The male beauty contest judged by women

Male beauty contest dancers

1. Tall and athletic: Ostrich plumes and pompoms emphasize height
2. Narrow face: Decorated with red ochre
3. Wide eyes: Black eyeliner made from charred egret bones
4. Facial symmetry: Enhanced with black, yellow and white patterns
5. Aquiline nose: White clay arrow stripe to look more streamlined
6. Long braids and cowrie shells: Symbolize fertility and wealth
7. White and regular teeth: Bared and emphasised with black lipstick
8. Good dancer: Beaded necklaces and bodices jangle against chest in time to the beat

But this beauty contest has a twist - the men dress up, the women pick the winners. What does the Wodaabe people's pageant tell us about male beauty?

Tall, slim, facial symmetry and good teeth - this could be the universal tick list of a beauty pageant judge. And when the contestants are men, their faces painted with red, white and yellow clay, the aesthetic holds true.

These unusual beauty contests, known as Gerewol, celebrate the fertility the rains bring to the parched edge of the Sahara. Filmed for the BBC's Human Planet, Niger's Wodaabe men decorate their faces and dance for hours to impress female judges

And guess what is the winning prize? You will know when you continue!

The dance moves emulate the poise of the egret, and the men sing by vibrating lips painted with this "bird-lipstick", as Bovin describes it.

And the prize? Each judge chooses her champion and may take him as her lover - even if both already have partners - and the winners are celebrated for years to come. Nor is the potential for match-making limited to judges and winners.

"You dance Gerewol to try to win a lover, even if it means stealing someone's wife," says contestant Djao, who met second wife Tembe at a previous Gerewol. "You can marry her, or have a fling with her."

She, too, is on the look-out. "I've spotted three men here that I like."

No stigma is attached to setting aside one's marriage vows at Gerewol whether temporarily or permanently, says Human Planet director Tuppence Stone.

"The initial marriages in Wodaabe culture are arranged when the bride and groom are very young, so Gerewol is the chance for a love match," she says. This is not a polygamous culture - marrying a new partner means leaving the old.

Read the complete story on BBC