If you want an intelligent partner – seek out a man with body hair. A recent study conducted by psychiatrist Dr Aikarakudy Alias, who has been working on the relationship between body hair and intelligence for 22 years, showed that hairy chests are more likely to be found among the most intelligent and highly educated than in the general population. Excessive body hair could also mean higher intelligence.
Dr Alias’s research, which focused on medical students in the United States, showed that 45 per cent of male doctors in training were “very hairy”, compared with less than 10 per cent of men overall. In a region of southern India, research among medical and engineering students and manual labourers found that both groups of students had more body hair on average than the manual workers.
Further investigations showed that when academic ranking among students was examined, the hairier men got better grades. Taking this study one step further, Dr Alias studied 117 Mensa members (who have an IQ of at least 140) and found that this group tended to have thick body hair. Some of the most intelligent men were those with hair on their backs as well as on their chests.
You may or may not have found this to be true in your own experience. In the end it’s really a matter of personal preference. For most women hairy backs are a deal breaker, even though at one time we were all covered in hair.
All mammals have hair, even mammals that “appear” bald (e.g. whales, pigs, etc.). Among primates, humans have the least amount of body hair/fur. Speaking from an evolutionary perspective, it is not entirely clear why men tend to have more body hair (and facial hair) than do women. However, there are probably a couple of things going on:
1. Sexual selection. At various times in human history, hairier men may have been chosen as sexual partners/mates more than smoother men because for whatever reason this was more appealing to women. This probably explains at least facial hair, which is not unlike manes seen in other mammals such as lions, etc. Body hair correlates in part to testosterone, so sexual selection may have preferred body hair for this reason as well.
2. Protection. Men with hairy chests, shoulders, or backs have natural protection against mosquitoes and insects, and human populations in insect-prone areas do tend to be hairier. This protection also means protection from diseases spread by insects. Body hair can also regulate body temperature a bit, keeping someone warmer or cooler depending on the context.
3. Genes/hormones. Male body hair varies dramatically from one man to the next: this is determined in part simply by genetics and hormones in an individual.
