Scientists Study Who Actually Likes Lip Filler

As cosmetic procedures surge in popularity, lip fillers have never been more ubiquitous — but men, apparently, are not impressed.

In a new study out of the University of Sydney, psychological researchers looked gender differences in whether thinner or plumper lips are considered more attractive. Intriguingly, men tended to prefer images of women with thinner or unaltered lips — but women preferred plumper lips in other women and thinner lips in men.

Using what the school calls "digitally manipulated proxy image[s] for a human face," the researchers spoke to 32 students recruited from their psychology classes — 16 men and 16 women — about lip size and perceived attractiveness.

The students were, as the paper published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B explains, shown 168 of these digitally altered images in quick succession on a loop. With less than two seconds to decide what was hot and what was not, these strange, disembodied faces (as per the figures from the paper) were apparently meant to stand in for the real thing.

To be clear, there was a lot of weirdness evident from the jump. Along with the small sample size and bizarre manipulated photos — which were apparently all supposed to be white — the researchers didn't disclose the participants' races or their sexual orientation.

Though these results are certainly intriguing, it's not entirely surprising that the men in the 32-student group didn't tend to go for big lips on either type of gendered face. Though people are generally more accepting of cosmetic surgery and other non-surgical procedures than they were in the past, men still exhibit glaring double standards, most rooted in misogyny, when asked about the way they want women to look versus the amount of effort and money that goes into those aesthetics.

Still, the gendered differences in these results are intriguing.

Indeed, in the school's press release, psychology researcher and lead paper author David Alais said that the study "highlights the subjective nature of beauty and the powerful influence of social and cultural factors."

"As cosmetic procedures become more accessible," Alais added, "it's crucial to understand how these interventions can shape our perceptions and potentially lead to unrealistic beauty standards."

As always, beauty is in the eye of the beholder — though in this case, the lips have a lot to say as well.

More on attractiveness: Straight People Are Comically Wrong About What the Opposite Sex Finds Attractive

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