Throughout the movie Sleepless in Seattle, characters refer to the classic Cary Grant/Deborah Kerr film, An Affair to Remember. Whenever it is mentioned, the men snort derisively and call it a “chick flick”. The women cry over the poignant story of lovers separated by a twist of fate.

It’s a standard stereotype that men don’t enjoy romantic movies and that they are made for an audience of women. But a survey conducted by Richard Harris, professor of psychology at Kansas State University, shows guys like romantic movies too.

Using a scale of 7 points, Harris asked couples to rate a romantic movie they had just seen. Women rated their enjoyment of the film at a 6, fairly high. When men were asked how much they liked the movie, they rated it an average of 4.8, much higher than the stereotype would lead us to believe. However, when asked how men as a group would like the movie, both men and women fell back on stereotypes and said men wouldn’t like the movie.

Harris also asked women which scene they thought men would like best. They generally chose a sex scene and they were wrong, men didn’t choose a sex scene as their favorite scene as often as the women predicted.

The survey shows that men are more romantic than the stereotypical male image and that both men and women believe the sterotype to be true. The focus of romance is often centered on the woman and her needs for romance thought to be the greatest in a relationship. But in reality, men may be getting shortchanged in the romance department.

Study by K-State professor shows romantic films not just for women