Women tend to date guys that look like their fathers and guys go for girls that resemble their mothers, according to Hungarian biologists.
Scientists measured facial proportions of couples and their parents and discovered that people gravitate toward people with faces that resemble those of their 'rents.
An article in New Scientist explains that this is consistent with evolutionary concepts - people want to pick mates different from themselves to be genetically diverse, but they also want to find people like their own family members.
Guys, be honest: do your girlfriends ever remind you of your mom? Girls, fess up: are you ever surprised by similarities between your dad and your BF?
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Comments (108)
My dad & my boyfriend are completely different. There's at least 4" height difference, hair colour isn't even close, and they're built differently. Dad's always been lanky and kinda nerdy lookin'...boyfriend is more muscly and built.
I think the only thing they have in common is that they're both petrol heads.
I look nothing like his mom and we really don't have much in common. As for him and my dad, there are a few things that my boyfriend does that makes me think of my dad -- but they look nothing alike.
In a lot of cases, I don't think this is true. A lot of people have had BAD parents, and who the hell wants to date/marry someone that reminds them of those people?
There's also a study out saying we pick mates based on how similar their scents are to our parents.. I remember reading it somewhere I just can't remember where.
I guess to some extent, my boyfriend is similar to my dad. They're both very caring, strong, supportive, & romantic-types.. You'll have a convo & find that they remember it years later. But my boyfriend's taller & more athletic! & I love that about him~ =X
ha what about interracial dating?
but the test does say 'facial proportions'
eww
I've never been more glad that my mom's white and my girlfriend is Hispanic.
haha
My most recent ex did kind of reminded me of my dad - not looks-wise at all but personality-wise. But he's the only guy I've dated that did. I guess Freud had something with his whole Oedipal complex thing.
Facial proportions don't necessarily mean they look EXACTLY alike. It is more of a mathematical look at the face and it's structure. Yes, it may not be true for everyone because people are so different from each other.Â
I did see some study a while back that mentioned how some couples tend to choose a mate who has similar facial proportions as they themselves have. There have been several couples that I know of who look close enough that they look like they could be brother and sister.
Either way, studies like these are pretty fascinating. Thanks for the interesting read!
are you ever surprised by similarities between your dad and your BF?
yes;; i am!!
my boyy acts just like my dad. its siick.
he looks a tad like him too.
grr. its so annoying
may not be a rule of thumb, but it's definitely a factor in attraction.
I was constantly mistaken for my ex's sister (even though neither he nor I could see the similarity), and was regularly compared to his mother's personality.
hearing that freaked him out, but I only thought it appropriately telling - if you appreciate something about a family member, you're more likely to hold that trait as a priority for a mate because it's something you not only like, but also feel comfortable with.
when I meet a friend's SO or hear them comment on an attractive stranger, I can't help but look at their family to see what similar traits might be there to help that attraction. there's almost always a connection.
Not at all.. i mean really not at ALL
My boyfriend is 6'3" 250lbs, very round oval face with big lips and big round eyes. My dad is 5'7" 140 lbs, square face with small asian eyes and small lips like mine... noses are different, ears are different, body shape/figure completely different.. LOL
BUT i will say - personality? Definitely similar... does that have anything to do with it?
They're not the same in looks so much, but personality-wise, my fiance is scarily like both my dad and my brother. And when my fiance stands with his hands on his hips, he does it in the same way my brother does. It's not as creepy as it sounds. I'm actually pretty grateful. My dad and brother are both good men, so to have found a man outside my family who is like them--and thus just as good--is pretty amazing.
-Katie
i've read that before, and it makes me happy because my dad was really attractive when he was a young man. hahah
I guess I've never really thought about that. My boyfriend doesn't look a whole lot like my dad, but I guess he looks more like my dad than a lot of other guys out there.
Freud said the same thing. my girlfriend is such a clean freak just like my mother. i hate myself...j/k
Apart from eye and hair colour, no.
nope not at all. :)
My SO looks nothing like my father and their personalities aren't similar either!
My boyfriend looks NOTHING like my dad. Nothing. At. All.Â
And I look nothing AT ALL like my boyfriend's mum.Â
We're talking, entirely different in every sense.Â
But I've seen relationships like that. I even knew a guy who dated girls that all looked suspiciously like his sister... that's a bit much, but yes. I can understand the logic behind it!
funny. .the more i get to know my bf the more similarities i find both personality-wise and physically between him and my dad/brothers. I wasnt conscious of those things at all when we started dating. That sounds creepy, but it's actually kind of cool. I'm right at home with him x) Plus I'm always a little pleasantly surprised when I find out various traits that are so NOT like my dad/brothers.
ah, forgot to mention------I'm absolutely NOT like his mom.
@jonchin_19@xanga - Yah... My boyfriend is of Korean descent and my dad is 100% Western European bastard. That has a HUGE affect on facial proportions... although I'd like to know which measurements were taken to determine "proportions..."
Every once in a while I ask my husband if I'm turning into his mother. Because if I am, take me out back and shoot me now! But my husband is nothing like like dad!
A little bit lol. They act totally different though. <3
My bf and my dad are both dark-skinned and they both have chinky eyes and big noses (well so do I).. and my dad's bald and my bf's hair is pretty thin (so you can see his scalp) lol.
Fortunately, my lover doesn't have a receding hairline though. :)
I never thought my dad and boyfriend looked alike...and then my dad started giving him clothes. Which made me want to die a little. The good thing is their personalities couldn't be more different.
As for me and boyfriend's mom, the only thing we have in common is that we're both bottle blonds.
I tend to go for highly intelligent introverts, which pretty much describes my dad. But I also tend to go for men who are more artistic than my dad. My dad is very logical, which is cool, but it annoys the shit out of me at times, and I think I'd want my boyfriend to be a bit more in touch with his feelings.
Most of my love interests don't really look like my dad, though. He's kind of a bigger guy and has been my whole life, and I go for men who are lanky but well toned.