You have full access to this open access article. The horizontal size of the exposed depigmented sclera in Caucasians has been previously suggested to be sexually dimorphic, and the significance of this phenomenon remains unclear. Here we build on a previous study and extend it by i examining sex differences in other measures of ocular morphology and ii exploring the link between eye morphology and biometric markers of facial attractiveness.
We used facial photographs of Caucasians 50 men from Eastern-Central Europe and digitally measured four ocular features. Eye measurements were tested for sex differences and associations with morphometric data on facial averageness and sexual shape dimorphism. We found that sclera surface is more horizontally exposed in men, even though the total surface area is similar in both sexes.
We also found that eye fissures are rounder less rectangular in women than in men and that irises are brighter in women. We did not find any relationship between the examined eye features and two aspects of facial attractiveness: facial averageness and sexual dimorphism in facial shape.
Despite being sexually dimorphic, eye features may be loosely linked with the development of facial sexual ornamentation.
The role of sexual selection in the evolution of the observed phenomena is disputable. It is often argued that because of their physical appearance, human eyes are crucial to interpersonal and social interactions. In many aspects, however, the significance of the human eye architecture is unclear.
