Data from: Cross-cultural variation in men’s preference for sexual dimorphism in women’s faces

Both attractiveness judgements and mate preferences vary considerably
cross-culturally. We investigated whether men's preference for
femininity in women's faces varies between 28 countries with diverse
health conditions by analysing responses of 1972 heterosexual
participants. Although men in all countries preferred feminized over
masculinized female faces, we found substantial differences between
countries in the magnitude of men's preferences. Using an average
femininity preference for each country, we found men's facial
femininity preferences correlated positively with the health of the
nation, which explained 50.4% of the variation among countries. The
weakest preferences for femininity were found in Nepal and strongest in
Japan. As high femininity in women is associated with lower success in
competition for resources and lower dominance, it is possible that in
harsher environments, men prefer cues to resource holding potential over
high fecundity.