Men who picture shirtless on dating apps are unattractive and slutty, according to a new study.
Interested in hooking up on dating apps, fellas?
Put on a shirt.
Men who load their Tinder accounts with shirtless
photos are seen as less competent and more promiscuous, according to University
of Colorado researchers.
Fake profiles of a young, white adult guy named
"Noah" were provided to the study's 567 participants. His images and
descriptions were divided into three categories: relationship motivation,
muscularity, and sexualized look.
Some versions of Noah, for example, were buff,
while others were not. Some people expressed a desire for casual sex, while
others expressed a desire for something more serious.
Of course, some were shirtless, while others were
dressed in a white T-shirts.
The three factors — relationship motivation,
muscularity, and sexualized look — all had an impact on people's perceptions of
Noah, albeit the results differed across men and women.
Women rated the shirtless impersonator as having
more dangerous sexual conduct, as well as less social appeal and ability.
Men agreed to some extent but did not believe the
naked imposter lacked skill.
Noah was rated as higher in risky sexual conduct
and lower in competence by all participants when he indicated he was looking
for casual sex.
Everyone thought Noah's muscular version was the
most appealing, but men thought it was most likely to engage in dangerous
sexual behavior.
The current findings suggest that a man's
sexualized self-presentation on a dating profile, even on a hook-up app,
elicits lower opinions of his competence and higher perceptions of dangerous
sexual activity, according to the researchers.
They recommended to single men that a sexualized
self-presentation on a Tinder profile may not be the ideal self-presentational
choice for males looking to make a positive impression on women.
Do you need to update your profile right now? On
its website, Tinder offers some advice:
Upload images on Tinder that highlight the subject
of everyone's attention: you! Remove the sunglasses because they disguise your
face, and ditch your buddies because this isn't about them.
In-focus photos are the best, and others claim a
grin goes a long way.