Picture the scene. You have a new boyfriend/girlfriend, you’re mad about them and think they are the greatest person who has ever live. Your obsession knows no bounds.
But, you bring them home to meet your mam, dad and siblings and the reaction is…icy.
They’re not fans at all.
Well, according to a study undertaken by the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, there’s a real reason behind your new love’s frosty reception from your nearest and dearest.
The study asked women to rank the importance of 133 qualities they look for when they’re looking for a partner, and were then asked to do the same, but for qualities they would want their sister’s partner to have.
The results were intriguing.
In both cases, the partner was ideally loyal, honest, trustworthy and reliable. Standard requirements for someone you want to be in a relationship with.
Besides these common traits in the study, the rest of the results were totally different.
For example, for their sisters, respondents wanted to see them with an ’empathetic, responsible, helpful, kind and sensible partner’, while for themselves they ideally wanted a partner who was ‘charming, hilarious, fun, and good in bed’.
Seems like people want their sisters to grab the short straw, while they get to date the funny charming rides.
But why?
Apparently, it’s all due to genetics.
Your family wants their bloodline to be a healthy as possible, so they want your partner to increase the chances of you passing on your own genes
.
‘The ideal partner for your sister or your daughter can’t drain resources from you and decrease the chance that your own genes can be passed on,’ explain the researchers.
‘Preferably he should directly increase your own chances. This can be achieved in part if your sister or daughter makes big gains by choosing a particular partner, and is able to spread your shared genes much more effectively.’
They want you to have a partner who is sensible, and will be capable of taking care of you (so they don’t have to anymore).
Meanwhile, you’re just having a fab time with your new boyfriend, unaware of the weird genetic goings-on.
(This study did only involve heterosexual women, so the results might have been different had they mixed it up a bit. Just a thought).
