Partner preferences among homosexual men and women: What is desirable in asex partner is not necessarily desirable in a romantic partner

The present study examined the degree to which various partner characterist ics are preferred by homosexual men and women in a short-term sexual relati onship versus a long-term romantic relationship. A non-college sample of ad ults (N = 80) individually rated the desirability of various attributes in a "short-term sexual" or a "long-term romantic" partner (randomly assigned) . The results indicated that participants clearly distinguished between the se two types of relational partner. Specifically, and consistent with hypot heses, both men and women emphasized internal mental attributes (e.g., inte llect), prosocial personality characteristics (e.g., interpersonal sensitiv ity, responsiveness) and characteristics reflective of family orientation ( e.g., desire for children) more in a long-term romantic, than in a short-te rm sexual, partner. Conversely, and consistent with earlier work using hete rosexual samples, men and women desired higher levels of physical appeal (e .g., physical attractiveness, sexy appearance) from a potential sex partner than from a potential romantic partner. Sex differences also were found. M en desired honesty and trustworthiness from a short-term sex partner more t han did women, and women valued a long-term romantic partner's family orien tation more than did men.