Are Feminists Swiping Left on Traditional Mate Preferences? Science Says Yes
Friday, February 21, 2025.
For decades, evolutionary psychologists have insisted that men and women have hardwired mate preferences, as if our great-great-great-grandparents chiseled their dating profiles into cave walls.
Men, we’re told, chase beauty like magpies after shiny things, while women gravitate toward financial stability like shrewd investment bankers evaluating a long-term portfolio.
But recent research suggests this age-old story might need a revision—especially when feminist beliefs enter the equation.
A new study published in Sex Roles by Wareham, Pákozdy, and Brown (2025) challenges the idea that gender equality messaging can sway mate selection.
Instead, it finds that deep-seated feminist beliefs—not momentary reminders of gender progress—are the real game-changers in how people evaluate potential partners.
Gender Equality: A Priming Experiment That Fizzled Out
The researchers recruited UK-based participants to test whether exposure to messages about gender equality would alter their self-reported partner preferences.
Participants were assigned to one of two groups: one read about persistent gender inequalities (cue outrage and a sudden urge to tweet about the wage gap), while the other read about progress in gender equality (cue mild optimism and perhaps a congratulatory pat on the societal back). Then, they ranked their ideal partner traits.
The results? No major shifts.
Whether people were primed with progress or patriarchy, their partner preferences remained remarkably stable.
Men still leaned toward physical attractiveness, while women still prioritized financial stability and emotional depth.
The gender priming experiment, like a well-intended inspirational quote on LinkedIn, simply did not land.
Feminist Beliefs: The Real Tinder Algorithm
But here’s where things got interesting: feminist attitudes did predict partner preferences.
In both studies, men with stronger feminist beliefs placed less emphasis on physical attractiveness (suggesting they might actually read a dating profile before swiping right).
In Study 2, women who identified more strongly with feminist ideology placed greater importance on kindness, presumably preferring partners who can navigate conflict with empathy rather than passive-aggressive sighing.
Meanwhile, sexist attitudes had little to no relationship with mate preferences, an unexpected twist. This suggests that misogynistic views might not always translate into rigid dating choices—or perhaps they simply remain hidden under layers of "just looking for a traditional woman" rhetoric.
The Evolutionary Psychologists vs. The Cultural Context Crew
These findings add fuel to the ongoing debate about whether mate preferences are shaped by biology or culture.
Evolutionary Psychology has long argued that men’s fixation on beauty and women’s concern for resources are universal, unshakable tendencies (Buss & Schmitt, 1993).
But research has repeatedly shown that cultural factors matter—a lot. For example, Zentner and Mitura (2012) found that gender differences in mate selection shrink in more egalitarian societies.
Similarly, Eagly and Wood (1999) proposed that as social roles evolve, so do mate preferences, which is why a modern woman might prioritize a partner’s ability to do the laundry correctly over his ability to slay a woolly mammoth.
What This Means for Dating in 2025
If you were hoping that a quick TED Talk on gender equality could change someone’s dating preferences overnight, this study suggests otherwise.
Beliefs—especially those deeply ingrained, like feminism—shape the way people evaluate potential partners far more than fleeting exposure to social justice messaging.
So what’s the takeaway?
If you’re tired of the same old dating patterns, changing your belief system might be a better bet than reading another self-help book about “manifesting” your dream partner.
And if you’re someone who still thinks women inherently crave providers while men are evolutionarily wired to prioritize beauty, well—science is kindly asking you to reconsider.
Be Well, Stay Kind, and Godspeed.
REFERENCES:
Buss, D. M., & Schmitt, D. P. (1993). Sexual strategies theory: An evolutionary perspective on human mating. Psychological Review, 100(2), 204–232. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.100.2.204
Eagly, A. H., & Wood, W. (1999). The origins of sex differences in human behavior: Evolved dispositions versus social roles. American Psychologist, 54(6), 408–423. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.54.6.408
Wareham, N., Pákozdy, C., & Brown, G. R. (2025). Feminist beliefs, not gender equality primes, shape self-reported partner preferences. Sex Roles. https://doi.org/xxxxxxx
Zentner, M., & Mitura, K. (2012). Stepping out of the caveman’s shadow: Nations’ gender gap predicts degree of sex differentiation in mate preferences. Psychological Science, 23(10), 1176–1185. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797612441004