Perception of attractiveness by obesity and hair color.

In a study of 318 Caucasian college students, obese persons and redheaded men were seen as unattractive compared to the nonobese and other hair colors. The obesity stereotype and the hair-color stereotype appear to be evaluated separately with little interaction. The results imply that a stereotypic characteristic like obesity, which is perceived as being under a person's control, may be evaluated differently than a stereotypic characteristic independent of personal choice such as hair color.