No compelling evidence that preferences for facial masculinity track changes in women’s hormonal status

Although widely cited as strong evidence that sexual selection has shaped human facial attractiveness judgments, evidence that preferences for masculine characteristics in mens faces are related to womens hormonal status is equivocal and controversial. Consequently, we conducted the largest ever longitudinal study of the hormonal correlates of womens preferences for facial masculinity (N=584). Analyses showed no compelling evidence that preferences for facial masculinity were related to changes in womens salivary steroid hormone levels. Furthermore, both within-subject and between-subject comparisons showed no evidence that oral contraceptive use decreased masculinity preferences. However, women generally preferred masculinized over feminized versions of mens faces, particularly when assessing mens attractiveness for short-term, rather than long-term, relationships. Our results do not support the hypothesized link between womens preferences for facial masculinity and their hormonal status.