Sex-typicality displayed as sexual dimorphism of the human face is a key feature enabling sex recognition. It is also believed to be a cue for perceiving biological quality and it plays an important role in the perception of attractiveness. Sexual dimorphism of human faces has two main components: sexual shape dimorphism of various facial features and sexual color dimorphism, generally manifested as dimorphism of skin luminance, where men tend to be darker than women. However, very little is known about the mutual relationship of these two facets. We explored the interconnection between the dimorphism of face shape and dimorphism of face color in three visually distinct populations (Cameroonian, Czech, and Vietnamese). Our results indicated that populations which showed a significant dimorphism in skin luminance (Cameroon, Vietnam) had low levels of sexual shape dimorphism, while a population with higher levels of sexual shape dimorphism (Czech Republic) did not exhibit a significant dimorphism of skin luminance. These findings suggest a possible compensatory mechanism between various domains of sexual dimorphism in populations differing in the levels of shape and color dimorphism.

表现为人脸性别二态性的性别典型性是实现性别识别的关键特征。它还被认为是感知生物质量的线索，并且在感知吸引力方面发挥着重要作用。人脸的性别二态性有两个主要组成部分：各种面部特征的性别形状二态性和性别颜色二态性，一般表现为皮肤亮度二态性，其中男性往往比女性颜色更深。然而，人们对这两个方面的相互关系知之甚少。我们探讨了三个视觉上不同的人群（喀麦隆人、捷克人和越南人）的面部形状二态性和面部颜色二态性之间的相互关系。我们的结果表明，皮肤亮度表现出显着二态性的人群（喀麦隆、越南）的性别形状二态性水平较低，而性别形状二态性水平较高的人群（捷克共和国）没有表现出显着的皮肤亮度二态性。这些发现表明，在形状和颜色二态性水平不同的人群中，性别二态性的各个领域之间可能存在补偿机制。