gender: Gender Differences Revealed in Newspaper Personals

Gender Differences Revealed in Newspaper Personals

CHICAGO (Reuters) - In the quest for love, men are much more likely than women to place personal ads, a researcher said on Friday.

A study of 18 months of personals in a New York newspaper revealed that 271 ads were from men and 191 from women, Hamilton University anthropologist Douglas Raybeck said in a paper presented at the American Anthropological Association's annual meeting.

The study noted that while women often described themselves using terms such as ``homebody,'' ``country girl,'' ''sensitive,'' and ``easy-going,'' men tended to employ words such as ``successful,'' athletic,'' ``honest,'' ``caring,'' and ``humorous.''

Perhaps not coincidentally, personals from women frequently sought men who were honest, humorous, sensitive, and to a lesser degree, secure and independent. Men generally wanted women who were outgoing and athletic.

Raybeck said sought-after traits followed gender-specific patterns, with men seeking beauty and youth and women looking for financial security and responsibility. But both sexes seemed sensitive to the likely preferences and interests of the other.

Women often described themselves as ``curvaceous,'' ''slim,'' or occasionally ``full-figured,'' and men seldom expressed an explicit desire for someone with sex appeal.

Men were also more likely to be revealing about their weight, with 21 percent offering specifics against 9 percent of the women.