# What Men Want (racially speaking) **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 2, 2000, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-men-want-racially-speaking/21201 "2000-06-02T12:54:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DougC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7feea3/32.png) [@DougC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DougC)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2000, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-men-want-racially-speaking/21201/1 "2000-06-02T12:54:02Z")
- - - Warning: insensitive stereotyping ahead. - We ain’t talking about what women want here, because it doesn’t matter: they aren’t getting it anyway if they don’t put out. - It seems to have been common knowledge for as long as I remember, that White guys tend to look at a woman’s chest first, and black guys temd to look at a woman’s rear. My own experience has shown this to be true - certainly not all the time, but quite a lot of the time for it to be pure chance. I also recall hearing somewhere that British men tend to prefer women with short hair, which one Brit said is “fairly true”. I never been there, but short hairstyles do seem to be more common on British women, so I assume it’s correct. - What othere stereotypes have you heard/seen, pertaining to racial/ethnic tendencies? Do Eskimo men look for women shaped like seals? Do Russian men look for women shaped like Vodka bottles? Do Greek men look for women who walk like Clint Eastwood? - MC ---
**Author:** ![Fiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e274bd/32.png) [@Fiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiver)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2000, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-men-want-racially-speaking/21201/2 "2000-06-02T13:02:26Z")
I suspect the best-known racial “fetish” (I use that term advisedly, because I can’t think of a less strong word for it) is that of white men for Asian women. I’ll confess to a mild leaning in that direction (my current girlfriend’s a Chinese-American), but of course what’s most important is what you find inside the skull. Figuratively speaking, of course. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2000, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-men-want-racially-speaking/21201/3 "2000-06-02T13:08:06Z")
Who cares what “race” a person is? ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2000, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-men-want-racially-speaking/21201/4 "2000-06-02T13:21:33Z")
There are certainly _cultural_ differences about what is considered sexually attractive (the Japanese, I am told, like women with long necks). These differences also change over time (the American fixation with large breasts is relatively recent. Look at the movie sex symbols of the 30s like Jean Harlow). There are also individual quirks that occur due to your early sexual experiences and fantasies (or later ones). I don’t know if you can read too much into it, though. It’s a matter of cultural fashion rather than anything inherent in the individual. ---
**Author:** ![writefetus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/9de053/32.png) [@writefetus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/writefetus)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2000, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-men-want-racially-speaking/21201/5 "2000-06-02T14:08:05Z")
…being a multiracial mutt, I often find my gaze coming to rest around the bottom of the rib cage or navel area…😛 ---
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2000, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-men-want-racially-speaking/21201/6 "2000-06-02T14:17:57Z")
Sir, if you allow me to put it frankly, I’m a caucasian assman. Which is not to say that all ass I admire needs to be caucasian 😉 I cannot subscribe to the “common” white male - asian female stereotype. I just don’t find Asian women attractive. Some are, but I’d have to say that I prefer white or black women over Asian. Of course, this is all using very broad generalisations. I like beautiful women, and tend to ignore race at first glance. But if you ask me to analyse it, Asian women don’t seem to appeal to me. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2000, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-men-want-racially-speaking/21201/7 "2000-06-02T14:20:54Z")
I remember hearing an odd theory years ago concerning why human females are the only mammals that have apparent breasts even while not lactating. The theory: in just about every other mammal species (we’re not talkin’ about dolphins and the like here), and particularly among the primates, the buttocks of the female are a major point of attraction for the male. Humans are the only species that mate face-to-face. Somewhere along the line, the human species began to selectively breed in favor of what was found most attractive, namely, buttocks in front. I know, sounds ludicrous, but makes ya think, don’t it? ---
**Author:** ![Kilgore\_Trout\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6de8d8/32.png) [@Kilgore\_Trout\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kilgore_Trout_1)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2000, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-men-want-racially-speaking/21201/8 "2000-06-02T14:28:03Z")
> [@](#): > > Who cares what “race” a person is? there’s always one of these when race comes up in a thread. tell me this, **Mr. L.A.** : is there really something wrong with having a racial preference when it comes to the opposite sex? why? how is it any different than having a thing for redheads, or men with nice blue eyes much like my own? of course you had nothing to say about the other preferences, as they wouldn’t allow you to be so righteous regarding the ever-so-sensitive topic of race. so the answer to your question: probably a lot of people. so? ---
**Author:** ![SuaSponte](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/67e7ee/32.png) [@SuaSponte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuaSponte)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2000, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-men-want-racially-speaking/21201/9 "2000-06-02T14:35:43Z")
To me, the most erotic feature on a woman is a naked left ring finger. Putting that aside, MC’s crudely stated OP raises an interesting question - is attraction to particular secondary sexual characteristics at least partially culturally based? I don’t think MC was asking about fetishes for particular races. Myself, I thought for a while that I had an Asian fetish, as the number of Asian women I had dated was relatively high. On further consideration, I realized that I was attracted to petite, small-breasted, slim-hipped women, and Asians fell into this category in a higher percentage than the the general population. It was the secondary characteristics I found attractive, not the race. So, where did my attraction to these characteristics come from? Is it genetic, some Freudian crap, or influenced by culture? V. ---
**Author:** ![Mullinator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c2a13f/32.png) [@Mullinator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mullinator)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2000, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-men-want-racially-speaking/21201/10 "2000-06-02T14:36:32Z")
I always look at the head first. Specifically, just how far off of the ground the top of that head is. After looking at height, I move on to other areas. ---
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2000, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-men-want-racially-speaking/21201/11 "2000-06-02T14:38:51Z")
Max, although it may sound ludicrous, that theory is widely accepted as truth these days. I think Desmond Morris came up with it. ---
**Author:** ![Necros](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/necros/32/11086_2.png) [@Necros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Necros)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2000, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-men-want-racially-speaking/21201/12 "2000-06-02T14:51:56Z")
**MaxTorque** said: > [@](#): > > Somewhere along the line, the human species began to selectively breed in favor of what was found most attractive, namely, buttocks in front. So, Max, we’re all ass men? Only some of us like them in front? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![writefetus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/9de053/32.png) [@writefetus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/writefetus)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2000, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-men-want-racially-speaking/21201/13 "2000-06-02T14:52:14Z")
Max and Coldfire…Morris, while often insightful, is wrong in this case, we are not unique Sex, it turned out, is the key to the social life of the bonobo. The first suggestion that the sexual behavior of bonobos is different had come from observations at European zoos. Wrapping their findings in Latin, primatologists Eduard Tratz and Heinz Heck reported in 1954 that the chimpanzees at Hellabrun mated more canum (like dogs) and bonobos more hominum (like people). In those days, face-to- face copulation was considered uniquely human, a cultural innovation that needed to be taught to preliterate people (hence the term “missionary position”). These early studies, written in German, were ignored by the international scientific establishment. The bonobo’s humanlike sexuality needed to be rediscovered in the 1970s before it became accepted as characteristic of the species. also see [http://www.math.auckland.ac.nz/~king/Preprints/book/socio/bonobo/bonobo.htm](http://www.math.auckland.ac.nz/~king/Preprints/book/socio/bonobo/bonobo.htm) for some HOT PHOTOS…😛 ---
**Author:** ![manhattan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manhattan/32/7_2.png) [@manhattan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manhattan)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2000, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-men-want-racially-speaking/21201/14 "2000-06-02T14:56:07Z")
**SuaSponte** asks: > [@](#): > > \*\* > is attraction to particular secondary sexual characteristics at least partially culturally based? > \*\* I’m going to leave this thread here (at least for the time being), with the proviso that the quote above represents the OP. **MC** , in the future, you may wish to think more carefully about how you word a question before posting it, with an eye toward generating responses that answer your question. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2000, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-men-want-racially-speaking/21201/15 "2000-06-02T15:30:55Z")
I’d really need a cite or two from a current and accepted anthropological (or related) authority to believe the assertion that the breast=buttocks aspect of human female physiognomy is “accepted as truth these days”. Desmond Morris come up with a lot of wild assed (though interesting) hypotheses many of which, (including this one I believe) were relegated to the dustbin of anthropological theory. > [@](#): > > \*\* > Max, although it may sound ludicrous, that theory is widely accepted as truth these days. I think Desmond Morris came up with it. > \*\* ---
**Author:** ![Yarster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/7c8e57/32.png) [@Yarster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yarster)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2000, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-men-want-racially-speaking/21201/16 "2000-06-02T15:49:57Z")
You know, I find I am attracted to a somewhat heavier/ somewhat older woman in general. In fact, my wife fits this category. I guess I never thought about this from a cultural standpoint, but all my Jewish friends seem to have wifes/ significant others that are similar. And YES, these women were already a tad overweight BEFORE we married them (let’s get THAT theory out of the way right now :)) I never hyperanalyzed why this type of woman was attractive to me, but my theory is: 1. Slightly heavier and older women are ignored by most super attractive guys (your Brad Pitt/ Tom Cruise types) 2. These women consequently tend to ‘see less action’ than your Jennifer Aniston types 3. Therefore, when these same women get a guy, they are generally more loyal and loving than the Jennifer Aniston type 4. Their loyalty and dedication to a relationship is a turn-on which attracts the male species (i.e. me) which in turn causes the male to ‘select’ for this female-type for future long-term relationships and actually ignore the traditionally more attractive Jennifer Aniston female. ---
**Author:** ![Padeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@Padeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Padeye)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2000, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-men-want-racially-speaking/21201/17 "2000-06-02T15:50:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*\*…of what was found most attractive, namely, buttocks in front. > > I know, sounds ludicrous, but makes ya think, don’t it? > \*\* So when I ogle cleavage I am, in an anthropological sense, lusting for reverse upper torso female plumber butt? ---
**Author:** ![AWB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bb73d2/32.png) [@AWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AWB)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2000, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-men-want-racially-speaking/21201/18 "2000-06-02T16:08:03Z")
It depends. If I’m walking behind her, I assess her butt; from the front, her face and breasts. :D:D From a “racial” standpoint, I have mixed preferences: [ul] [li]Asian: jet black, straight, silky hair.[/li][li]African: dark eyes, well-shaped derriere[/li][li]European: lighter skin; not lily-white nor over tanned[/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![DougC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7feea3/32.png) [@DougC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DougC)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2000, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-men-want-racially-speaking/21201/19 "2000-06-02T21:34:47Z")
[quote] Who cares what “race” a person is? - Johhny LA [quote] - - - In any physical relationship, _everybody_ cares what race a person is. > [@](#): > > MC, in the future, you may wish to think more carefully about how you word a question before posting it, with an eye toward generating responses that answer your question. - manhattan, moderator - - - The three examples I offered were ridiculous enough that I didn’t think anyone would take them seriously. If you asked a friend who lived in Germany “is attraction to particular secondary sexual characteristics at least partially culturally based?” they’d wonder what you were talking about, but if you asked “what do German guys notice first?” they’d probably have an answer. - MC ---
**Author:** ![manhattan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manhattan/32/7_2.png) [@manhattan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manhattan)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2000, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-men-want-racially-speaking/21201/20 "2000-06-02T22:03:22Z")
> [@](#): > > \*\* > > - > - > - The three examples I offered were ridiculous enough that I didn’t think anyone would take them seriously. If you asked a friend who lived in Germany “is attraction to particular secondary sexual characteristics at least partially culturally based?” they’d wonder what you were talking about, but if you asked “what do German guys notice first?” they’d probably have an answer. - MC > \*\* That was my point, which I apparently made poorly. I apologize for that; let me try again. If your question was “What do German guys notice first,” than the topic is best suited to our forum **In My Humble Opinion** , because the responses you get will be along the lines of “Well, I’m German, and all my friends and I seem to be attracted to…” On the other hand, if your question was about cultural bias in attraction to secondary sex characteristics, it’s GQ because someone may actually have done a study on it to which one of our members may have access, thus answering your question. Let me know either way. I can either move it to IMHO, or if you prefer I’ll change the title for you (I’ll also probably also neuter it, so we’ll only have one topic on the subject in the forum. Thanks. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-men-want-racially-speaking/21201.md?page=2)