Courtesy 123rf

Time for part two of my series on things a writer must consider when creating a hero.  Last week it was a hero’s physique.  This week I want to look at his features:   hair color, eye color, and unusual features (scars, tattoos, piercings, etc).

Granted, this section might seem to depend more on subjectivity than last week’s. Everyone has a preference  about how they like their hero to look:  blue-eyed and blond, dark hair and eyes, green eyes and auburn hair.  The combinations are endless.

But what do the statistics on preferences say?

A recent study in France gives startling evidence that it’s actually more than just preference.  “A massive consensus appears to exist on which hair colour is preferred, and there also appears to be such severe prejudice associated with the tint of your locks, this is possibly as harsh as racial discrimination.”  The results showed that men with black hair were preferred 35% more often than blondes (27.5%), brunettes (30%), and redheads (13%).  In fact, redheads of both sexes were least preferred.

Do you prefer the tall, dark and handsome hero?  I’ve written about a blonde, several brunettes, but no redheads.  And auburn is my personal favorite hair color on a man.   I guess I’m saving my redhead for better things. 🙂  I do, however, agree that I prefer dark-haired men in my romance novels.  I’ve never found blondes attractive, although I made one of my heroes blonde just to give some variety to my books.

And on the subject of hair, what about facial hair?  Do beards turn readers on?  Should your hero sport a goatee or a mustache?

I personally am a fan of beards.  In my serial novel, Time Enough to Love, I made Thomas, my second hero, have a beard, even though men during the Medieval period were usually clean-shaven. Which brings up the consideration of period accuracy.  Those writing historical romance must take fashion into consideration when deciding whether or not to beard your hero.  There were periods where facial hair was de rigueur, and others where it was totally unfashionable.

So what about eye color?

Studies say that brown-eyed men are deemed more trustworthy, attractive, and dominant.  Blue-eyed men were considered less trustworthy.  But the most interesting finding in the study, from the Czech Republic, is that eye-color itself is not linked to trustworthiness, attractiveness, or dominance.  It is the brown-eye color combined with some other facial feature that triggers the preference.  “An analysis of the men’s facial configurations showed that the brown-eyed men tended to have broader, bigger chins, bigger noses, eyes closer together, and larger eye-brows than blue-eyed men, so it’s possible some or all of these facial features are responsible for the perception of dominance.”  So do your heroes need those dark eyes, or a strong chin?

And the last feature a writer has to take into consideration when creating a hero is body

Courtesy Wikimedia Commons

decoration (tattoos and piercings) or scars.  I believe this question, regarding tattoos and piercings, may have generational overtones.  Informal research finds many women of the younger generations find tattoos on men very attractive.  Less women seemed enthusiastic about piercings.  Modern heroes (I don’t have to deal with these issues as my heroes are historical and the craze had not set in yet) quite often have several tattoos, especially if they are military or service occupations, like police and firemen.  And they seem very popular with the ladies. 🙂

The scarred hero is another consideration.  Does the hero have an incident in his past that warrants a scar?  Does it have bearing on the book? Is it just for “character?”  I know of two historical romances by Mary Balogh that feature severely scarred heroes.  In both cases, the scars were integral parts of the plots of the books.  In my Only Scandal Will Do,  the hero’s  face is clawed by the heroine as she escapes.  The claw marks leave scars on his otherwise handsome face.  But the marks help delineate his character–and give him a more dangerous look to boot.

Creating a face for a memorable hero isn’t as easy, perhaps, as it may seem.

So does your favorite hero fit the research standard:  Black/brunette hair, brown eyes, chiseled features with a tattoo?  Does he have a sexy scar or a harsh reminder of the past? Or do you buck the system with a blue-eyed blonde with no body decoration?  Or even better, do you have a gorgeous red-haired, green-eyed hero just itching to prove the research wrong?

Resources:

“Hair Color and Attraction–Is the Latest Psychological Research Bad News for Redheads?” by Dr. Raj Persaud and Adrian Furnham.  HuffPost Lifestyle, Feb. 9, 2014

“Men with brown-eyes are perceived as more dominant, but it’s not because their eyes are brown.”  BPS Research Digest