The Evolution Of Hairy Men: Why More Hair Attracts The Opposite Sex, Indicates Greater Health
Everyone has hair, but why do men tend to have so much more of it? The guys of AsapSCIENCE recently looked to evolution for the answer.
“All humans have the same number of hair follicles as our primate ancestors, except our hair now is much more thin and unable to be seen by the human eye,” the YouTube hosts explained on their second channel AsapTHOUGHT. “Throughout evolution it became an advantage to have thinner hair, and it’s thought to be this way because our ancestors were traveling far distances to find food and, in the heat, thick hair was a disadvantage.”
While men and women, too, have the same number of hair follicles, men have more of what’s called terminal hair: visible, thick hair that's usually associated with the hair on a person's head or pubic hair. Men have this hair "on their chest, back, and other places." Women can also have hair in these places, but they have more vellus hair, which is hair that’s even thinner and harder to notice. Apparently, these differences have to do with sexual selection.
Male peacocks, for example, flash their tail feathers to display their fitness in order to attract potential mates. One theory even suggests hairy men are better able to detect parasites on their body, so females perceive more hair as a marker for greater, parasite-free health. It makes sense then biology professor Pavol Prokop has said hairless men are preferred more in areas closer to the equator, where there's an increased number of parasites.So it may be men became hairier so it would be easier to attract potential partners.
Watch the video in full below.