One by one, the male participants each took their time to rank their preferences, and later explained what they liked and what they didn’t. The women are wearing a bikini with a mask on their face to hide their identity.

“I liked her at first sight – but I will continue to insist that values and principles are what are most important,” said one man after he had ranked the women.

After the male segment, the roles are reversed, and a number of female participants rank their preferences for male bodies.

Similarly, the bodies ranged from muscular to plus-sized.

“In reality, what’s important is how one holds themselves, and not necessarily the body, even when it comes to clothes,” said one woman.

“I didn’t choose the first one because he has abdominals, he could not have had, but because I like that kind of size, or even a bit more,” said another woman.

Topik takes on social discussions, ranging from bodily issues to eating disorders and more, and explores them through experiments and other activities.

Speaking to Lovin Malta, the producers of the show said they wanted to raise awareness on several key social discussions, including topics like eating disorders, which they also tackle in another episode.

“Aside from our guests’ personal stories and experiences, we carried out a social experiment with random guests to try and understand what they find most attractive in another person,” Topik said.

“We wanted to see if this preference influences people when choosing a partner and if the same applies when choosing a friend… although this is not a scientific experiment, the choices and reasons provide an insight into Maltese people’s choices.”

Do you think men and women value physical appearances higher than they do personality?