"In explaining why red enhances sexual appeal, researchers reach back to the world of lower-order animals, where rich displays of red tend to promote sexual success. The reasoning behind this relationship differs for males and females. Female animals display their biological readiness for mating with vivid patches of red on their genitals, chest, and face. As females approach ovulation, their elevated estrogen levels promote blood flow, which in turn reddens their skin. Like lower-order animals, women experience reddening of their skin as they approach ovulation, and whenever they're sexually excited or aroused. It's no coincidence then, that femmes fatales in Jezebel, Dial M for Murder, and A Streetcar Named Desire wear red dresses, and Nathaniel Hawthorne's Hester Prynne was forced to advertise her adulterous past by wearing a scarlet letter. ... Meanwhile, a red heart signifies the romance of Valentine's Day, and red-light-district workers wear red lipstick and rouge to encourage business."
~ Adam Alter
