Throughout 2024 various typecasts were circulating social media, with terms like rodent boyfriend, babygirl and man in finance. However, the question that this arises is: how much do these tropes and trends actually translate into people’s real-life preferences? 

As it seems, people are not quite as shallow as that presumption set them out to be. Concrete’s 2025 Sex Survey showed that many people indicated to having a pattern amongst their partners or desirable attributes. However, simultaneously they did not want to hold themselves to it or limit themselves to specific types.  

Interpretations of the term ‘type’ ranged from appearance-related attributes to personality or behaviour traits. Around 6% of responses emphasised that though physical attributes played a role they were more inclined to opt for someone that they “vibed” with. A steady eight people responded that their partner was their exact type. 

A key finding was that people tended to differentiate between desired attributes in casual flings versus relationships. Personality and emotional connection held more significance in terms of long-term partners. Additionally, people seemed more inclined to have (more specific) types within flings. In terms of relationships, respondents frequently indicated that their partner did not fit into their “ideal type.” For example, generally fancying people with longer hair but dating someone with a buzz. Several answers noted that their fling-types were blond, but in regards to relationships their preference were brunettes.  

Speaking of hair, brown or dark hair held an overwhelming majority in preferences, taking 78% of all hair-related responses. Blond hair was most frequently cited as a feature to avoid, mostly due to some poor past experience. “Tall, dark and handsome” was a common trope amongst responses, with height being the second most common desired attribute after hair. 

Dating service eHarmony conducted a survey where they found that 34% of men anticipated that they would be judged for their height. Perhaps that is why so many profiles on dating apps have some reference towards height, including the ever-loathsome phrase “cause apparently it matters.” Within the Concrete Survey’s trends, “tall” was seen as a desirable attribute, however there were no specifications for what tall constituted. 

Approximately 7% of those who mentioned physical attributes saw strength (within all genders) as a positive quality, with several surveyors wanting to be “respectfully thrown about.” The other end of the spectrum was seeking “scrawny” builds (particularly within men); men with softer, feminine features were also frequently cited in the results.  

Politics and interests popped up here and there, with “socialist” and “reformed tory” being more explicit descriptors. On the other end of the spectrum “family-oriented” and “more conservative” were mentioned a couple times. Meanwhile, queer people often mentioned only really connecting with other queer people.  

The only style or aesthetic-related types seemed to circulate around alternative and goth scenes. Nerdiness and “being interesting” were frequently cited as desirable traits. The 

only sport to receive any mentions was rugby, though often premised with “unfortunately.”  

Not everyone seemed to agree with the idea of having a type in the first place, with 22% of responses claiming not to have one. The notion was criticised on several occasions as leading to a “self-professing prophecy.” Some responses saw types as having the potential to be racist, sexist or reductive in some manner. In total, there were nine responses that explicitly mentioned a particular race as a desired type.  

A general attitude when discussing types agreed that people tended to drift towards certain attributes, however that it was important to not see these features as a definitive guide to finding a partner. Many people believed that being drawn to someone was more down to “vibes” or having some sort of connection with someone.  

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