ORIGINAL PAPER Homosexual Mating Preferences from an Evolutionary Perspective: Sexual Selection Theory Revisited

Abstract Studies in evolutionary psychology and sexual selection theory show that heterosexual men prefer younger mating partners than heterosexual women in order to en-sure reproductive success. However, previous research has generally not examined differences in mating preferences as a function of sexual orientation or the type of relation-ship sought in naturalistic settings. Given that homosexual men seek partners for reasons other than procreation, they may exhibit different mating preferences than their het-erosexual counterparts. Moreover, mating preferences may show important differences depending on whether an individual is seeking a long-term versus a short-term rela-tionship. The purpose of the present study was to examine these issues by comparing partner preferences in terms of age and relationship type between homosexual and heterosexual men placing internet personal advertisements. Participants included 439 homosexual and 365 heterosexual men who placed internet ads in the U.S. or Canada. Ads were coded for the participant’s age, relationship type (longer-term or short-term sexual encounter) sought, and partner age preferences. Significantly more homosexual than heterosexual men sought sexual encounters, although men (regardless of sex-ual orientation) seeking sexual encounters preferred a sig-nificantly wider age range of partners than men seeking longer-term relationships. These findings suggest that part-ner preferences are independent of evolutionary drives to procreate, since both types of men preferred similar ages in their partners. In addition, they highlight the importance of examining relationship type in evolutionary studies of mat-ing preferences, as men’s partner preferences show impor-tant differences depending upon the type of relationship sought