26th Jan 2017: Myths of Attraction by Mairi Macleod

Come along to Cabaret Voltaire (36-38 Blair St, Edinburgh, EH1 1QR) at 6.30pm doors open for 7pm to listen to Mairi explain the myths of attraction. Enjoy socialising around learning and find people you like…

Sexy Science

Table of Contents

Title of talk:

Myths of Attraction
 

Bullet points of what you would like to talk about:

I’m going to talk about the stereotypes we have about what’s attractive in men and women, I’m going to explain the biology behind why these are sometimes valid, but also why they’re often not. The stereotypes will include:

  • Men are most attracted to women with big boobs and tiny waists.
  • Women go for macho, dominant men.
  • Men want casual sex but women want commitment
  • Men are attracted to skinny women
  • Domesticated men aren’t sexy
  • Men prefer dumb women
  • Women are most attracted to wealthy, high-status men
  • First impressions are all important.

 

A few paragraphs on your subject:

Is it true that men are into casual sex but women want commitment? Do men actually prefer thin women? Do women want macho, high-status men? Are dumb girls more attractive? And are the first impressions we give out really vitally important?
In this presentation Mairi Macleod will answer these questions about romantic attraction and much more.
We’re used to hearing that evolution has honed our romantic preferences in ways that increased the number of children of our ancestors and that this has led to predictable and universal gender differences in our desires and sexual inclinations. But do you buy this?
Increasingly, people working in the field do not, and there is a growing consensus among evolutionary scientists that our behaviour has evolved to be flexible, that we look for the best mate possible with the range of features that work well in our particular social and physical environment, and fit with our own set of attributes and attitudes.
We have plenty of stereotypes about what men and women want and don’t want in a romantic partner, but they’re not always true. Come and hear about how the reality is highly dependent on the particular situations we find ourselves in, and perhaps learn something about the reasons for your own desires.
 

A few paragraphs about you:

Mairi Macleod started out her career as a biologist and for her PhD studied the mating and reproductive strategies of wild samango monkeys in South Africa. On returning to the UK she began some reproduction of her own and changed tack work-wise by becoming a freelance science journalist. She has written extensively on the science of sex and attraction, relationships and reproduction for New Scientist Magazine, the Guardian, the Observer, the Sunday Times, the Independent, the Scotsman and many more. She also writes a blog at http://sexyscience.co/ . She is involved in research at the University of Dundee, she lectures at the University of Edinburgh and also runs workshops on the science of attraction and relationships in Edinburgh, Glasgow and London.
 

What free internet knowledge resources would you recommend to others if they wish to explore your chosen theme further?

 

What are your weblinks?

Website – http://sexyscience.co/
Blog – http://sexyscience.co/
Twitter – @SexyScience1
Facebook – sexyscience1
Public Email – [email protected]
Any others….

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