The Female Gaze

The "female gaze" refers to how women perceive and evaluate men based on subtle, emotionally intelligent cues that signal desirability, rather than overt or aggressive displays of desirability.

The value levers remain the same:

• Looks
• Money
• Status
• Fitness
• Fashion
• Reputation
• Unique Skills and Talents
• Etc.

But the way the value is conveyed is what matters.

Women resonate with dating profiles that communicate value confidently, authentically and with emotional connection in mind.

Soft Displays of Value Beat Hard Displays of Value

Women are attracted to men who project desirable traits (confidence, ambition, security, beauty, wealth, status, fitness, emotional depth) indirectly through their behavior, style, and presentation, rather than explicitly shoving it in their face.

The female gaze values subtlety and authenticity over performative or try-hard displays.

Deep down, they understand that when a man truly "has it", he doesn't feel a need to show it off.

Both men have great physiques, but one of them is showing it off directly while the other is showing it off indirectly with other value elements being portrayed, such as social activities, lifestyle, social proof, fashion, and artistic choices (choice of beach towel and water bottle).

Why It Matters

As soon as women's bodies start developing, they start getting attention from men. To make sure she doesn't make a bad decision, she needs to figure out what indicators and cues she can look for in a guy to make sure that he can give her great children and hopefully stick around to take care of them.

So out of survival, she's forced to figured out a way to categorize how desirable or undesirable a man is.

Certain traits are biologically ingrained, such as physical competence, good looks, great physique, ability to acquire resources, ability to find and protect.

While other traits are either picked up via social conditioning or branch off from the fundamental ones above, such as wealth, status, reputation, fashion.

On dating apps, women are bombarded with profiles. It's common for an attractive woman to have over a thousand likes a month on a dating app.

So they carry over their skills and read between the lines to spot genuine high-value men versus those who are overcompensating or seeking validation.

The problem is that humans aren't perfect. And now that you understand what women resonate with, you can technically game the system.

However, we absolutely do not encourage catfishing and misrepresenting yourself.

Because the self always shines through.

You might be able to land a date, but she'll see right through you if you're not actually the guy in the photos.

So, this means that you must have value FIRST before you start figure out how to portray it through the female gaze.

1% is about saving you time and skipping the photoshoot process to give you photos that you would have gotten anyway, if you had just spent the time and money to get them.

Presentation and marketing work best when you actually have value to deliver.

Taking advantage of the female gaze isn't about faking it.

It's about taking what you already have and displaying it in a way women resonate with.

Photo Examples

Soft displays signal you're secure in yourself; hard displays can scream insecurity or desperation.

Soft displays imply wealth, status, or attractiveness through context, style, or understated confidence (e.g., a well-tailored blazer in a candid photo at a nice venue).

Hard displays showcase wealth, status, or looks in a way that feels forced or braggy (e.g., a shirtless mirror selfie flexing abs or a photo posing with a rented Lamborghini).

How professional and staged a photo looks will also affect how "try-hard" the photo is.

The photos that perform the best on dating apps tend to be candid photos that look like they're shot on an iPhone because super high-quality photos don't look very authentic (for example, stock photos).

When used as a dating profile photo, it looks like the guy is just posing for a photo and wanting to deliberately show off his female friends

In this photo, the display of pre-selection (having women respond positively to you) is more subtle as the guy and the woman are shown having a good time in a candid moment.

Hard display of luxury, cars and watches

Soft display of a nice watch, travel and lifestyle

Showing off private jet, luxury and fashion in a very staged way with professional photography

Candid, in the moment photo of a guy inside a private jet goofing around shirtless with his dog

Why Hard Displays Backfire

Overt flexing (e.g., "Here's my Rolex," "Check my yacht") can make you look like you're compensating or seeking approval, which is a turn-off. It suggests you're not confident in your intrinsic value.

Women often prioritize emotional connection and safety. Hard displays focus on superficial traits, ignoring the deeper qualities (wit, kindness, stability) that build attraction.

Women on dating apps are also wary of fake profiles and profiles that are "too good to be true". A guy flaunting cash or cars might be seen as leasing a lifestyle or exaggerating his status, which erodes trust.

A 2023 Hinge study found profiles with candid, lifestyle-oriented photos perform better than posed or ostentatious ones.