Forget Blond, Tanned and a Bodacious Build

Wouldn’t you assume that Southern Californians, of all people, go for the Southern California look when dreaming up their fantasy mate? Wouldn’t you imagine that on the beaches of Orange County, blondes have more fun, super tans are hot and iron-pumped physiques carry a strong appeal?

Think again.

According to our informal survey, men and women alike prefer brunettes, consideration of melanoma takes precedence over a sunny glow and titanic bodies are deemed excessive.

“I’ve become turned off by all the poorly done blond dye jobs, I suppose,” Jeff, 33, of Buena Park, remarked in his letter.

“No one should have to get skin cancer to please the opposite sex,” allowed Jean, 38, of Mission Viejo.

“A good body build is nice, but not like Arnold Schwarzenegger’s,” wrote Beth, 32, of Costa Mesa.

Make no mistake, however. Even if they have relaxed their tan requirements, respondents voted for “some color” over a “ghostly pallor.” And don’t chuck that gym membership; well-toned biceps still turn heads.

“Athletic build, but not a body builder,” is how Orange resident Lori, 25, described her ideal man.

“Not pale, but not bronzed, either,” said Dave, 28, of Newport Beach. “A deep tan today means leathery skin tomorrow.”

“I like a firm body on a woman, but if it looks like she spends three hours a day working out, when does she have time to exercise her mind?” pondered George, 35, of Irvine.

“Total turn-offs: fair skin, wimpy body,” said Pamela Andres, 18, of Anaheim.

How did Orange County denizens compare to the average American in their portrait of an ideal exterior? They gravitate more toward hard bodies, but other than that, Southern Californians flow with the mainstream.

A recent “National Body Image Survey” by the Gallup Organization found that most men like their woman with “a full rear-end, medium-width hips, a small-to-medium waist and medium-sized breasts.” They also want “an average body type (not thin), soft body tone (not muscular), long, wavy hair and smooth, tanned skin.”

Women like their men about 5 feet, 11 inches in height, 171 pounds, muscular and with hairy chests.

Local male interviewees admire a leaner look in women, making such requests as “a sexy little rear-end” (Jeffrey, 32, of Los Alamitos), “NO CELLULITE!” (Jeff), and “well-defined arm muscles” (George).

They are open-minded in the bust-line department, with adjective running from “small, 34-B” (Jeffrey) to “full and pendulous” (Jeff). “I saw breasts described as pendulous years ago in Cosmopolitan magazine, and the word just stuck with me,” explained Jeff, an electronics engineer.

The shorter the woman, the less particular she is about a man’s height. Beth, who is 5 feet 2 inches, gives longitude a lot of latitude.

“There are two types of men whose looks attract me,” she wrote. “Type One is the shorter man, between 5 feet, 4 inches and 5 feet, 8 inches, light build but strong upper body, dark-haired and dark-eyed, small hands--like rock singer Prince.

“Type Two is a taller man, 5 feet, 8 inches to 6 feet, sandy brown or blond hair, light eyes, nice build--like Robert Redford.”

“I think Prince is sensuous,” Beth said in an interview. “He has those eyes that look like they’re looking to see how you’re looking at him.” Got that?

There were a couple of hairy issues that female respondents mentioned repeatedly: They appreciate a hirsute chest, but a fuzzy visage they can do without.

“No beards,” Jean, a teacher, said in her letter to Single Life. “I want to see and feel a man’s face--not go out with someone in a Brillo mask. My reaction to beards is emotional and overwhelming--they literally make me sick.”

“I’m very uncomfortable with facial hair. Maybe I worked for Disneyland too long,” wrote Lori, a marketing liaison.

“Disneyland left a lasting impact on me,” Lori said in an interview. “I worked there for six years--through high school and college. They have a dress code that’s a half-inch thick. I think that’s why I like the clean-cut, preppy look so much.”

Jeff took us literally when we requested a “head-to-toe” detailing of his ideal mate. He supplied a two-page outline, starting with facial shape (“oval or rectangular, not heart-shaped”) and ending with, well, toes (“not crushed from too tight shoes”).

“You asked,” he reminded.

Andres, an art student at Cal State Fullerton, only has eyes for her boyfriend, Sean Murphy, a 17-year-old football player at Canyon High School. Coincidentally, he fits her “dream mate” criteria to a tee: “Medium height, built physique, dark hair, green eyes, straight whited teeth.”

One letter, from “D” in Costa Mesa, described Mr. Perfect in two words: “Tom Selleck.”

Selleck’s name showed up three times in our survey, Redford’s twice. Men did not refer to any celebrity.

“Women are attracted to men more by their fame than by their looks. Henry Winkler became a sex symbol overnight, but he’s nothing much to look at,” said Jeff, a tad begrudgingly. “The same percentage of men, both before and after she became a celebrity, would be attracted to Heather Thomas if they saw her at the beach. Fame isn’t what attracts men.”

A few other observations . . .

Jeffrey, a sheet metal fabricator: “I went to a beauty contest the other night, and out of 23 contestants, 22 were blondes. Everybody likes blondes, but I’m tired of them. I know that this is a stereotype, but it does seem that blondes just get by on their looks, and brunettes develop their personalities more.”

Jean: “My eyes go first to a man’s body, and then to his face. I’d rather a man be a few pounds overweight than underweight. Thin men don’t look very healthy, and they’re not cuddly.”

George, an accountant: “I hate the anorexic look. Compulsive dieting is boring. I like women with a little meat on their bones.”

Lori: “If I put too much emphasis on a man’s looks, he’s going to do the same to me. I don’t want to feel that I can’t relax around him--that I can’t take off my makeup and put my hair in a ponytail. I was a cheerleader in college, and it was not a pleasant experience. We were always being critiqued--we weighed too much, our hair was too short, our hair was too long. It made me really insecure.”

Respondents confirmed the cliche that beauty is only skin deep. All the good looks that Hollywood can buy wouldn’t excuse a lousy personality.

“As you mature, appearance becomes less important,” Lori said. “I’ve dated a lot of hunks who weren’t very nice people. Now I’m more attracted to a dynamic personality than to a handsome face.”

“Somebody can have a wonderful body, but if he doesn’t also have a wonderful personality, forget it,” Jean said.

“We’ve all had the disappointing experience of seeing a beautiful person at a party and then finding out they’re a shallow nitwit the second they open their mouth,” said Dave, an engineer. “They lose every bit of their attractiveness in the time it takes you to walk across the room.”