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Hollywood has been marketing men with darker hair and eyes and females with blond hair and light eyes.
There appears to be science to it.
Lady lions prefer males with long, dark hair
The same can be said in the lion kingdom. It turns out that good hair for male lions--in this case, a long and dark mane--serves to intimidate other male lions and attract female lions at the same time. These are some of findings of University of Minnesota lion researchers Craig Packer and Peyton West, and they're the basis of a new exhibit at the U's Bell Museum of Natural History.
Packer, a professor of ecology, evolution, and behavior, and West, a graduate student, studied lions in the Serengeti in Tanzania. Through field experiments using dummy lions wearing wigs of varying shades, Packer and West discovered the power of the mane to keep other males at bay and to make the ladies purr. Since dark-maned lions suffer more from the heat, their ability to withstand the stress indicates that they're exceptionally fit, suggests Packer. The researchers also found that offspring of the darker-maned males are more likely to survive.The exhibit at the Bell Museum includes videos of lions, sounds of the Serengeti, and interactive displays, including an actual dummy lion that Packer and West used in their behavioral experiments.
http://www1.umn.edu/news/features/20...9_REGION1.html
..According to work published in the journal Science, the females' preference for brunettes over blondes is not only cosmetic, as dark maned lions have high testosterone levels and seem to be in better health than their blond counterparts. ..
.."So, the females, if they are given a choice between a blond mane or a black mane -- they like the black mane. That's sexy to them. They don't seem to care whether it's a long mane or a short mane, but it's the black that really turns them on," Packer says.
The work of one of the world's foremost lion researchers goes on display this weekend at the Bell Museum of Natural History at the University of Minnesota. Research conducted by Craig Packer and graduate student Peyton West reversed a long-held theory about why male lions have manes. Manes are not for protection. Instead, they signal vigor and health. In other words -- sex appeal.
http://news.minnesota.publicradio.or...dgerlym_lions/
http://www.lssu.edu/faculty/gsteinha...est%202005.pdf
Why do some woman go blond?
..Modern humans evolved in Africa. Even after migrating to Europe about 35,000 years ago, scientists think that all people had black hair. Then, sometime between 10,000 and 15,000 years ago in northern and eastern Europe, studies suggest, the hair-color gene MC1R developed variations that produced a diversity of hues, including red, brown and blonde.
..Even today, Frost said, the market for blonde hair dye is greater among women in places like Latin America, where naturally light locks are particularly unusual. In Sweden, where a large proportion of people are blonde, women often darken their hair. Purple, magenta and other unusual hues have also become popular.
..Some research has shown that single men prefer pictures of blonde women if embedded in a series of brunettes. But if the men see mostly blondes, brunettes become more attractive to them. Scandinavian men, who are surrounded by blondes from birth, often say they prefer women with darker hair.
"Modern men are attracted to blond hair for the same reason as their Ice Age counterparts: It's eye-catching and, much of the time, rarer," Pincott said. But, she added, "Even the most dazzling shade won't help you stand out if everyone has it."
Why men prefer fair-skinned maidens and women like dark, handsome strangers
....Scientists looking into attractiveness in men and woman suggest that men from all races find fairer-skinned woman most alluring, while women are the polar opposite and favour darker, brooding men.
..Women, on the other hand, pick men with darker complexions - such as film stars Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell or Jamie Foxx - because these are associated with sex, virility, mystery, villainy and danger.
They studied more than 2,000 advertising photographs - chosen on the basis the models featured were considered among the most attractive people of the races and sexes - and found that the skin of white women was 15.2 per cent lighter than the skin of white males, and the skin of black women 11.1 per cent lighter than the skin of black men.
Dr Shyon Baumann, a sociologist involved in the study, said: "What the research shows is that our aesthetic preferences operate to reflect moral preferences. "Within our cultures we have a set of ideals about how women should look and behave. "Lightness and darkness have particular meanings attached to them and we subconsciously relate those moral preferences to women."
In effect, men drawn to darker looking women - such as actress Monica Bellucci over rival Michelle Pfieffer - are expressing a preference for danger.
Dr Baumann said this appreciation of a darker complexion in women is "less common" but "appears to coexist with a view of such women as more overtly sexual. "In other words, darker women are seen as more promiscuous."
..When the researchers analysed adverts featuring white women only, they found that women with the darkest complexions were more likely to be in an advanced state of undress.
They were also more likely to have a bared midriff or provocatively dressed, and only they were shown with bared feet or are implied to be totally nude.
Women with the lightest complexion were more likely to be conservatively dressed and portrayed as friendly, happy and honest.
Dr Baumann said the scale of the differences between male and female skin colour selected for their attractiveness is too big to be explained by pure biology and were the product of "deeply rooted and enduring cultural values". He said: "Physical lightness and darkness are aesthetic characteristics that ... exemplify the link between aesthetic and moral judgements. "On average, fair complexions in women are the dominant aesthetic ideal because sexual modesty and conventional femininity are the dominant behavioural ideal for women."
Two years ago, research from St Andrews University in Fife found man's attraction to blondes could date back to the caveman era.
Researchers said a rare mutation of light-coloured hair heralded the arrival of the blue-eyed blonde 10,000 years ago.
Until then, humans, who originated in Africa, tended to have dark hair and eyes, so blondes stood out from their brunette sisters.
Anthropologist Peter Frost said: "When an individual is faced with potential mates of equal value, it will tend to select the one that stands out from the crowd."
There appears to be science to it.
Lady lions prefer males with long, dark hair
The same can be said in the lion kingdom. It turns out that good hair for male lions--in this case, a long and dark mane--serves to intimidate other male lions and attract female lions at the same time. These are some of findings of University of Minnesota lion researchers Craig Packer and Peyton West, and they're the basis of a new exhibit at the U's Bell Museum of Natural History.
Packer, a professor of ecology, evolution, and behavior, and West, a graduate student, studied lions in the Serengeti in Tanzania. Through field experiments using dummy lions wearing wigs of varying shades, Packer and West discovered the power of the mane to keep other males at bay and to make the ladies purr. Since dark-maned lions suffer more from the heat, their ability to withstand the stress indicates that they're exceptionally fit, suggests Packer. The researchers also found that offspring of the darker-maned males are more likely to survive.The exhibit at the Bell Museum includes videos of lions, sounds of the Serengeti, and interactive displays, including an actual dummy lion that Packer and West used in their behavioral experiments.
http://www1.umn.edu/news/features/20...9_REGION1.html
..According to work published in the journal Science, the females' preference for brunettes over blondes is not only cosmetic, as dark maned lions have high testosterone levels and seem to be in better health than their blond counterparts. ..
.."So, the females, if they are given a choice between a blond mane or a black mane -- they like the black mane. That's sexy to them. They don't seem to care whether it's a long mane or a short mane, but it's the black that really turns them on," Packer says.
The work of one of the world's foremost lion researchers goes on display this weekend at the Bell Museum of Natural History at the University of Minnesota. Research conducted by Craig Packer and graduate student Peyton West reversed a long-held theory about why male lions have manes. Manes are not for protection. Instead, they signal vigor and health. In other words -- sex appeal.
http://news.minnesota.publicradio.or...dgerlym_lions/
http://www.lssu.edu/faculty/gsteinha...est%202005.pdf
Why do some woman go blond?
..Modern humans evolved in Africa. Even after migrating to Europe about 35,000 years ago, scientists think that all people had black hair. Then, sometime between 10,000 and 15,000 years ago in northern and eastern Europe, studies suggest, the hair-color gene MC1R developed variations that produced a diversity of hues, including red, brown and blonde.
..Even today, Frost said, the market for blonde hair dye is greater among women in places like Latin America, where naturally light locks are particularly unusual. In Sweden, where a large proportion of people are blonde, women often darken their hair. Purple, magenta and other unusual hues have also become popular.
..Some research has shown that single men prefer pictures of blonde women if embedded in a series of brunettes. But if the men see mostly blondes, brunettes become more attractive to them. Scandinavian men, who are surrounded by blondes from birth, often say they prefer women with darker hair.
"Modern men are attracted to blond hair for the same reason as their Ice Age counterparts: It's eye-catching and, much of the time, rarer," Pincott said. But, she added, "Even the most dazzling shade won't help you stand out if everyone has it."
Why men prefer fair-skinned maidens and women like dark, handsome strangers
....Scientists looking into attractiveness in men and woman suggest that men from all races find fairer-skinned woman most alluring, while women are the polar opposite and favour darker, brooding men.
..Women, on the other hand, pick men with darker complexions - such as film stars Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell or Jamie Foxx - because these are associated with sex, virility, mystery, villainy and danger.
They studied more than 2,000 advertising photographs - chosen on the basis the models featured were considered among the most attractive people of the races and sexes - and found that the skin of white women was 15.2 per cent lighter than the skin of white males, and the skin of black women 11.1 per cent lighter than the skin of black men.
Dr Shyon Baumann, a sociologist involved in the study, said: "What the research shows is that our aesthetic preferences operate to reflect moral preferences. "Within our cultures we have a set of ideals about how women should look and behave. "Lightness and darkness have particular meanings attached to them and we subconsciously relate those moral preferences to women."
In effect, men drawn to darker looking women - such as actress Monica Bellucci over rival Michelle Pfieffer - are expressing a preference for danger.
Dr Baumann said this appreciation of a darker complexion in women is "less common" but "appears to coexist with a view of such women as more overtly sexual. "In other words, darker women are seen as more promiscuous."
..When the researchers analysed adverts featuring white women only, they found that women with the darkest complexions were more likely to be in an advanced state of undress.
They were also more likely to have a bared midriff or provocatively dressed, and only they were shown with bared feet or are implied to be totally nude.
Women with the lightest complexion were more likely to be conservatively dressed and portrayed as friendly, happy and honest.
Dr Baumann said the scale of the differences between male and female skin colour selected for their attractiveness is too big to be explained by pure biology and were the product of "deeply rooted and enduring cultural values". He said: "Physical lightness and darkness are aesthetic characteristics that ... exemplify the link between aesthetic and moral judgements. "On average, fair complexions in women are the dominant aesthetic ideal because sexual modesty and conventional femininity are the dominant behavioural ideal for women."
Two years ago, research from St Andrews University in Fife found man's attraction to blondes could date back to the caveman era.
Researchers said a rare mutation of light-coloured hair heralded the arrival of the blue-eyed blonde 10,000 years ago.
Until then, humans, who originated in Africa, tended to have dark hair and eyes, so blondes stood out from their brunette sisters.
Anthropologist Peter Frost said: "When an individual is faced with potential mates of equal value, it will tend to select the one that stands out from the crowd."
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