Men Shouldn't Include Shirtless Pics in Dating App Profiles

Hello men. Let me begin by saying that how and where you bare your shirtless torso to the world is your choice and yours alone. That said, choosing to bare your shirtless torso on a dating app may have unintentionally negative consequences of which you may want to be aware.

While many men may assume that a quality shirtless pic is a surefire way to attract more matches, a recent study from Dating.com found that men who go shirtless in their profiles actually stand to perform much worse than their fully clothed competitors. While 90 percent of men surveyed believe including a shirtless pic will help their odds, the study found that men who do go shirtless on dating apps actually get 25 percent fewer matches.

So why the hate for a shirtless pic? According to 66 percent of women surveyed, a shirtless picture tends to convey “a lack of maturity and self-awareness.” As a result, 76 percent of women said they’d be unlikely to consider seriously dating a man with a shirtless pic in his profile, while just 15 percent said they’d be open to a hookup and a mere 9 percent said they’d want a shirtless guy for a friend.

Study Shows Women Don’t Want to Date Men With Cats

Perhaps unsurprisingly, it turns out these findings don’t hold when the tables are turned. While women are largely barred from including truly topless pics on most dating apps thanks to society’s bizarre policing of female-presenting nipples, those who included bikini pics saw a 40 percent increase in overall match rates, according to the survey.

It’s also important to note that while the study found that members of the LGBTQ+ community are four times more likely to include a shirtless picture in their dating app profiles, the survey results don’t include info on how receptive men or app daters of other genders may be to shirtless pics of men.

But for men who are looking to match with women, at least, it seems going shirtless on the apps may be doing more harm than good. Again, your body, your choice, but if your goal is to land more matches, maybe keep the shirtless pics to a minimum.

That said, if you’re a man who wants to exercise his god-given right to bare his midriff without missing out on potential matches, might we suggest a crop top?

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