留胡子的男人更有吸引力？

In the past few years, a number of predictions have declared the end of the beard. “Sorry guys, beards are over,” said the website Mashable. “Beards Aren’t Cool Anymore,” said Vice.

過去幾年間，出現(xiàn)過很多宣布絡腮胡行將就木的預言。“很遺憾伙計們，絡腮胡沒戲唱了，”Mashable網站昭告天下。“絡腮胡再也不酷了，”《Vice》說。

But beards are still here — at the Oscars, parading down catwalks and on regular guys. Could it be that beards are more than a fashion statement?

但絡腮胡仍然隨處可見——在奧斯卡頒獎典禮上亮相，在秀場上巡游，在普通人臉上招搖。有沒有這種可能：絡腮胡不僅僅是一種時尚宣言?

 

Science suggests that facial hair — from scruffy day-old stubble to full Grizzly Adams — is imbued with social messages, and can play a significant role in a man’s love life.

最近的科學研究表明，面部毛發(fā)——從剛長出一天的不甚整齊的胡茬，到灰熊亞當斯(Grizzly Adams)式的大胡子——都飽含社會訊息，會在一個男人的愛情生活中發(fā)揮重要作用。

Last year, researchers from the University of Queensland in Australia decided to explore male facial hair to determine what role, if any, beards play in sexual attractiveness, masculinity and short- and long-term relationships.

去年，澳大利亞昆士蘭大學(University of Queensland)的研究人員決意探究男性的面部毛發(fā)，以確定絡腮胡對性吸引力、男子氣概以及短期和長期關系是否有影響，或者有哪些影響。

The team gathered data from 8,520 women, who were divided among three groups. Each group of women was shown pictures of men with varying degrees of facial hair. The images, which had been manipulated by the research team to show the same men more or less bearded, showed the men with clean shaven faces, light stubble (five days of growth) heavy stubble (10 days of growth) and a thick beard representing about one month of growth.

研究團隊從共分為三組的總計8520名女性那里搜集了數(shù)據(jù)。他們向每組女性出示了面部毛發(fā)生長程度各異的男性圖片。這些圖片受到研究團隊的操控，以顯示同一群男性留有不同程度絡腮胡時的面貌，其中有把臉刮得干干靜靜的樣子，也有留著淺淺的胡茬(生長5天)、厚厚的胡茬(生長10天)以及相當于生長了大約一個月的濃密大胡子的樣子。

Next, each group of women was asked to mull a different question about the man’s sex appeal.

研究團隊向每一組女性都拋出了與男性性吸引力有關的不同問題。

The first group rated the men’s beardless-to-bearded faces for overall sexual attractiveness.

面對從沒有胡須到留有絡腮胡的男性面孔，第一組女性就總體性吸引力給出了評分。

The second group also rated the photos, but this time they were asked to score the pictures based on short-term attractiveness: Which of the men seemed most desirable for a fling or a one-night stand?

第二組女性也給這些圖片打了分，但按照要求，這一次她們的打分是基于短期吸引力：哪些男人看上去最適于一段短暫的風流韻事或一夜情?

The third group rated the men in the photos as long-term prospects: Which of the men had a face that suggested he might be a good candidate for marriage and commitment?

第三組女性給這些男性打分則是基于長期前景：如果要結婚或建立長久穩(wěn)定的戀愛關系，哪些男人的面孔表明他們或許是上上之選。

The answers, which were published in the Journal of Evolutionary Biology, varied depending on what the woman was looking for. Overall, the women said the sexiest men were those sporting heavy stubble, followed by short stubble. Men with full beards and clean-shaven men were rated the lowest on the overall sexiness scale.

發(fā)表在《演化生物學雜志》(Journal of Evolutionary Biology)上的答案，因女性所追尋的目標的差異而各不不同。總體而言，女性認為，最性感的是那些蓄有厚厚胡茬的男性。蓄著大胡子以及把臉刮得干干靜靜的男性總體性感程度的分值最低。

What kind of man is most attractive to a woman looking for a short-term fling or one-night stand? Men with light stubble won that contest, closely followed by men with heavier stubble, suggesting that the scruffy look appeals to women looking for fun, but not commitment.

如果一個女人尋求的是一段短期的風流韻事或一夜情，會最受哪種男人吸引?在競爭中獲勝的是留著淺淺一層胡茬的男人，緊隨其后的是蓄有更厚重的胡茬的男人，意味著有點邋遢的外表會吸引到找樂子的女人，而非尋求長久穩(wěn)定戀愛關系的人。

But when it came to choosing a long-term partner, a guy with whom a woman could have babies or settle in for the duration, the more facial hair the better. Men with heavy stubble and full beards were the clear winners on this question, suggesting that men who are ready to commit might do better if they shave less often.

但如果女人是在選擇長期伴侶，要和一個男人生兒育女或長期安頓下來，男人面部毛發(fā)越多就越受歡迎。在這一題上，蓄有厚厚胡茬和大胡子的男人是毋庸置疑的贏家，說明男人如果準備進入長久穩(wěn)定的關系，或許最好別那么頻繁地刮胡子。

The authors of the study theorize that for women who are looking for a long-term mate, beardedness may be more attractive as it “indicates a male’s ability to compete for resources.”

這篇論文的作者們推斷，對尋找長期配偶的女人來說，男人留胡子或許更具吸引力，因為這“代表著一個男人爭奪資源的能力”。

Barnaby Dixson, a human behavioral ecologist at the University of Queensland and a co-author of the beard length study, has been researching mate preferences for a decade. He explains that both sexes judge men with beards as older and more masculine, and describe them as generous, sincere, industrious and self-confident.

昆士蘭大學人類行為生態(tài)學專家巴納比·迪克森(Barnaby Dixson)是這篇關于胡子長度的論文的共同作者，致力于配偶偏好研究已有十年之久。他解釋說，男人和女人都會判定蓄絡腮胡的男人年紀更大，也更有男子氣概，并以慷慨、真誠、勤勉和自信來描繪他們。

But Dr. Dixson, who sports a full beard, says research has also found that facial hair is associated with some antisocial traits, such as aggression and social dominance. While these traits might not be pleasant if you’re looking for a fun fling, they might be alluring if you want an alpha male to support your family and fend off predators.

但蓄著大胡子的迪克森說，研究還發(fā)現(xiàn)，胡子和一些妨礙社交的特點有關，比如攻擊性和社會主導地位。盡管如果你要找的是一時的放縱，這些特點也許不討喜，但假如你想要的是一個男性精英來養(yǎng)家和抵御外敵，它們也許頗具吸引力。

It’s not just women who prefer bearded alpha males — men also prefer men with facial hair.

不僅僅是女性更喜歡留胡須的阿爾法男，男性也更喜歡有胡子的男性。

Dr. Dixson and colleagues asked 1,577 men and women from Brazil and the Czech Republic about facial hair. Compared to heterosexual women, gay men had stronger preferences for men with more facial hair.

迪克森和同事向1577名來自巴西和捷克的男女提出了有關胡子的問題。和異性戀女性相比，同性戀男性對胡子更多的男性的喜愛之情更加強烈。

“Homosexual men preferred hairier stimuli than heterosexual women, supporting past findings that homosexual men have strong preferences for masculine traits,” the authors reported.

“同性戀男性比異性戀女性更容易受毛發(fā)的刺激，這支持了過去的發(fā)現(xiàn)，即同性戀男性對男性特征有強烈偏好，”作者在文章里寫道。

Brazilians preferred bigger beards than Czechs. Homosexual men preferred men with beards similar to their own. Czech women preferred men with beards that were similar to the beards their fathers had during their childhood.

巴西人喜歡的胡子比捷克人喜歡的更大。同性戀男性更喜歡胡子和自己的類似的男性。捷克女性更喜歡胡子和童年時期她們父親的胡子類似的男性。

The study, published in March in the journal Evolution and Human Behavior, also found that men often preferred thicker facial hair than their real partners actually had. The authors noted that the fact that people don’t end up with their “ideal” — at least in terms of his beard — may be because their ideal is not readily available, so they “compromise.”

3月發(fā)表在《進化和人類行為》(Evolution and Human Behavior)期刊上的這項研究還發(fā)現(xiàn)，男性更喜歡的胡子，通常比他們現(xiàn)實生活中伴侶實際蓄的胡子更濃密。文章作者指出，人們最終不會得到“理想”的結果——至少就胡子而言——這個事實，也許是因為他們的理想不容易實現(xiàn)，因此他們“妥協(xié)了”。

Not every man can grow a beard naturally. More men with hairless faces have begun seeking hair transplants, according to the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery. In 2014, the latest year for which data are available, 13,956 men around the world had hair transplants to enhance their beards, up from 4,707 in 2012. More than 3,100 of the men were in the United States. Beard transplants are most popular in Asian countries, where nearly 4,200 men had the treatment in 2014.

并不是所有男性都能自然地蓄胡須。據(jù)國際毛發(fā)修復外科協(xié)會(International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery)稱，因為臉上沒有胡子而開始尋求胡須移植的男性增加。2012年，全球4707名男性接受了胡須移植手術，以增加胡子，而到了2014年，這個數(shù)字上升至13956人。這是距今最近的數(shù)據(jù)。這些男性中超過3100人是美國人。胡須移植手術在亞洲國家頗受歡迎。2014年，亞洲有近4200名男性接受了移植手術。

Whether men choose to grow beards may also depend on the context in which they live. A 2016 study found that beards are more common in crowded cities where average incomes are lower. In this environment, where money is scarce and there is more competition for mates, men may feel they need to ramp up their masculinity. On the flip side, “when competition in the social environment is reduced and the need to signal dominance is of less importance, men may dial down their masculinity through shaving or grooming their beards,” Dr. Dixson wrote in an email. Which may be why beards seem to be less common in the less populated suburbs.

男性是否選擇留胡子也許還取決于他們所處的環(huán)境。2016年的一項研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，在平均收入較低的擁擠城市，胡子更常見。在這種環(huán)境下，資金缺乏，對伴侶的競爭更加激烈，男性可能覺得需要提升自己的男子氣概。另一方面，“當社會環(huán)境中的競爭減少，需要發(fā)出自己占主導地位的信號的重要性降低時，男性也許會通過刮胡子或修剪胡子來減少陽剛之氣，”迪克森在一封電子郵件中寫道。這也許就是為什么在人口不那么密集的郊區(qū)，胡子似乎不那么常見的原因。

Another factor that influences whether men decide to grow some stubble is the frequency of beardedness around them. “When beardedness becomes too common, it is less attractive than when it is rare,” Dr. Dixson wrote. “This may explain why fashions and trends in beardedness fluctuate over time.”

影響男性是否決定留一些胡子的另一個因素，是周圍出現(xiàn)留胡子的現(xiàn)象的頻率。“當留胡子變得太常見，就沒有留胡子的現(xiàn)象罕見時那么有吸引力了，”迪克森寫道。“這也許解釋了為什么留胡子的時尚和潮流會隨著時間而波動變化。”

Christopher Oldstone-Moore, author of the 2015 book “Of Beards and Men: The Revealing History of Facial Hair,” maintains that history more than biology establishes meanings for facial hair. “I wonder if the positive effects of beards are a matter of the current cultural preference for beards, and perhaps the idea that bearded men are more mature, confident and reliable is because that is what we are tending to associate with beards these days,” Dr. Oldstone-Moore, a senior lecturer at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, wrote in an email. “Whenever masculinity is redefined facial hairstyles change to suit.”

2015年的著作《關于胡子和男人：揭露真相的胡子歷史》的作者克里斯托弗·奧德斯通-莫爾(Christopher Oldstone-Moore)堅持認為，歷史比生物學更多地證明了胡子的意義。“我想知道胡子的積極作用是不是當前的胡子文化偏好問題，而認為有胡子的男人更加成熟、自信和可靠的觀點，或許是因為這是我們現(xiàn)在傾向于和胡子聯(lián)系在一起的特征，”在俄亥俄州代頓的萊特州立大學(Wright State University)擔任高級講師的奧德斯通-莫爾在電子郵件中寫道。“無論什么時候，只要男子氣概的定義變了，胡須的樣式就會相應地跟著有所改變。”