Brunettes more attractive than blondes

Contrary to popular perception, men find brunettes more attractive and intelligent than blondes. This inference can be drawn from a new study led by an Indian -origin researcher.

For the study, Viren Swami and colleagues at the University of Westminster sent a woman to three London nightclubs with her hair dyed brunette, blonde and then red, and watched how many men approached her. They then returned to the clubs and asked 130 men to rate pictures of her in the three guises. She was chatted up the most as a blonde. But she was rated most highly for attractiveness and intelligence when brunette.

Swami said that the findings,  may reflect a shift in fashion, with brunettes now being idealised in the way that blondes were several decades ago.

Speculating on why the woman was rated more attractive when brunette, Swami said: “One possible explanation is that men were more likely to assume sexual intent on the part of our confederate when she was blonde. “Perceptions of the blonde confederate as being more needy may have reduced men’s fear or rejection or fear or an aggressive response, which increased their likelihood of approaching her as a blonde.”