I looked online for pictures of gay couples and noticed something I find interesting. This is more commonly found in male- male pairings than in female-female though it appears in both. In most pairings both partners shered familiar physical traits. For example, both looked famine, both were buffed, both were skinny both were chubby. Also their facial structures were similar (round headed with round headed) as well as length of hair and style. This might be just a random coincidence that i stumbled upon so many couples like that in row but there might be more to it. What do you think? Have you noticed this before? What is the reason this happens? Discus
I have noticed this over and over and over. I was really starting to think I was just imagining it all. Good to know I'm not crazy. I don't really have any ideas why it happens, though. And of course it's not every couple, but it does seem to show up a lot.
I think there's some truth there. To speak in vague generalities, couples tend to have a good deal of common ground. They might both like working out, for instance. Or might both be somewhat geeky. I've found that true of straight couples, too, though. Lex
I haven't read any actual research on this, but my human sexuality professor claimed that humans are much more prone to "homogenous attraction/coupling" than pop psychology tends to suggest (for instance, the phrase "opposites attract"). I've always thought the "opposites attract" saying was b.s., but I don't know how much validity there is to what my professor said either. Interesting that you guys have noticed it though!
If you did a search for "gay couples," then it makes sense. "gay" almost always implies two men rather than two women. I'm gonna agree with Lexington as far as similar appearances resulting from similar interests. You might not see it in heterosexual couples because of the differences in male and famale biology. I'm just guessing, though. But two men with similar interests would probably be more alike than a man and a woman with similar interests. Plus I would think (based on nothing, really) that two women would be more likely to share interests than a woman and a man, limiting the occurance rate of same-interest heterosexual couples.
Huh, wow - it really wasn't just me. I've seen this way too many times to deny it. However, really only on internet and media... the real gay couples I've seen around aren't quite so similar in looks at least. Personally, I would be annoyed if I was with someone like me >.< First of all, there better not be anyone like me because I am me, no one else gets to be me! Also, that person would bug me too much xD
Well... homosexual. Maybe some people are attracted to same-ness, and thus are attracted to people like themselves. Or maybe some people are vain and therefor are attracted to people that look like them. Maybe people are attracted to those who they feel will understand them best, and people who are feminine, chubby, buff, etc, often go through similar life experiences. Being teased, for example.
yeah this is a real thing i can't remember the details on why but its something along the lines of you see yourself more often than pretty much anyone else in the world so your idea of what is attractive becomes similar to how you look.
Lex - I agree with you that couples are likely to be based on shared interests - I certainly share almost all of my interests with my partner. The original pst, though, implied "physïcal" similarlities. I suppose you might tend to choose a partner who has a similar sense of style or fashion, but is there any research available to show whether facial similarities, body types etc tend to influence your choice of partner? The physical differences between hetero couples are obviously influenced by gender differences, so I can't say I've ever noticed that a woman tends to choose a man that "looks" like her or vice versa. They do say, though, that people tend to look like their dogs (or vice versa!) and here is a picture of the cutest dogs on the planet. I had one for a number of years until she developed tumours on the skin and had to be put to sleep :tears: Megan was such a cute puppy, just like this. Is this theory true? Or is it an urban myth. Compare puppy to me? Similar?:roflmao:
Really nice to see that many people took notice of this before. I really thought that I was the only one and that im seeing things where there arn't any. Also, great theories all.
That's confirmation bias I'm afraid - everyone believes it because they can remember a handful of cases where people really did resemble their pets, however conveniently forget the far greater number of examples where they don't look alike at all. This may or may not also apply to this topic too, to some degree.
It wasn't intended seriously, but I do think I look a bit like the puppy on the right!! I used to take part in a lot of agricultural shows. In a previous existence I used to be a goat breeder (I had my own pedigree name) and used to show them. There were very often dog-shows at these events and there was sometimes an eerie likeness between do and owner, but I agree with you that it's more of an urban myth than a reality.
I don't have my notes on me right now, but I know my professor said the same thing over the summer during our human sexuality class. When I go back to school tonight, I'll look over my notes and see if we looked at any studies on it; I'm pretty sure we did, but I can't remember the studies off the top of my head. "Opposites attract" also plays into "fatal attraction theory", if anyone cares to look that up. EDIT: I remember a little more now: we looked at love and sex from a social psych approach, using the "reward theory", as in being in relationships should be rewarding to us in order to last. So, being in a relationship with someone similar to us is rewarding because of common interests and the like, whereas someone different to us is more likely to cause disagreement and stress - not rewarding.