Blondes are more aggressive than brunettes 'because they attract more male attention'
Last updated at 11:55 AM on 18th January 2010
After years of being the butt of jokes about being dumb, blondes may be having the last laugh after all, research has revealed.
An academic study has found that women with fair hair are more aggressive and confident than brunettes or redheads.
This is because blondes attract more attention than other women as they are generally viewed by men as more attractive and so are used to getting their own way, the researchers claim.
The study indicated that the more 'special' people feel, judged by physical strength for men and looks for women, the more likely they are to get angry to reach social goals.
The theory might, perhaps, help to explain the success of businesswoman Michelle Mone, founder of the Ultimo underwear brand, and of former Olympic skier, model and current Celebrity Big Brother housemate Ivana Trump.
The experts found that even those who dye their hair blonde take on natural blondes' attributes - which might partly explain the longevity of Dolly Parton's career too.
The country and western singer once said: 'I'm not offended by all the dumb blonde jokes because I know I'm not dumb... and I also know that I'm not blonde.'
The study, which examined links between confidence and aggression, involved 156 female undergraduates in America.
Aaron Sell, of the University of California, who led the research, said: 'We expected blondes to feel more entitled than other young women - this is southern California, the natural habitat of the privileged blonde.
'What we did not expect to find was how much more warlike they are than their peers on campus.'
He said he suspected that blondes exist in a 'bubble' where they have been treated better than other people for so long they do not realise that men, in particular, are more deferential towards them than other women.
'They may not even realise they are treated like a princess,' he said. The study was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science.
It also found that although blondes are more aggressive, they are less likely than brunettes or redheads to get into an actual fight themselves - possibly to ensure they preserved their looks.
Evolutionary psychologist Catherine Salmon, of the University of Redlands, California, said: 'Blondes are more confident in their abilities, although the results do not necessarily support their confidence.
'Maybe responding to their own stereotypes, brunettes tend to work harder and expect less special treatment.
Women who go blonde quickly get used to the privileges of blondeness - usually male attentiveness.'
Opinions differ, however, among those who have been on both sides of the blonde divide.
Broadcaster Vanessa Feltz, who admits to dying her hair, has said: 'I become more battling when I'm blonde. You're noticed more.'
But when former shadow home secretary Ann Widdecombe went blonde she noted: 'People talk to me more slowly now."
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