Member-only story
Does playing music make you more attractive?
Musicians are often portrayed as cool and attractive individuals. Think of the guy that casually strums some chords at a house party and receives all female attention. Or picture the girl that turns out to have a secret singing talent which makes men’s hearts melt. If we are to believe these types of stereotypical stories, playing music seems to make an individual more attractive. But, is there actually any proof that supports this idea? Does playing music make you more attractive?
Popular Musicians
One way to find out if music-making increases your attractiveness, is by looking at popular musicians. Popular music has many references to attractiveness: musicians love to sing about love. Relationships, love and sexual desires have long been the most popular topics that are sung about in popular songs in the US. In 70% of top-40 song lyrics from 1960–2010, love and relationships are mentioned (Christenson et al., 2018)!
However, the link between pop music and attraction goes beyond just the lyrics. In line with the topics of their songs, popular musicians often present themselves in a way that is aimed at sparking attraction as well. The majority of music videos are packed with (half) nude models and dancers as a décor for the musician to shine in. And shine they do, in their well-thought-out, extravagant outfits — or…
