Lula: Even Cave Men Preferred Blondes
Karolina Lula, op-ed columnist
Issue date: 3/6/06 Section: Opinion
The academic journal Evolution and Human Behavior published a theory this week on the origin of blondes. Peter Frost, a Canadian anthropologist, attributed the existence of blond hair color to the methods prehistoric humans used to gather food and choose mates.
In Europe, where the color originated, there are at least seven variants of the hair color gene. Amazingly, they all evolved within 35,000-40,000 years, after the original people migrated from Africa. The study explains the rapid evolution, with specific attention to blond hair color.
The British Sunday Times ran a story about Frost's theory: "The increase in competition for males led to rapid change as women struggled to evolve the most alluring qualities." Apparently, early European females thought to themselves, "I think that male is attractive, but other females want him, too. Quick, let me mutate!"
It's interesting, how evolution works. I guess when Britney Spears obtained a pair of breasts overnight, Cher changed her cheekbone structure faster than she recorded albums, and Michael Jackson became white - it was all just evolution.
Not quite. The original women didn't just will themselves into blondeness. It was a trait. European women developed blond hair because men selected blondes as mates. Until about 10,000-11,000 years ago everybody on earth had dark eyes and hair. So it wasn't until the end of the Ice Age that the dark genes mutated (yes, mutated!) into lighter colors. Hence, Hitler's "master race" was more a product of random prehistoric mutations than eugenics.
Nevertheless, there are plenty of mutations that don't get passed on. People with six fingers don't make it to the covers of Sports Illustrated very often. Siamese twins have a hard time getting laid. Just watch the movie "Stuck On You" and you will get the idea. But if sex is fun, than blondes definitely had more fun back in the day of wooly mammoths. Why? Because the woman-to-man ratio was high, and men got to be the selectors.
Since there were food shortages in northern Europe, the men had to embark on dangerous expeditions in search of food. There were no nuts and berries to gather in the icy European regions, so off the men went looking for mammoths, reindeer, bison and horses. Unfortunately, those journeys often led to their deaths. Because there were more surviving women than men, the men had their pick when it came to women.
The rest was history. When that one blonde baby grew up, the men were more attracted to her. That improved the chances exponentially that the genes would be propagated into the next generation, even if the next baby was born brown-haired. If the males wanted the blondes more than brunettes, then it was only natural that the "recessive genes" became more prominent. The recessive genes did not drown out the other genes, but they became more plentiful as many of the mothers were blonde.
But what is so magical about blondes? Perhaps the blondes aged less quickly. Perhaps the brunettes were genetically pre-disposed to fatness. Perhaps the blondes made a more comfortable cave. One thing is certain--the prehistoric gentleman really did prefer blondes. Whatever it is about blondes, it's not a preference anymore. It's ingrained in our genetic makeup. Thank you, evolution.
Karolina Lula is a NCAS political science and economics double major. Full disclosure: Lula is a natural European blonde, and single.
In Europe, where the color originated, there are at least seven variants of the hair color gene. Amazingly, they all evolved within 35,000-40,000 years, after the original people migrated from Africa. The study explains the rapid evolution, with specific attention to blond hair color.
The British Sunday Times ran a story about Frost's theory: "The increase in competition for males led to rapid change as women struggled to evolve the most alluring qualities." Apparently, early European females thought to themselves, "I think that male is attractive, but other females want him, too. Quick, let me mutate!"
It's interesting, how evolution works. I guess when Britney Spears obtained a pair of breasts overnight, Cher changed her cheekbone structure faster than she recorded albums, and Michael Jackson became white - it was all just evolution.
Not quite. The original women didn't just will themselves into blondeness. It was a trait. European women developed blond hair because men selected blondes as mates. Until about 10,000-11,000 years ago everybody on earth had dark eyes and hair. So it wasn't until the end of the Ice Age that the dark genes mutated (yes, mutated!) into lighter colors. Hence, Hitler's "master race" was more a product of random prehistoric mutations than eugenics.
Nevertheless, there are plenty of mutations that don't get passed on. People with six fingers don't make it to the covers of Sports Illustrated very often. Siamese twins have a hard time getting laid. Just watch the movie "Stuck On You" and you will get the idea. But if sex is fun, than blondes definitely had more fun back in the day of wooly mammoths. Why? Because the woman-to-man ratio was high, and men got to be the selectors.
Since there were food shortages in northern Europe, the men had to embark on dangerous expeditions in search of food. There were no nuts and berries to gather in the icy European regions, so off the men went looking for mammoths, reindeer, bison and horses. Unfortunately, those journeys often led to their deaths. Because there were more surviving women than men, the men had their pick when it came to women.
The rest was history. When that one blonde baby grew up, the men were more attracted to her. That improved the chances exponentially that the genes would be propagated into the next generation, even if the next baby was born brown-haired. If the males wanted the blondes more than brunettes, then it was only natural that the "recessive genes" became more prominent. The recessive genes did not drown out the other genes, but they became more plentiful as many of the mothers were blonde.
But what is so magical about blondes? Perhaps the blondes aged less quickly. Perhaps the brunettes were genetically pre-disposed to fatness. Perhaps the blondes made a more comfortable cave. One thing is certain--the prehistoric gentleman really did prefer blondes. Whatever it is about blondes, it's not a preference anymore. It's ingrained in our genetic makeup. Thank you, evolution.
Karolina Lula is a NCAS political science and economics double major. Full disclosure: Lula is a natural European blonde, and single.