What People Really Want in a Romantic Partner — 2021 Edition
Since last year, over 1,000 new voters have weighed in and changed our rankings. Here’s how our romantic priorities have changed over the last year.
It’s been a year since we first published our findings on the traits people seek in male and female romantic partners, though it feels like it’s been much longer. In February 2020, day-to-day life was still relatively normal, as it would be a month before the COVID-19 pandemic triggered nationwide quarantine efforts that remain in effect nearly everywhere to this day. Naturally, that’s had a major effect on dating — dinner and drinks at a restaurant are out of the question, and single people have to carefully vet prospective partners before committing to a potentially (bio)hazardous Netflix & chill session.
So we were less than surprised to discover that people’s romantic priorities have shifted since Valentine’s Day last year. The same lists of important traits in male partners and female partners have been voted on by a combined total of 1,000 new voters, giving us a sense of how the COVID-19 pandemic has changed dating life. Here’s what we found.
Photo: Ranker
What Changed:
Those attracted to women became a little less superficial: “Attractive” was the #4 most important trait in women last year - this year, it didn’t even break the Top 10. One-night stands and temporary flings have become a lot less practical during the pandemic, which could be pushing many people to prioritize personal connection over physical attractiveness. Obviously, people of all different gender identities and sexual orientations are attracted to women, so this can’t be attributed solely to changing attitudes among the male population.
Honesty and loyalty are less important in men: The #1 most desired trait in men last year was “honest,” but this year, it’s #4. Similarly, “loyal” dropped from #3 to #5 in 2021. That doesn’t mean those things have stopped being important, but it’s possible pandemic conditions have lessened people’s worries about infidelity (though “trustworthy” still jumped up from #2 to #1).
Everybody wants a….pleasant woman: We’re not really sure what people meant when they voted up “pleasant” into the Top 10 most desired traits in a female partner. We hope that in 2021, people have slightly higher standards for their romantic partners than “tolerable” or “doesn’t make me want to scream all the time.”
Good listeners no longer needed: “Good listener” was never even on the list for female partners, but it’s fallen off the Top 10 for male partners. Maybe we’re running out of new things to say after nearly a year stuck in one place, and therefore, no longer need anybody to listen to us!
Intelligence became more important in women and less important in men: Intelligence is important in any romantic partner, but it seems more valued in women than in men. “Smart” dropped from #9 last year to #15 this year on the list for male partners, but went from #7 to #6 on the list for women.
Blondes are back in style: Both the Hottest Man and Hottest Woman of 2020 are blondes — Chris Hemsworth and Scarlett Johansson — a big change from last year when Andrew Garfield and Anne Hathaway were voted America’s sweethearts.
Of course, not everyone sees these traits the same way — people’s answers change depending on where they live throughout the U.S. Here’s what we found out about how different Americans feel about the ideal romantic partner:
Photo: Ranker