Do women really prefer dark features in men, and why?

[Anonymous]

And why?

[jennifer_bloom]

I learned from paintings in Ancient Egypt, that the man was usually painted a few shades darker than the women. I used to think this was an aesthetic choice of how they view ideal beauty but it might also be a symbolic choice to show that the man works the farms and the women care for the children indoors.

So having a full time house wife that does not need to help with farming, would mean the family is rich and does not need to sacrifice child care to generate farm labour work, and that might be why royalty painted the women with a slightly lighter skin tone then the men. Which means the colour choice was functionally symbolic and not aesthetically representative of cultural views on fashion and beauty.

[Anonymous]

Some do, some don't

[KypHistory91]

I'm sure some do