I’M SURE THE PICKUP-ARTIST CROWD KNOWS THIS ALREADY: The Mating Advantage of Male Musicians. “For women, it seems, there’s something about a man holding an instrument. That’s the conclusion of a just-published study from France, which found a man is more attractive to the opposite sex if there’s a guitar in his hand. Its results confirm the findings of a similar study from Israel published last year. Across cultures, the research would suggest, male musicians are viewed as promising mating material.” But there’s no such effect for women.