i love mom shirtThe oedipus complex in part suggests that men are sexually attracted to their mothers. Of course this is not something we want to think about, but a boy finding his mom beautiful is a lovely thing. He should think she's beautiful -- she gave him life, nurtured him, all that good mama stuff mom's do. That's where it should end. According to a recent study out of Finland, however, men are more likely to be attracted to women who look like their mothers. They want to be with women who look just like mom. Are men really so visually simple?

If this is true, I need to panic because I don't look anything like my mother-in-law. She has light hair and is a Southern sweetheart. My hair is dark and I'm from New York. There are basically no similarities. Does this mean my marriage is doomed? Is this the secret reason behind the high rates of divorce?!

Okay, okay it's a study. A study that only looked at 70 couples. I'm taking this to the source. My source. My husband.
 
"Do I look like your mom?" I ask hubs.
 
Husband shakes head furiously no.
 
"Not at all? Nothing similar?"
 
He shakes head no again. "Why?"
 
I explain and he suggests we go over to her photo on the wall -- the one of her in her 20s -- to look more closely.
 
"Hmmm. Similar noses. Similar chin. Mouth too," he says.
 
Phew! Our marriage isn't doomed after all! I do look like his mom (sort of)! He still finds me attractive because I look like her. Ew. This suddenly went to a place I didn't want it to go.
 
Luckily this same doesn't apply to women. I don't want to play this game with my husband and dad.
 
Do you look anything like your husband/boyfriend's mother? What do you think of this study?
 
 
Image via jamiesrabbits/Flickr