Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 2008, 49, 429–437 DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9450.2008.00651.x © 2008 The Authors. Journal compilation © 2008 The Scandinavian Psychological Associations. Published by Blackwell Publishing Ltd., 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford OX4 2DQ, UK and 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148, USA. ISSN 0036-5564. Blackwell Publishing Ltd Personality and Social Sciences The influence of skin tone, hair length, and hair colour on ratings of women’s physical attractiveness, health and fertility VIREN SWAMI, 1 ADRIAN FURNHAM 2 and KIRAN JOSHI 2 1 Department of Psychology, University of Westminster, UK 2 Department of Psychology, University College London, UK Swami, V., Furnham, A. & Joshi, K. (2008). The influence of skin tone, hair length, and hair colour on ratings of women’s physical attractiveness, health and fertility. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 49, 429–437. The present study investigated the role of skin tone, hair colour and hair length in perceptions of women’s physical attractiveness, health and fertility. One-hundred and thirty men and 112 women rated a series of 12 line drawings that varied in three levels of skin tone, two levels of hair colour and two levels of hair length. Results showed a number of interactions between the three variables, suggesting that these phenotypes are highly intercorrelated. However, there were also significant main effects of each of the variables, with hair colour generally explaining the greatest amount of variance. In general, light-toned figures were rated the most positively. Contrary to expectations, however, brunettes were rated more positively than blondes, and hair length had only a weak effect on ratings of attractiveness. Implications of these findings and the limitations of the use of line drawings are discussed in conclusion. Key words: Physical attractiveness, skin tone, hair colour, hairstyle, health, fertility. Viren Swami, Department of Psychology, University of Westminster, 309 Regent Street, London W1B 2UW, UK. E-mail: virenswami@hotmail.com INTRODUCTION Recent years have witnessed an explosion in research examining the attributes that women and men find attractive in potential partners (Swami, 2007). This body of work has tended to focus on facial characteristics and body size (for a review, see Swami & Furnham, 2008: ch. 5–6), which is surprising given the multitude of bodily features that could potentially be quantified (Pokrywka, Ç abri h & Krakowiak, 2006). The present study is a preliminary attempt to contribute to filling this gap in the literature by focusing on three bodily characteristics that have received relatively little focus, namely skin tone, hair style and hair colour. In the following sections, we briefly review the relevant literature relating to these three characteristics (for a fuller discussion, see Swami & Furnham, 2008: ch. 4). Skin tone The available research on judgements of skin tone suggests that, within ethnic groups, there is a general preference for women with skin tones lighter than the local average and men with skin tones darker than the local average (Aoki, 2002; Frost, 2005). In a widely-cited study, van den Berghe and Frost (1986) reported that, of the 51 societies for which data were then available, 47 preferred lighter-toned skin in women. This mirrors a natural difference in skin tone among women and men in almost all cultures, with women tending to be the fairer sex as a result of both natural (Jablonski & Chaplin, 2000) and sexual selection (Frost, 2006). Across ethnic groups, however, the picture is complicated by the legacy of colonialism and racism in some societies, which has typically meant a denigration of darker skin tones and an association between fairness of skin with goodness and power (see Hall, 1995; Russell, Wilson & Hall, 1992; Swami, 2007). Thus, a number of studies have shown that dark-toned individuals face more discrimination than individuals with light-toned skin (Frisby, 2006; Keenan, 1996; Leslie, 1995), and that European (Caucasoid) features are accorded higher status, even within some minority ethnic groups (Maddox, 2004; Thompson & Keith, 2001). Finally, there is a strong association between skin tone and social status (Keith & Herring, 1991). It has been suggested that, in most socioeconomically developed societies, higher incomes and ease of travel to warmer climates during the winter has allowed skin tone to become a ubiquitous symbol of a person’s socioeconomic status or occupation. In developed societies in the West, being able to get a tan serves as a symbol of status, a message relayed to individuals through the mass media and social interactions (Jackson & Aicken, 2000; Wichstrom, 1994). Indeed, many studies have found that a tan appearance has a positive effect on the appearance of both women and men (Bond & Cash, 1992; Broadstock, Borland & Gason, 1992; Hill, 2002; Jackson & Aicken, 2000; Miller et al. , 1990; Sahay & Piran, 1997; Smith, Cornelissen & Tovée, 2007).