Makes Me Proud To Be A College Professor - And A UT Grad - And A Male

Stories like this make me proud on so many levels. The research was conducted under the auspices of a college professor (that's 1) at the University of Texas (number 2). It examines what men (#3 - I hit the trifecta!) find attractive in women. (H/T JammieWearingFools for the link.)

When it comes to finding a mate, men may not be looking for charm and intelligence, but rather a woman who looks dumb - or drunk - enough for a one-night-stand, according to a new study.

In an article in the journal Evolution and Human Behavior, University of Texas at Austin graduate student Cari Goetz and her team focused on the so-called sexual exploitability hypothesis - the idea that men are genetically programmed to look for 'easy' sex.

Men, the researchers think, are 'born' to have little concern for the consequences of casual trysts, given that their bodies produce somewhere around 85 million sperm cells every day -- per testicle.

That's right, ladies. We can't help it. We're genetically programmed to behave that way. It's not our fault!

Seriously, though, this is the type of research that non-academics often see as an example of wasting resources just to confirm what everyone already knows - in this case, that horny guys prefer women that are easy to get into bed.

While that may be somewhat true for this particular study, there is value in confirming -- or disproving -- what everyone 'knows.'

For example, everyone 'knew that the sun revolved around the earth until Copernicus demonstrated that that was not necessarily the case.

Similarly, everyone 'knew' that the Earth was flat until Columbus and Magellan proved otherwise.

I'm not suggesting that these UT researchers are in the same league with Copernicus et al. But they are kindred spirits of a sort, in that they are challenging long-help but never confirmed beliefs in a scientific manner.

By engaging in what seems like simplistic research, these young graduate students are honing the skills that they will need to study more meaningful topics.

So smile indulgently at the notion of studying frat boys to see if they're attracted to drunk chicks, but keep in mind that first we must take baby steps before we can walk.

(FWIW, I was able to type that last paragraph with a relatively straight face...)

And Hook 'em Horns!