Men are reported to prioritise physical attractiveness in potential intimate partners, while women focus on the abilities of potential partners to provide resources. Yet previous research has suggested that these traditional gender differences vary according to national levels of gender equality. Here, we used priming material to manipulate participants’ perceptions of gender equality and examined the effects on self-reported partner preferences, and we also investigated the association between participants’ gender role attitudes and partner preferences. In Study 1 and 2 (n = 224 and 380), participants were presented with priming material that focused on either inequality between the genders in the present day (Inequality Condition) or recent improvements in gender equality (Equality Condition). Contrary to our predictions, the importance that participants placed on the physical traits and resource-gaining potential of partners did not differ between conditions in either study. However, on average, men placed greater emphasis on physical traits and preferred younger partners, and women placed greater emphasis on resource-gaining characteristics and preferred older partners, in line with previous research. In addition, men who reported more positive feminist attitudes placed less emphasis on physical traits, and women who reported more positive feminist attitudes placed greater emphasis on kindness, compared to same-gender participants who scored lower on feminist attitudes. This research suggests that self-reported partner preferences are related to an individual’s feminist attitudes and highlight the challenges of exploring these associations with forced-choice and experimental priming designs.

据报道，男性优先考虑潜在亲密伴侣的身体吸引力，而女性则关注潜在伴侣提供资源的能力。然而，先前的研究表明，这些传统的性别差异因国家性别平等水平而异。在这里，我们使用启动材料来操纵参与者对性别平等的看法，并检查了对自我报告的伴侣偏好的影响，我们还调查了参与者的性别角色态度与伴侣偏好之间的关联。在研究 1 和 2 （n = 224 和 380） 中，向参与者展示了启动材料，这些材料侧重于当今性别之间的不平等（不平等条件）或最近性别平等的改善（平等条件）。与我们的预测相反，在两项研究中，参与者对伴侣的身体特征和资源获取潜力的重视在不同条件下没有差异。然而，与之前的研究一致，平均而言，男性更强调身体特征并更喜欢年轻伴侣，而女性更强调获取资源的特征并更喜欢年长的伴侣。此外，与女权主义态度得分较低的同性参与者相比，报告更积极的女权主义态度的男性较少强调身体特征，而报告更积极的女权主义态度的女性更强调善良。这项研究表明，自我报告的伴侣偏好与个人的女权主义态度有关，并强调了通过强制选择和实验性启动设计探索这些关联的挑战。