男人长胡子的真正原因：代表吸引力和支配地位
爱语导读:从进化的角度讲，胡须的意义到底是什么？儿童、女性、还有相当多的男人没有胡须，也照样过的很好。
You might think all the facial hair you’re seeing on the street is a way of attracting a mate. It might not be so simple.
你可能会认为，满大街看到的男人们的胡须都是用来吸引女性的。事实上可能不是这么简单。
What is the point of a beard, evolutionarily speaking? Children, women, and a whole bunch of men manage just fine without one. But take a walk down some streets these days and you’ll be confronted with all sizes and shapes of groomed (and less groomed) facial hair – from designer stubble to waxed moustaches and hipster beards.
从进化的角度讲，胡须的意义到底是什么？儿童、女性、还有相当多的男人没有胡须，也照样过的很好。但现在这年头，如果你去街上逛逛，你会看到各种各样的修整过的（或者不修边幅）的胡须——从精心修理的胡茬，到上了蜡的小胡子，再到各种时髦的花样，可谓应有尽有。
When we see men paying attention to their appearance, it’s easy to assume that they’re just angling for partners. But our research on beards and voices shows that beards probably evolved at least partly to help men boost their standing among other men.
当我们看到男人非常注重自己的外表时，很容易推断出，他们这样做只是想吸引伴侣。但通过我们对胡须和声音的研究表明，胡须极有可能是来帮助男人提升他们在同类中的地位，至少在一定程度上如此。
Compared to males and females of many other primates, men and women on average look very different from each other – partly thanks to men’s facial hair. And when we see differences between males and females, the explanation often boils down to evolution through sexual selection – the process that favours traits that boost mating opportunities.
平均而言，与许多其他灵长类物种的雄性和雌性相比，男性和女性在外貌上有着很大区别，而这至少有一部分与男人浓密的面部毛发有关。并且，在我们研究男女之间存在的这种差异时，很多人往往将其归咎于进化过程中的性选择，即人们会更加偏爱能够增加交配几率的个人特征。
But interestingly, women don’t seem that interested in beards. While some studies have found that women like a bit or even a lot of facial hair on men, other studies have reported that they prefer the clean-shaven look. The lack of consistent evidence means we can’t conclude that beards evolved because women were attracted to them.
但有趣的是，女性似乎对胡须似乎并不是那么的感兴趣。虽然有一些研究发现，女人喜欢男性留一点、甚至是一大把胡子，但其他的一些研究却认为，女性更偏爱胡子刮的干干净净的男士。由于这些结果缺乏一致性，意味着我们不能得出这样的结论：胡子是因为女人喜欢才进化出来的。
Researchers have therefore suggested that a second type of sexual selection may hold the answer. To reproduce, it’s often not enough to simply be attractive. You also have to compete with the same sex for mating opportunities. The funny, shy guy at the back of the bar isn’t going to stand a chance when competing with his bolshier brothers otherwise. And there’s evidence that beards evolved to help men do just that.
因此，研究人员提出了另一种性选择倾向，或许能解释这一现象。想要繁殖后代，仅仅具有吸引力是不够的，在求偶时，你还得与同性竞争。与其他激进的兄弟们比起来，那些躲在后面的、古怪的、害羞的家伙们是没有机会的。而且这一点也是有证据支撑的，认为胡须的进化是有帮助的。
In times with a greater proportion of single men competing for fewer women, beards and moustaches became more fashionable
在男性比例远高于女性比例时，求偶时有胡须的男性就显得更为时尚。
A man’s ability to grow a fulsome beard isn’t actually neatly linked to his testosterone levels. Despite this, a number of studies have suggested that both men and women perceive men with beards as older, stronger and more aggressive than others. And dominant men can get more mating opportunities by intimidating rivals to stand aside.
一位男性能否长出茂密的胡子，其实和他体内睾酮水平的高低并没有绝对的关系。尽管如此，许多研究表明，男人和女人都一致将胡子视作成熟、强壮、和具有攻击性的象征。那么占这种支配优势的人就能胁迫竞争对手靠边站，从而为自己赢得更多的交配机会。
This is something that holds true both in modern times and throughout human history. Dominance can provide a staggering short-cut to mating opportunities: genetic evidence indicates that about 8% of the male population of Asia today is a descendent of Genghis Khan and his family.
无论是在现代社会，还是在整个人类历史上，这一点都是始终成立的。较高的支配地位为男性赢得交配机会提供了非常惊人的捷径：基因证据显示，今天约有8%的亚洲男性是成吉思汗及其家族的后代。
A study by the appropriately-named Nigel Barber linked British facial hair fashions between 1842 and 1971 to the ratio of men to women in the marriage market. It found that in times with a greater proportion of single men competing for fewer women, beards and moustaches became more fashionable.
在奈吉尔.巴伯尔进行的一项研究中，他将英国在1842年至1971年间的胡子修剪时尚潮流与婚姻市场上的男女比例联系了起来。结果显示，每当男性对女性的竞争比较激烈时，胡子就会变得流行起来。
Beards aren’t the only feature that can convey dominance – voices do too. People tend to vote for leaders with lower-pitched voices, and during competitive tasks men lower the pitch of their voice if they think they are more dominant than their opponent. Like facial hair, voice pitch also easily distinguishes men and women.
胡须并不是能彰显支配地位的唯一特征——声音也具有同样的作用。人们倾向于将票投给那些声音较为低沉的领袖。而在竞争激烈的任务中，如果某人认为自己比竞争对手更占上风，也会压低自己的声音。如同胡须一样，能过音高也能很容易的判断出一个人的性别。
To help trace the evolutionary origin of beards and voices, we tested whether they were seen as attractive, dominant or both. We asked 20 men and 20 women to rate the dominance and attractiveness of six men who were video-taped on four occasions as they let their facial hair grow. We then used computer software to create four versions of each video where the men’s voices had been changed to sound higher and lower-pitched.
为了寻找胡子和嗓音在进化上的起 源，研究人员开展了一系列测试，看看人们是否认为它们代表着吸引力和支配地位。研究人员让6名男性分别在四种不同的胡子状态下拍摄了四段视频，然后让20 名男性和20名女性对他们的吸引力和支配能力进行评估。他们还用电脑软件做了四份不同版本的视频，改变了片中男人声音的高低。
We found that male voices that sounded deeper than average were rated as the most attractive. Really deep or high pitches weren’t as popular. In contrast, men’s voices were perceived as increasingly dominant the lower they were. Beards didn’t affect a man’s attractiveness rating consistently, but those who let their facial hair grow were perceived as more dominant than others – in line with previous research.
结果发现，音调低于平均值的男性被认为是最有吸引力的，过高或过低的音高都不受欢迎。不过，男人的声音越低，在受试者心目中的支配能力就越强。胡子对男人的吸引力没有确切的影响，但留有胡子的男性被认为比其他人更具有支配能力，这与此前的研究是一致的。
The tension between attracting a mate and competing with others doesn’t just apply to beards and voices. Men on average also think their body should be more muscular than women report that they want, while women on average believe they need to be thinner and wear more make-up than men report that they want. We’re not always that great at judging what the other sex finds appealing, but maybe that’s in part because our instincts are to out-compete our peers as well as attract a partner.
吸 引异性和与同性竞争之间存在的矛盾在胡子和嗓音方面并不适用。平均而言，男性总希望自己比女性心中的理想形象多一些肌肉，而女性则认为自己应该比男性喜欢 的更瘦一些、妆更浓一些。我们似乎不太擅于判断异性究竟认为什么样的特征具有吸引力，或许一部分原因是因为，我们的本能做法便是打败同性、吸引异性。
Of course, most of this research has been carried out within western populations. Make-up use, average body composition, and even the very ability to grow facial hair all differ enormously across the world – meaning we could get different results elsewhere.
当然，这些研究大多数都是在西方国家进行的。化妆品的使用、身体平均组成、甚至长胡子的能力都可能因为世界不同的地区而存在非常大的差异，意味着如果我们是在别处开展这些实验的话，也许又会得出不同的结果。
But the point is that, whether it’s facial hair or something else, we often see this pattern of competing requirements leading to differences in appearances. Think you can please everyone all of the time? You can’t.
但关键是，不管是胡子还是其它东西，我们总喜欢将一个人的竞争能力与外貌联系在一起。你以为你能一直取悦所有人吗？那是不可能的。
【对于学习，从现在开始，你还没有晚。别说自己没基础，慢慢来；你不懂？问我吧！——订阅微信公众号：爱语吧BBC（iyubabbc】
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& 原来如此，这才是男人长胡子的真正原因
原来如此，这才是男人长胡子的真正原因
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据国外媒体报道，从进化的角度来看，胡子究竟有什么意义呢？儿童、女性、还有很多男人都没有胡子，也照样过得很好。但现在这年头，如果你去街上逛逛，你会见到各种各样的胡子，从精心修理的胡茬，到上了蜡的小胡子，再到各种时髦的花样，可谓应有尽有。
如果我们看到男人对自己的外表如此在意，那就很容易推断出，他们这样做只是想寻找一位伴侣。但相关研究和采访都显示，胡子至少能起到一部分帮助男人在同类中提升地位的作用。
▲胡子并不一定能帮你吸引到交配对象。
平均而言，与其它物种的雄性和雌性相比，男人和女人在外貌上有着很大的区别，而这至少有一部分与男人浓密的面部毛发有关。在研究男女之间存在的这种差异时，很多人往往将其归咎于进化过程中的性选择，即人们会更加偏爱能够增加交配几率的个人特征。
但有趣的是，女人对胡子似乎并没有那么感兴趣。虽然一些研究发现，女人喜欢男人留一点、甚至留一大把胡子，但其它研究则报道称，女人更喜欢胡子刮得干干净净的男人。由于这些结果缺乏一致性，我们便无法得到这样的结论：胡子是因为女人喜欢才进化出来的。
因此，研究人员提出了另一种性选择倾向，或许能解释这一现象。要想繁殖后代，光是具有吸引力往往是不够的，你还得和同性竞争，才能争取更多的交配机会。而这一点是有证据支持的。
一位男性能否长出茂密的胡子，其实和他体内睾酮水平的高低并没有绝对的关系。此外有大量研究表明，男人和女人都将胡子视作成熟、强壮、和具有攻击性的象征。高大魁梧的男性往往可以把对手吓跑，从而为自己赢取更多的交配机会。
无论是在现代社会，还是在整个人类历史上，这一点都是始终成立的。较高的支配地位能够为男性简单粗暴地赢得交配机会：基因证据显示，今天约有8%的亚洲男性是成吉思汗及其家族的后代。
好特网发布此文仅为传递信息，不代表好特网认同期限观点或证实其描述。