New study reveals why women prefer pink
Rushda:
August 22nd, 2007
A new study from the University of Newcastle may finally reveal why many females prefer the colour pink. Preference for more “girly” colours was once thought to be influenced by social or cultural conventions, but now researchers say that it may all be down to genetic dispositions in women, and given a choice most women will always opt for redder shades than their male counterparts.
The study consisted of asking more than 200 men and women in their 20s to choose between different pairs of colours on a computer screen. The results, which appear in the scientific journal Current Biology, indicate that women were more likely to pick colours which had some red mixed in - even if they weren’t directly aware of it. For those who think that this may still be due to the “pink is for girls and blue is for boys” culture that we have in Britain, it is interesting to note that half the group were Chinese amongst whom the marketing divide isn’t so prevalent. Even Chinese women, however, tended to opt for redder shades.
Because of these striking results, researchers believe colour preference comes into the biology of the two genders. The reasons for this may be that, historically, having a preference for red meant women could find riper fruits and pick healthy mates. As head of the research Dr Anya Hurlbert says:
“Evolution may have driven females to prefer reddish colours - reddish fruits, healthy, reddish faces. Culture may exploit and compound this natural female preference.”