HAMBURG – Here’s something for content producers to consider when casting their next skin flick: A German researcher says when it comes to sexual activity, redhead, not blondes, have more fun.Werner Habermehl, PhD, a professor at the Hamburg Medical Research Institute, surveyed hundreds of German women about their sex lives and compared the results with the subjects’ observable hair color.
“The sex lives of women with red hair were clearly more active than those with other hair color, with more partners and having sex more often than the average,” he determined. “The research shows that the fiery redhead certainly lives up to her reputation.”
Habermehl said the observation holds true whether the woman is a natural redhead or gets her coloring from a bottle. Women who dye their hair red may be signaling men they are looking for a hot time.
“Even women in a fixed relationship are letting their partners know they are unhappy if they dye their hair red,” he told London’s Daily Mail newspaper. “They are saying that they are looking for something better.”
At least one psychologist put a different spin on Habermehl’s interpretation of his results.
Christine Baumanns told the Daily Mail, “Red stands for passion, and when a man sees a redhead he will think he is dealing with a woman who won’t mess around and gets straight to the point when it comes to sex.”
Habermehl is not unaccustomed to having his research interpreted in ways other than he intended. In 1999, he put forth research evidence to support a theory that sexual activity can diminish the frequency and severity of headaches in migraine sufferers. Habermehl and his colleagues posited the release of hormones including adrenaline and cortisol during coitus has a pain-killing effect similar to morphine.
“People who have regular sex are training their bodies physically and psychologically to be in top form,” he said at the time. “During sexual intercourse, our bodies manufacture a powerful hormone cocktail that has an immensely positive impact.”
Men everywhere rushed to interpret Habermehl’s findings as evidence “Not tonight, dear, I’ve got a headache” is a call to action, not a brush-off.
