Brunettes vs. blondes. For a while it seemed like brunettes were finally getting their time in the spotlight. Their 15 minutes of fame, if you will. But now, new research has shown that blondes still reign supreme in the world of hair color— or shall we say, in the world of men.
The research. Hailing from Augsburg University, Minnesota, researchers showed 110 guys computer-generated images of girls with blonde, brown, or black locks, Metro UK reports. After crunching some numbers, they found that dudes rated women with lighter hair as being more attractive.
The research. Not only did men rate women with lighter hair as being more attractive, however: they also deemed them as having greater relationship potential than those with black hair. Interesting.
The research. When it came to blondes and brunettes, there wasn’t that much of a difference for those measures. However, when the male participants saw images of women from the shoulders up, researchers picked up on an unusual trend.
Younger and healthier. When men looked at pictures of women from the shoulders up, blondes were generally ranked as being significantly younger, Metro UK reports. What’s more, they were also deemed healthier than brunettes.
Relationships. That said, when it came to long-term relationships, men were not keen on picking blondes. In fact, "men were more likely to pick brunettes to be the mother of their children, while they judged blonde women to be more promiscuous,” according to Metro UK. The research is problematic, to say the least.
Judgements. The report reads: "The male participants were able to make judgments (somewhat complex and clearly meaningful) based on a brief examination of the images … for a variety of reasons, including the link between blonde hair and perceptions of promiscuity, it might be that men are slightly more likely to prefer blonde women as dates and brown-haired women as mates.”
Bias. While the study’s findings are SMH-worthy, there apparently might be an evolutionary reason for men preferring blondes. Let’s travel back to cavemen times, shall we?
Evolution. "Back in the cavemen era, hair colour was used to determine potential partners – and as hair tends to darken with age, the lighter the hair, the younger and more fertile women would have been deemed,” Metro UK reports. Interesting, eh?
Sex icons. Beyond evolution, there’s also, well, pop culture. Over the years, blondes — namely, white blondes — have been pushed in media to be sex symbols, sweeping minorities under the rug.
Hair color? IDC. The good news? There are men out there who don’t give a f*ck about hair color. What’s more, there are men out there who most certainly prefer brunettes over blondes. And to prove this, we’ve brought in some real dudes to testify to the fact. (Per Reddit, of course.)
User “Deathwillnotbecome.” "I fall hardest for brunettes, but my only hair-color-related turnoff is when you can tell a woman has dyed her hair so often that it looks unhealthy and greasy all the time. I don't know how hair dye works, but if dying your hair makes it look all... dead, then perhaps you shouldn't do that.” You are correct, good sir.
User “runningbalck.” "I mean, certain women look better with certain hair colors. But I really don't give a sh*t as long as it's some sort of naturally occurring color.” Fair enough.
User “CardinalsFanatic.” "I have a preference (brunettes), but that by no means suggests that I never find women of other hair colors attractive. It's just one element of her that adds up to whether or not I find her attractive overall.” Another user added: "No specific hair colour would illicit a definite no from me. To be honest I do prefer darker hair colours and my dating history reflects that, but if your look interests me then that's that.”
Takeaway Bottom line? Whether you’re a brunette or a blonde, or *insert any hair color here*, just do you, ladies. And if a guy (or girl, for that matter) doesn't like you because of your hair color, well, f*ck 'em.
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