I have seen many arranged marriages and my opinion of them is not very high.

Sure the divorce rate is lower but just because two people die under the same roof does not mean the marriage was any good.

As for, the parents have the best interests of their children at heart--HA. Parents do not hesitate to saddle their child with a totally incompatible person, and often a young person finds themselves married off to someone with physical or even serious mental problems without their knowledge, all on their parents behest (seen this personally more than once). Its about money and property, and these two things drive arranged marriages. Losing sight of the money is why parents go so ballistic if their child wants a "love marriage".

However its not really a women's issue--although as in so many other things women get the short end of the stick--as C. Bob pointed out it ruins the lives of men and women both.

To me the real tragedy is that arranged marriages are happening later and later, leading to many broken hearts. If the girl is 13 and the boy is 15 when they marry, they basically grow up together and seem to get along well as adults. That's how it was done in the last generation.

However now parents fully expect to arrange the marriages of children who have done their university degrees and are in their late 20s and sometimes have spent many years abroad. By this time it is ridiculous to expect that the children have not had some other relationships and these love affairs have to be broken off to accomodate the marriage--so there you are, at your wedding while in love with someone else and being married to a total stranger. I believe this is a total abomination and very unfair to both the person who is in love with another and the new spouse (imagine being in his/her position). Not to mention there are all those hymens that have to be stitched up because a girl over twenty is expected to still be a virgin.

I think Westerners who have been disappointed in romance tend to idealize arranged marriage. Believe me, nothing, nothing, NOTHING on this planet sucks worse than not being able to choose who you marry, and knowing that when you are married, it will be for money and based on how much you are "worth" to your in-laws--your looks, education, earning potential, family connections all having a specific dollar value. It's not just unromantic, it's inhuman. Hard and cynical young people may be proud of how much value they command and how many suitors from good families they have--I have met such ones--but sensitive people just fall to pieces. Arranged marriages cause a LOT of misery.

Is the one about how men have evolved to prefer blonde women over dark women. Supposedly, men can more easily tell if a woman with blonde hair is young, and therefore fertile.

Made national headline news and the cover of "Psychology Today", it did.

Uh, hello? Ever seen a true blonde go white or grey? Those silver hairs blend in well with the other light hairs, making it difficult to discern a blonde's true age, esp. if, like the women in my family, they are apt to have smooth, unwrinkled skin into late life (well, we do have to stay out of the sun).

Now dark haired women, when their hair starts to go white, you can see it right away.

So, in fact, if you are just looking at hair, it easier to tell if a dark haired woman is young or old.

Much old poetry and song even in Europe praises women with shining raven tresses, etc. and so forth. Persian poetry always demands a heroine with impeccably black hair (and blondes do exist in Iran).

It is true that thick, abundant hair is always admired and this is associated with youth--our hair thins out as we get older. And the obvious health and vitality of a girl's hair is surely attractive.

But it has to be blonde? Since when? This is more frat boy crap science. Hasn't anyone ever noticed that this stuff always confirms/excuses/justifies existing prejudices and never comes out against them?

According to the ev-psych people Hugh Hefner is the most successfully evolved male on the planet, having, as he does, access to all the blonde big-breasted youthful anorexics he wants, and this is the point of all human endeavor and striving--according to the "scientists".

Retch.