lot of other women.
Anybody else have a personal preference they’d like to share?
I’m a man attracted to women, and I am drawn to those who are self-confident, capable of surviving on their own, and not reliant on men to navigate the world.
My ex wife was 6 years younger than me. But the last girlfriend who broke up with me was 17 years younger, and my current girlfriend is 22 years younger than me. I never planned that, but it’s not bad!
As for the thing I find weirdly attractive: the nape of a woman’s neck. Yes, please do put your hair in a bun; exposing the back of your neck will turn me into a puddle of mush.
I find it very strange that I sometimes fantasize about hot sweaty sex with the guy at work who is a bit of a sloppy dresser; kinda overweight who never presents clean shaven but is tall, funny, kind and married. lol.
A well-defined upper arm. Biceps and triceps that are big enough to show that they get some exercise (or do manual labor), but not so ginormously huge that it looks like they’re obsessed about “arm day at the gym”. I’m cis het male, but I notice upper arms on everybody.
Sort of opposite of the OP. I’m a man attracted to women and I love the natural hair down there. The forbidden fleece. Very sexy. Of course it’s not something you can see until the relationship has gotten intimate.
I’m a man attracted to women. Not sure if this really counts as odd or quirky, but I’ve always had a thing for women with dark, very curly hair and extremely pale skin. I’m talking Casper. There’s just something about that contrast that hits all my buttons and there’s nothing like grabbing those curls in the heat of the moment or just quietly, affectionately playing with them while simply hanging out.
I’m a man attracted to women. I like a bit of plumpness, thin and bony makes me skeeve and hugging said figure of that type would feel to me like embracing a pillowcase full of coat hangers.
I’ll take cute and charming over conventionally (viz, they would appear in porn or on the fashion runway) hot and sexy any day of the week. I find quirky, weird-looking women like Jane Wickline or Chloe Fineman S-E-X-Y. And apparently I also have a thing for women who perform on Satuday Night Live.
Also - smell. Some women put off a smell that I find intoxicating. I can’t describe it, but if you had my olfactory senses, you’d notice it.
(I’m a woman.) I like men with long hair, preferably dark and curly, but the oddly specific thing is liking bottle blondes while not being keen on natural ones. Being slightly androgenous can often be attractive, too.
Other than that I like skinny, nerdy guys. Having some muscles is positive, but beefy guys and body builder types are definitely not my thing. And I’m nerdy myself so I want someone with similar interests. That’s not the average woman’s preference, but doesn’t really qualify as oddly specific.
A gap between the upper two front teeth is almost always endearing. In moderation of course. Not my preferred gender, but Madonna used to have pretty weird teeth with a large gap, and when she became a star and got them fixed, she preserved some of that gap even though obviously she could have whatever teeth she wanted. A very wise move, IMO. I have no idea but wouldn’t be surprised if Elton John’s story were similar.
If a guy is otherwise cute and attractive, I’ve always appreciated those without big muscles. Reason: it implies supreme confidence. He knows he looks fine just the way he is; he doesn’t need to work out to make himself look better for others, like all those strivers at the gym. Now that’s authentic masculinity.
I am often attracted to thicker rather than thin lips, and wide mouths that are mobile and expressive. The right combination of these ingredients can make my heart skip a beat on first sight.
I can’t think of anything else that’s quirky or odd.
For some reason I find stuttering or other social awkwardness attractive.
I like short men, preferably nerdy, no facial hair.
I find ears sexy. And hands, omg. I once watched a video of a guy playing the piano and all it showed were his hands, and there was a little girbil on the piano and the man would stop every so often and scritch the girbil…that did it for me. Possibly also why I enjoy watching guys solve Rubik’s cubes. Dexterity, men!