Sarah Knudson, a USask sociology professor who has studied matchmaking services, suggests the prominence of photographs in online dating means straight men often struggle because they're unschooled in the art of visual seduction.
"Men haven't been pressured so much culturally to have to be presenting themselves physically like objects ... They haven't had to care," said Knudson in a recent interview with CBC.
"They're like, 'Oh, I'll just put up a photo of me and my dog.'"
By contrast, says Knudson, women are accustomed to rituals of self-presentation, such as putting on makeup or getting their hair done professionally.
She has spoken with dating coaches and matchmakers in cities across North America and discovered it's not unusual for people to take men under their wing and assist in developing their profiles.