The illusion of sex

[Ellipse]

Richard Russell
Harvard University, USA
Best Illusion of the Year Contest - 2009 Third prize

In the Illusion of Sex, two faces are perceived as male and female. However, both faces are actually versions of the same androgynous face. One face was created by increasing the contrast of the androgynous face, while the other face was created by decreasing the contrast. The face with more contrast is perceived as female, while the face with less contrast is perceived as male. The Illusion of Sex demonstrates that contrast is an important cue for perceiving the sex of a face, with greater contrast appearing feminine, and lesser contrast appearing masculine.

http://illusioncontest.neuralcorrelate.com/2009/the-illusion-of-sex/

 

[lostinself]

the effect can be impressive indeed but there's a little catch here. by operating on colors you can change the way the light reflects upon the object and thus change the object's shape in direction perpendicular to the image. i guess this may be the main reason the face on the left looks more slender and feminine. take note of how the forehead is illuminated on both pictures.