These opening lines of singer Chris de Burgh’s 1986 hit Lady in red (ask your mother…) have attracted many different interpretations as to who the lady in question might be. When appearing on the BBC’s programme, This is Your Life, de Burgh told the audience how the late Princess Diana was under the impression that the song was written for her, since she was known to love wearing the colour red. The singer then revealed that the song was actually inspired by the memory of the first time he saw his future wife, Diane, across a crowded nightclub, dressed in red.
Why do we have this love affair with the colour red? Red has been associated with passion and romantic love for thousands of years and across many different cultures, from the red ochre used in ancient fertility rituals to today’s preoccupation with red hearts on Valentine’s Day. Recent research by psychologists Andrew Elliot and Daniela Niesta (pictured above) shows that the colour red makes men feel more amorous towards women, yet men are completely unaware of the role this colour plays in the process. Although acknowledging that much of our attraction to red may be the product of social conditioning, Elliot and Niesta suggest that men’s response to red is more likely to stem from deeper biological roots, playing a significant role in our attraction to members of the opposite sex. Research has shown, for example, that females of many primate species redden conspicuously when nearing ovulation, sending a clear sexual signal designed to attract males.
Your organisation does not have access to this article.
Sign up today to give your students the edge they need to achieve their best grades with subject expertise
Subscribe
