Tall, dark and handsome? Elegant and soft? Tough and muscular?

Some women only like certain types. And according to new research, what type of birth control pill a female is using may determine just which type of male a female chooses.

The female choice in partner preferences varies according to the menstrual cycle, shown in a study by the Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, of the University of Sheffield.

The study shows that during the ovulation period women who are not on the pill prefer men who are “more masculine and symmetrical.” Or simply put, women not on the pill prefer their males with muscles that are “macho.”

According to these scientists, “taking the oral contraceptive pill might significantly alter both female and male mate choice by removing the mid-cycle change in preferences.”

Researchers believe that oral contraceptives contribute to women choosing men who show authority and intersexual competitiveness while fertile women are attracted to masculine men.

The reported stated that women on the pill are “particularly attracted to men showing dominance and male-male competitiveness.”

Women on the pill tend to pick more effeminate men who look like themselves, the study reports.

Women taking the pill have levels of estrogen and progesterone which ultimately increase while imitating the hormonal state of pregnancy. However, new evidence in the study shows that taking the pill eliminates oestrus, which “changes the natural cycling preferences in women for markers of both genetic quality and compatibility in mates, as well as natural cycling attractiveness to men.”

Some women at Mercy match the criteria. Others do not.

“Crasheena,” a current student of Mercy College, has been on the pill for over four months now. She believes that the pill contributes to her love for her boyfriend who is attractively slim.

“Before I went on the pill, I was mostly attracted to guys with an athletic built. But now my current boyfriend is fairly slim and I am definitely attracted to him,” she said.

“Ashley,” also on the pill, has always been attracted to masculine men. Her current boyfriend is a well defined soccer player as a muscular built.

“Even before I was on the pill, I have always been attracted to athletic men, so now my boyfriend is no exception and his build was what attracted me to him,” she said.

Candice Steven, a 5’7″ insurance worker and a non-athlete, prefers men who are slim and puny. She is more comfortable around men with these features because she doesn’t feel intimidated when she’s around them.

“Muscular men always scare me, because I always think of having an argument with them and get nervous. So I love dating men that look just like me.”