People With Blue Eyes Are More Attractive, According To Science

Aug 30, 2018

Have you ever wondered if your blue eyes really do make you more beautiful and attractive? From blondes having more fun and being less intellectual, the feistiness and moody temperament of redheads, to a brunette’s ability to get things done, we’ve all heard the stereotypes surrounding certain physical characteristics and a person’s personality. Such has almost been cemented into culture as works of fiction, such as “Legally Blonde,” routinely build a character’s persona alongside their physical descriptors. 

It all makes one wonder if such stereotypes have some ring of truth or are just another fictional line adopted by society. Personality aside, what about what’s going on inside the body? Can a very visible feature like eye color really correlate with things like pain tolerance and the likelihood of alcohol dependency?  

Research says stereotypes based on blue eyes may hold some truth. Let’s explore some of the questionable stereotypes that science is backing up about people with light-colored eyes: 

In 2011, researchers at The University of Regensburg in Germany decided to see how a person’s eye color affected their attractiveness. The research team surveyed 80 participants for the study. They were asked to look at photos showing only the eye area of 60 women between the ages of 15 and 65. They then rated the women on attractiveness. 

The results did not show a connection between the color of the iris and rated attractiveness. It did, however, reveal that participants picked blue more often than any other iris color as a positive aspect in their attraction assessments. Overall, the research indicated that having blue eyes and large pupils is associated with a youthfulness that may bolster your success at finding a mate.

Good to know, right? 

According to Professor Hans Eiberg from the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, the human race originally had brown eyes. Apparently, blue eyes are the result of a genetic mutation that occurred within the past six to 10 millenniums, and it’s been traced back to a single, common ancestor.

So, yes, according to the mutation theory, all blue-eyed people are related.

Compared to darker hues, researchers at the University of Pittsburgh found that women with light-colored irises can tolerate pain the best. The small pilot study involved 58 pregnant women. 

A study found that blue-eyed people in a physical education class had slower reaction times during sporting activities. Other studies involving motor skills and eye color have showed similar results. A research paper by the University of Louisville showed darker eyes have a stronger reaction time in areas requiring swift and deliberate reflexes. Those with lighter eyes performed better at tasks without immediate reactors and that used delay and self-pacing, such as basketball free throws and bowling.

Darker eyes have more melanin than lighter eye colors. Light eyes allow more light in, which makes blue-eyed people less tolerant of and sensitive to UV rays. 

Darker eye colors accept change faster and more easily than those with lighter eye colors. The study compared the personalities of young individuals with blue vs brown eyes and found that the lighter-eyed subjects tended to be shyer. 

Not to make your blue eyes green with envy, but you’re not considered so trustworthy. An interesting study over at the University in Prague, Czech Republic, found that blue-eyed people were generally considered less trustworthy than their brown-eyed counterparts. 

Researchers over in Italy found that blue eyes make a person around 12% more likely to develop diabetes than their brown-eyed counterparts.

According to a study by the University of Vermont, which was published in the American Journal of Medical Genetic: Neuropsychiatric Genetics (Part B,) those with light eyes, especially blue ones, have a greater risk of developing a dependency upon alcohol. The research involved over 10,000 male and female test subjects of all ages, ethnic backgrounds, and mental health histories. 

It’s interesting to see how science is backing up some of the common inner workings of people based on eye color  stereotypes. What color are your eyes? Do you feel any stereotypes are actually applicable to you? Tell us about it in the comment section.