Want to go out on a pull tonight? Don a fake wound, for a new study has revealed that women find blokes with facial scars attractive for a one-night fling.
Researchers at the University of Liverpool have found that women view men with scars as being not only adventurous, but also macho and brave -- but only if she is looking for a short-term relationship.
Interestingly, the study has found that once a woman becomes a mother, she is most likely to dump the "bad boy" for a more caring, sharing sort, the 'Daily Mail' reported.
The researchers have based their findings on an analysis of an experiment which they carried out on a group of people to find out how scars influences the sexes in picking partners for both long-term and short-term relationships.
However, in case of women, the researchers found that men find women with or without scars attractive -- the results of which are published in the latest edition of 'Personality and Individual Differences' journal.
Lead researcher Dr Rob Burriss said: "Male and female participants were shown images of faces that displayed scarring from injury or illness, and were asked to rate how attractive they found the person for long-term and short-term relationships.
{{/usCountry}}Lead researcher Dr Rob Burriss said: "Male and female participants were shown images of faces that displayed scarring from injury or illness, and were asked to rate how attractive they found the person for long-term and short-term relationships.
{{/usCountry}}"Women may have rated scarring as an attractive quality for short-term relationships because they found it be a symbol of masculinity, a feature that is linked to high testosterone levels and an indicator of good genetic qualities that can be passed on to offspring.
"Men without scars, however, could be seen as more caring and therefore suitable for long-term relationships. The results demonstrate that we may have more in common with non-Western cultures than previously thought.
"The assumption that scarring is a sign of bravery is also consistent with the historical tradition of academic fencing in Western culture, whereby scarring on a man was often evidence of his courage and ability to withstand an opponent's blow."