How Do Women Flirt? Perceived Attractiveness, Sexual Orientation, and Traditional Masculinity-Femininity.

Flirting is crucial in romance, yet so little is known about how non-heterosexual people, such as lesbian women, flirt. Flirtatious behaviors communicate interest and are shaped by gender roles in heterosexual exchanges. Men actively pursue women (direct), while women passively await men’s attention (indirect). Beauty takes higher priority for women than men in this dynamic. However, less emphasis is placed on beauty and adherence to gender roles in lesbian romance. Lesbians may flirt directly or indirectly in expression of their masculinity-femininity. This study sought to examine the relationship between women’s self-perceived attractiveness and their willingness to flirt across sexual orientation, as well as the significance of masculinity-femininity in how lesbian women flirt. A sample of 350 women, 175 straight women and 175 lesbian women, was recruited through Prolific. Participants completed measures of self-perceived attractiveness and masculinity-femininity, and rated the likelihood of engaging in flirtatious behaviors in response to three hypothetical scenarios. Sexual orientation did not moderate the relationship between self-perceived attractiveness and the willingness to flirt. Self-perceived attractiveness equally predicted the willingness of straight and lesbian women to initiate flirtation. It is unclear if traditional masculinity-femininity predicts the directness of flirtation in lesbian women based on this data alone. Implications for future research are discussed.