There's Finally An Answer As To Why Men Prefer Blondes Or Brunettes

Bruce Springsteen once said, “Well, brunettes are fine, man, and blondes are fun, but when it comes to getting a dirty job done, I’ll take a redheaded woman.”

Whether or not you personally agree with The Boss doesn’t really hold much importance.

Bruuuuuuce, like the rest of us, is entitled to his own opinion on the topic of hair color -- and there’s certainly no right or wrong way to approach the subject. It’s simply a matter of preference.

You might be a blonde person, lurking around the bar looking for platinum hair and blue eyes, or you could be one for darker features -- you know, olive skin and dark hair.

Like I said, there’s no one way to go about it. Everyone’s different, and everyone will ultimately voice a different opinion on the matter.

Who knows? You might be like Mr. Springsteen and fancy a redhead. The choice is yours.

But what acts as the driving force behind this preference has always been far more difficult to account for.

Men and women, pretty much since the beginning of time, have been forming opinions on what the most desirable hair color is -- it appears there isn’t one hair color that is universally more desirable.

There are aspects about people with certain colored hair -- and yourself -- that will make one type more desirable than the other for you, specifically. 

Some of these aspects have to deal with physical attraction, and others have more to do with what's behind the physical appearance.

For the purpose of this piece, we’re going to only focus on blondes and brunettes -- but that doesn’t mean other hair colors are any less important or relevant. Just ask The Boss.

Exhibit A: Blonde

The impression of blonde as a symbol of beauty is not a universal truth.

Sure, it may act as a construct for what many people find beautiful -- but it doesn’t mean this idea of blonde being aesthetically superior to other hair colors will apply to everyone.

Nevertheless, it’s hard to deny that society tends to pamper their “blond-haired, blue-eyed” members, especially from an attractiveness standpoint.

Interestingly enough, as Carole Jahme writes for The Guardian, the genes behind each of these traits -- blonde hair and blue eyes -- are located “close together on the same chromosome.”

Not to mention, it was long considered that blonde hair and blue eyes were hereditary advantages, so carriers of these traits looked to ensure they were handed down to their offspring.

I suppose these people want to keep the blonde over blue, shout out to Billy Joel.

That being said, why this genetic information is perceived as more appealing has a lot to do with non-genetic factors.

One of the more enduring principles for why men feel blonde women are more attractive than brunettes, for instance, is because blonde hair is actually extremely rare.

Although this may come as something of a shock to you, only about 2 percent of the world’s population has blonde hair.

And, according to a more primal theory supported by Jahme, Paleolithic men chose blonde women -- with respect to sexual selection -- because they “stood out from their rivals.”

Men today may still behave in the same way, albeit appearing slightly differently while doing so.

While they might not be choosing blonde women because they provide a more individual candidate for sexual selection, it is fair to think you spotted that one blonde girl out on the street simply because she stood out, above all the rest.

Exhibit B: Brunette

While blondes are usually glorified as the most beautiful members of society by media and other outlets for popular culture, I, personally, have always found brunettes to be more desirable.

While blonde hair typically alludes to fairer skin, which many believe to be an advantage -- with regards to the showing of blemishes and signs of aging -- I’ve always been partial to the dark-haired women with darker complexions.

I think, for me, it’s just because I find this to be more exotic, more Mediterranean looking.

And it seems more men than we’ve been conditioned to believe tend to agree.

According to Fiona Macrae of Daily Mail, University of Westminster researchers have found that while blonde women are approached more frequently, it’s the brunettes who men rated higher on a scale of attraction.

The rationale behind this is that while society tends to promote blonde as being superiorly beautiful, it also has been known to poke fun at the intellect of people with this color hair, as well.

I mean, I’m sure you’re no stranger to the (rather rude) phrase “dumb blonde” or certain portrayals or depictions of ditzy blondes in film.

For this reason, we tend to perceive blonde women as more approachable than brunettes.

With that said, men who are more inclined to seek out strong-minded, independent women are more likely to scope out a dark-haired woman at the bar.

As Macrae reports, men typically view blonde women as more “needy.”

If you consider yourself a dark-haired person, perhaps you’re looking for a partner who is more decisive and self-reliant.