74 hobbies ranked by men and women
The research published at DatePsychology was built on a survey given to 814 participants (48% female). In this survey, all participants had to mark a hobby as attractive or unattractive. The women were doing it from their perspective and men were asked to evaluate the hobby based on what they think women find attractive. The authors noted that one thing to keep in mind is that women in the study were disproportionately of high social status, 45% had a Master’s degree and 90% were white.
What are the overall most attractive hobbies?
The researchers found that the top five most attractive hobbies were reading, learning foreign languages, playing a musical instrument, cooking, and woodworking. Sadly, there is only one athletic hobby in the whole top 10. But it’s not so bad, the least attractive hobbies don’t include any athletic ones. That list is filled with the usual suspects such as gambling, porn or clubbing, but also some interesting ones. For example, the 4th most unattractive hobby was “arguing online.”
What are the most attractive athletic hobbies?
Even though the overall top hobbies weren’t athletic, it isn’t as bad as it seems. For example, the most attractive athletic hobby, swimming, was rated as appealing by 92,8% of women. Cycling was just outside the top ten in this category, placing 11th. Cycling is considered attractive by 76,4% of women. That’s a very nice result, especially when we consider some of the sports that ended up lower on the list. Running was 13th, yoga 15th, and golf was in the last place with only 44,4% of women finding it attractive.
Men underestimated how attractive their hobbies are
Interestingly, men underestimated how attractive their hobbies appeared to women in most cases. The research highlighted a 12% average gap between male predictions and female responses, demonstrating that many men undervalue hobbies showcasing skills, creativity or physical activity. The only two exceptions were riding motorcycles and boxing/MMA where women found them significantly less attractive than men guessed.
What’s the verdict?
So, do women see cycling as an attractive hobby for men? While it wasn’t among the most attractive pastimes overall, the research shows that 3 out of 4 women find cycling an attractive hobby. If you wanted some reassurance as a male cyclist, this is definitely it. But the main takeaway from this research is that regardless of your hobby of choice, you will be able to find a lot of people who share your interests. The majority of hobbies that weren’t vices were rated attractive by over half of the women. That’s encouraging because, in the end, hobbies should reflect who you are, not what others might find appealing.
