A narrow waist versus broad shoulders: Sex and age differences in the jealousy-evoking characteristics of a rival’s body build

This study examined the role of waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) and shoulder-to-hip ratio (SHR) of the rival in evoking jealousy in an adult sample of 70 men and 69 women. Women paid more attention to the rivals’ waist, hips, and hair, and men paid more attention to the rivals’ shoulders. Potential rivals with a low as opposed to a high waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) evoked more jealousy in women than in men, particularly among women with a low WHR. Among women, the low WHR-high SHR rival the V-type body build evoked the highest level of jealousy and was perceived as most attractive and the most socially and physically dominant. In contrast, among men the low WHR-low SHR rival, that is, a rival with a linear and slender body build, evoked the highest level of jealousy and was perceived as the most attractive and socially dominant, but not as the most physically dominant. As men were older, the SHR of the rival was a less important factor in evoking jealousy, whereas among women jealousy in response to the rival’s WHR was not affected by age.