Perceived sexual receptivity and fashionableness: Separate paths linking red and black to perceived attractiveness

Color Research & Application
Volume 39, Issue 2, pages 208–212, April 2014
Issue published online: 7 JAN 2014

Adam D. Pazda [1], Andrew J. Elliot [1] and Tobias Greitemeyer [2]

1 Department of Clinical and Social Sciences in Psychology, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY
2 Department of Psychology, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria

Keywords:
psychology; red; black; color; receptivity; fashionableness; attractiveness

Abstract:
Previous research has documented that the colors red and black influence perceptions of attractiveness for men viewing women. Perceived sexual receptivity has been identified as a mediator for the red-attraction link, but there has been no research to date on the mechanism linking black to attractiveness. We conducted an experiment to test whether separate, unique mediators were responsible for color effects on attractiveness. We hypothesized that red would lead to attractiveness via perceived sexual receptivity, and that black would lead to attractiveness via perceived fashionableness. The data supported our central hypotheses, suggesting that color stimuli can lead to similar outcomes, but through different psychological processes.

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/col.21804/abstract

Apparatus and method for wearing replica cauliflower ears

United States Patent Application
Publication number US20130326793 A1
December 12, 2013

Canadian Patents Database
Patent Application: CA 2812333
Open to Public Inspection: 2013-10-06

Andrew James Bingley, Walter David McCrindle, Christopher Brian Prickett

Fergus, CA

Abstract

There is disclosed an apparatus and method for wearing replica “cauliflower” ears which are molded from the actual cauliflower ears of athletes contact sports including mixed martial arts (MMA), wrestling, rugby, boxing and others. In an embodiment, the apparatus comprises support means adapted to support left and right replica cauliflower ears on a wearer's head. A fastening means is adapted to fasten the left and right replica cauliflower ears, respectively, to the support means. The left and right replica cauliflower ears are modeled from a mold of an athlete's cauliflower ears, and suitably resized and shaped to be worn over the ears of the wearer. In another embodiment, the supporting means comprises a flexible head band, and the left and right replica cauliflower ears are fastened to the left and right arms, respectively, of the head band, and wherein the left and right arms am configured to at least partially wrap around a wearer's head.

BACKGROUND

In mixed martial arts (MMA), wrestling, rugby, boxing and other contact sports, athletes may sustain injuries which may become scarred when the injuries heal. More particularly, athletes in contact sports such as MMK wrestling, rugby and boxing may sustain injuries to the ears resulting in hematoma auris, perichondrial hematoma, or traumatic auricular hematoma, more commonly known as “cauliflower” ears. These cauliflower ears are often unique and distinctive for each athlete, and are often considered by the athletes and their fans to be badges of honor.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure relates to an apparatus and method for wearing replica “cauliflower” ears which are modeled from the ears of an athlete in MMA, wrestling, or other contact sports.

http://appft1.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&d=PG01&p=1&u=/netahtml/PTO/srchnum.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=20130326793.PGNR.

http://brevets-patents.ic.gc.ca/opic-cipo/cpd/eng/patent/2812333/summary.html

Considerations on a Gentleman’s Posterior

Fashion Theory: The Journal of Dress, Body & Culture
Volume 16, Number 2, June 2012 , pp. 211-234(24)
Publication date: June 1, 2012
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.2752/175174112X13274987924131

Cole, Shaun

Abstract

In discussing J.C. Leyendecker’s 1911 painting Man on a Bag used to advertise S.T. Cooper and Sons’ Kenosha Klosed Krotch union suit, Richard Martin noted that the positioning of the male figure had to be careful to avoid raising concerns about anal anxiety, reflecting Freudian theories of sexual development. For this new revolutionary back opening for men’s underwear it was essential to depict a rear view of the male figure wearing the garment. However, as Martin noted, there was a certain discomfort around the idea of considering the male rear end. The association of sodomy and homosexuality led to this insecurity about the display of the male posterior. Men’s behinds have, however, periodically been put on display throughout the twentieth and twenty-first centuries through changing fashions and this article will address key moments when male fashion has concentrated and highlighted the male behind such as the adoption of shrink-to-fit blue jeans by teenagers in the 1950s and close-fitting Italian-style trousers worn beneath “bum freezer” jackets that revealed a shapely male behind. It will also consider the depiction of the male behind in underwear advertising and the use of padded underwear to enhance this “asset,” and conclude with a reflection on the mass adoption of the hip-hop-inspired low-slung jean.

http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/bloomsbury/jdbc/2012/00000016/00000002/art00005

Dressed for Sex: Red as a Female Sexual Signal in Humans

PLoS One. 2012; 7(4): e34607
Published online Apr 13, 2012
doi:  10.1371/journal.pone.0034607

Andrew J. Elliot and Adam D. Pazda

Department of Clinical & Social Sciences in Psychology, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York, United States of America

Background

In many non-human primate species, a display of red by a female serves as a sexual signal to attract male conspecifics. Red is associated with sex and romance in humans, and women convey their sexual interest to men through a variety of verbal, postural, and behavioral means. In the present research, we investigate whether female red ornamentation in non-human primates has a human analog, whereby women use a behavioral display of red to signal their sexual interest to men.

Methodology/Principal Findings

Three studies tested the hypothesis that women use red clothing to communicate sexual interest to men in profile pictures on dating websites. In Study 1, women who imagined being interested in casual sex were more likely to display red (but not other colors) on their anticipated web profile picture. In Study 2, women who indicated interest in casual sex were more likely to prominently display red (but not other colors) on their actual web profile picture. In Study 3, women on a website dedicated to facilitating casual sexual relationships were more likely to prominently exhibit red (but not other colors) than women on a website dedicated to facilitating marital relationships.

Conclusions/Significance

These results establish a provocative parallel between women and non-human female primates in red signal coloration in the mating game. This research shows, for the first time, a functional use of color in women's sexual self-presentation, and highlights the need to extend research on color beyond physics, physiology, and preference to psychological functioning.

Acknowledgments

We extend our appreciation to members of the approach-avoidance motivation lab at the University of Rochester for their competent and conscientious work on these studies.

http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0034607

From Kitsch to Chic: The Transformation of Hawaiian Shirt Aesthetics

Clothing and Textiles Research Journal
March 2003 vol. 21 no. 2 75-88
doi: 10.1177/0887302X0302100203

Marcia A. Morgado

Department of Family and Consumer Sciences, University of Hawai‘i - Manoa, Miller Hall, #204, 2515 Campus Road, Honolulu, HI 96822

Abstract

The Hawaiian shirt originated in the mid-1930s as a commodity for the tourist market. Unique elements in its design, including tropical print motifs in cartoon-like renditions, brilliant colors, and silky rayon fabrics made the shirt instantly recognizable and contributed to its status as both an essential souvenir purchase and the quintessential element in the stereotype of the tourist as sartorial nerd. An analysis of the transformation of the shirt - from tourist kitsch to highly valued collectible, and from collectible to global fashion - is framed on rubbish theory. The transformation is traced to an assortment of myths that reconstitute the souvenir commodity as an indigenous ethnic art form and a scarce relic of Hawai‘i’s romanticized past and to a surfeit of publications that position the shirt as a collector’s item. The merits of rubbish theory as a framework for the analysis are assessed, and apparel scholars are asked to consider the influence of myth and scholarship on changes in the aesthetic codes of other fashion and appearance-related commodities.

aesthetic codes, rubbish theory, Hawaiian shirt

http://ctr.sagepub.com/content/21/2/75