Move over Austin Powers. We’ve got the info on how all guys can ‘Move Like Jagger' and bring their 'Sexy Back'. Recent research out of England claims certain dance moves can actually make men more attractive to women.
Before we get into the actual results, we want to know your predictions on what moves are hot to the ladies. We asked guys who love GalTime (Yeah, we have guy fans. Come on, it’s so addictive to get inside a woman’s brain!) to summons their inner dance floor intuition to predict these moves of attraction. All the men we polled could only think of stunts that would be sure to send the ladies running. Dave Alexander says, “Pretty sure trying to do the Macarena or Lambada would probably be a huge turn off.” Jim McGrath predicts “The Bump” would bump him to the end of the dance floor.
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Then we asked GalTime gals what guys should waltz away from. Andrea Grover admits, “Fast 80’s ‘how low can you go’ dancing = turn off.” Aspasia Zouras has some sage advice. “The Sprinkler is BAD- really bad!” And, Anita Johnson says men may have the moves but, “If he makes those awkward faces while he dances, it makes it hard to look at him even off the dance floor.”
Okay, now to the results. Researchers turned a science lab into a temporary club-like scene and filmed 19 “regular guys” who weren’t experienced dancers. All the dancing dudes were between 18 and 35 years of age and moved to a standard disco beat.
Then scientists used the footage to create a dancing avatar of each of the guys ...an animated figure that was faceless and genderless.
Thirty-seven young heterosexual women were then shown 15-second clips of the avatars and judged which dance movements were most attractive.
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Researchers assumed women would pay attention to arm and leg movements, but that wasn't the case. Lead Researcher Nick Neave, PhD, told the BBC, "We found that (women paid more attention to) the core body region: the torso, the neck, the head. It was not just the speed of the movements, it was also the variability of the movement. So someone who is twisting, bending, moving, nodding." Central body motions send out primal signals of health, vigor and strength. (Grrrr, me Tarzan. You Jane. Is this really what it comes back to?)
"Bad" dancers were stiff, slow and tedious and even if they tried throwing their arms around, it was just no substitute for sexy, fast, variable movements of the central body.
Want to check out the actual video results? Note: The genderless avatars kind of look like the new TSA pictures at airport security check points showing what screeners can “really see” in those new full body scans.
Here are the moves women thought were hot.
Here are the moves women thought were not-so-hot.
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Of course let’s be realistic. A guy’s smile, how he engages the crowd and interacts with 'ze ladies is also key. GalTime reader Charlene Love sums it up well. “I don’t care about moves as long as a man has rhythm and is willing to get out there. You know if a man can dance it’s a bit of an indication of his moves in bed." PJ Schott confesses, "Nothing is sexier than a man who can salsa.”
Men, if you’re cringing by this point, there IS hope ! Take GalTime fan Skye Schulte’s advice. “If a guy is looking to meet women, we always joked the best place was a ballroom/Latin dancing class since there are NEVER enough men!” Skye also points out something very important: No matter what moves you’ve got, stick to the basics if all else fails. Smile. Laugh. Have fun! Check this guy out. He’s not that great, but he’s having a blast and has gotten 40 million hits on YouTube to prove it !
What do you think? Let us know, leave your comments below !
The research was conducted at Northumbria University in England and published in Royal Society Journal Biology Letters.More from GalTime:
- Is He Committed or Just Playing Around?
- 4 (Nice) Ways to Dump a Bad Date
- Top 5 Myths Women (Still) Believe About Men
- Tips on How to Romance Your Guy
