Reviews for Do Gentlemen Really Prefer Blondes?: Bodies, Behavior, and Brains--The Science Behind Sex, Love, and Attraction

The average rating for Do Gentlemen Really Prefer Blondes?: Bodies, Behavior, and Brains--The Science Behind Sex, Love, and Attraction based on 2 reviews is 4.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2009-10-14 00:00:00 Jocelyne Lachance I'm a black sheep. Always have been. Study after study has proven that men actually DO prefer blondes. Also, study after study has shown that women are attracted to men like their father, and men to women like their mother. I'm a guy and my mother is blonde. So yeah, man. Most guys are more likely to prefer blondes and they're more likely to prefer women like their mother -- so I should totally be into blondes. But I'm not. I dig brunettes! What the hell? Is this book crap? No, it's not. And I'll explain why later. But first.... The book's format is simple but effective. It poses a question (one of a hundred, total) about attraction, sex, and love, and then gives the answer. Here are some of my favorite examples: - All things equal, the more symmetrical a man is, the more likely he is to give a woman an orgasm during sex. - Men often think that women are interested in them when they are not. It gives them an evolutionary advantage to think that they are being smooth when they aren't; the lower the inhibitions and the more attempts, the greater the chances are of him finding a mate. - Similarly, men often think women are flirting with them when the woman is just simply being nice. - Men and women tend to prefer those of their own ethnicity. The only race that comes out as "very low" on the interest scale is the female preference for Asian males. - Many antidepressants make it difficult to fall in love. Being in love typically involves low serotonin levels mixed with very high dopamine levels. Because SSRI's (think Prozac, Zoloft, and many more) raise serotonin levels, people on these drugs are less likely to feel the intoxicating effect of being in love. - 95% of people think their partner is above average. (HA!) - When a man is away from his woman his level of attraction to her greatly increases. From an evolutionary standpoint, this is explained because he unconsciously believes that she could be cheating on him, being impregnated from a rival's seed. Now GET THIS: Upon the man's return to his lover, he produces more sperm AND thrusts harder than if she had been around the whole time. More sperm is produced because, of course, it increases your chance of winning the baby over rivals, and the harder thrust is explained because the harder one goes at it, the greater the likelihood that he scoops away (often up to 80%!) of his rival's semen. - When in the early stages of dating, the worst thing you can do is reveal too much information. Also, make your date feel more comfortable with you by displaying similarities. - A ton of attraction exists in the eyes -- people that stare at each other automatically feel more attracted and attached. - Straight females are easily turned on by romantic female porn while straight males don't get turned on by gay porn at all. Yet 70% of bisexual men are more turned on by gay porn than by straight porn. - Sex has extremely valuable calming effects-- no surprise there. But get this: that calming effect can last up to a full week after the last time you had sex! - Ingested semen, whether through the vagina, mouth, or anus, releases mood enhancing chemicals and hormones that last for days. Often people unknowingly go through semen withdrawal because of this. - Women are far more desirous of sex just before, and during, ovulation. Studies show that they appear more attractive to outsiders during these times, as well. - Men and women are more attracted to those with opposite MHC levels, which is mainly found in scent. When a woman is on the pill she becomes attracted to men with similar MHC levels. (You can imagine the problems this can cause.) - Women view men that have front vowels in their name (such as "Ben") as more attractive than men with back vowels in their name (such as "Ron"). - Penis size has nothing to do with ethnicity. The only statistically significant indicator was actually the individual's height -- the taller the man, the more likely it is that he has a big wiener. Also, few women care about a man's size, and a large majority are happy with their man's size, despite tons of studies showing that the majority of men wish they were "larger than they are now". - When it comes to finding a long term partner we tend to prefer someone that looks similar to us. When we're looking for a fling, we tend to look for someone that looks different from us. So now: Why did I start this off by telling you of my preference for brunettes? Because, while this book is jam-packed with fascinating and useful information about attraction, sex, and love; no two people are identical: human beings are complex organisms, and we can't be easily grouped and defined. But we can be generalized, because we all are -- whether we care to admit it or not -- heavily shaped by evolution and the psychological ramifications of culture. One can generalize without pigeonholing, and there are often exceptions to the rules posed in this book. The author is sharp, and is careful to throw in proper qualifiers, giving multiple possible explanations for her answers. At the same time, she gives plenty of scientific backing with a plethora of studies backing up her generalizations. Outliers, such as myself and my preference for brunettes, will always exist, and she's clear about that. Of course much of love, attraction -- and to a lesser extent, sex -- will remain a mystery. But to better understand these factors is to improve our chances of avoiding pitfalls, and finding happiness. And hell, that's all we really want anyway. Isn't it? Attraction! LOVE! SEX!! WEEeeeeeEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!

Review # 2 was written on 2008-11-06 00:00:00 Susanne Fjellseth Very interesting and well written. Sometimes science books are written too dry and poorly, which is a shame since they do not do justice to their topic (which is not saying that the style should dumb down the way information is conveyed -- just keep it interesting!). This book was a great read with lots of information that was not only interesting, but quite useful if you are wanting to maximise your tips as a waitress or scientific explanations for attraction! I definitely recommend it.