Dancing and Sexual Attraction – What Women Look Out For

I was never particularly good at dancing as a young man. I was shy, clumsy and uncoordinated. Then the rave scene came along, and not being able to dance was a bonus, so my confidence improved. Now when I take to the dance floor, the young guns wince. I look more like their father than a contender.

Even as a teenager, there was something about dancing that I just didn’t get. The activity always struck me as being intrinsically absurd. Research published in the journal Personality and Individual Differences and reported in the New Scientist, however, suggests there may be a point to dancing after all.

In the study 40 males were asked to dance to the Robbie Williams song Let Me Entertain You. Each of the men was also rated for physical strength using a grip test. 25 women were then asked to rate the men on their attractiveness. A further 25 women were asked to rate the men on their assertiveness. The researchers found that there was a strong correlation between the strength of the man, and their perceived attractiveness and assertiveness.

From an evolutionary perspective perhaps the role of dancing was obvious all along, I just never realised it. It’s an opportunity for men to demonstrate to women their fitness as a sexual partner. If so the advice is look strong and assertive when you do dance … even if it is to a Robbie Williams number!