Women seem to universally be attracted to men who are capable of "protecting" them. I put that in quotes because it's kind of fuzzy as there's lots of differen

Women seem to universally be attracted to men who are capable of "protecting" them. I put that in quotes because it's kind of fuzzy as there's lots of different types of protection. Economic security is a type of protection. Physical protection is a type of protection. The androgynous men in Asia you're referring to are signaling economic protection, they don't have to work hard to support themselves. Somewhat related is that having a tan used to be a signal of low class, because you had to work outside, now having a nice tan is a luxury of the wealthy. Being overweight used to be attractive (signal of wealth) now having the time and money to go to the gym is a signal of wealth. The point is I think the underlying desires have stayed the same, but the context in which those desires manifest changes. And so over time, because the world has changed, different attributes signal different things.