Blondes battle brunettes in Brain Training

by Eric Caoili { Dec 6th 2007 at 10:30AM }

Determined to settle the blondes versus brunettes debate once and for all, UK tabloid The Sun gathered ten of its Page 3 girls -- topless models featured on the daily newspaper's third page -- and had the golden-topped ladies compete against their dark-haired opposites in a series of More Brain Training puzzles.

As you can expect from a classy publication like The Sun, the resulting article is filled with comically descriptive bits of text like, "Both sides were chest desperate to come out on top." In its praise for the blonde with the lowest and best individual Brain Age, the paper reported, "Sam proved it's not just her 30Fs that has her out in front and was crowned the overall winner."

As a group, though, the brunettes took the team prize with an overall better Brain Age. Brunette Peta remarked, "Even before the brain training, I knew the brunettes would win. It doesn't take a genius to work that out." You can ogle more photos of Peta and the other Page 3 girls testing their wits past the post break. Sadly, redheads, a crowd favorite at the Fanboy offices, were nowhere to be seen.

[Via MaxConsole]

Tags: blonde, brain-age, brain-training, brunette, contest, more-brain-training, tabloid, the-sun, uk

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Fank @ Dec 6th 2007 10:47AM

Leave it to the Brits and that stupid tabloid..

Hirsbrunner @ Dec 6th 2007 10:55AM

" As a group, though, the brunettes took the team prize with an overall better Brain Age."...with a Brain Age score of 100. "YAY! PERFECT SCORE! WE ROCK!"

Abby @ Dec 6th 2007 12:45PM

I'm probably going to get flamed to infinity for this, but...
I know it is The Sun and not DS Fanboy who orchestrated the contest, but did you really have to report it? And offer us a chance to "ogle?" Seriously.
That kind of speech alienates female readers (no matter what hair color or brain age they may have). And I don't think guy gamers benefit from the stereotype that they're sex-starved perverts, either, which posts like these and contests like the Sun's help to perpetuate.

troy @ Dec 6th 2007 2:17PM

Agreed: it's a little on the sexist side. Plus: its just plain sad that this thing even existed. Abby certainly makes a good point that guy gamers are already victims of being portrayed this way: its stupid things like this that make people believe the stereotypes. I actually saw this thing yesterday when searching 'wii' on google news (which i do all day, everyday but christmas and thanksgiving lol) and this UK tabloid had a website where they paid topless models to play wii games while they flmed them bouncing around. That made ME feel like a wh*re!

Fank @ Dec 6th 2007 3:47PM

You're right. It's stupid and ridiculous. Degrading even. Bad reporter, bad!! I should grab you by your ear and push your nose in this crap, Eric.

Danny @ Dec 6th 2007 5:45PM

I could be wrong, but I thought this post was mocking the sexism in The Sun...

Onomah @ Dec 6th 2007 2:17PM

This is so stupid...The only reason that this is worth reporting is because a console is getting some unusual coverage. Otherwise nothing else in this story has merit.

Yep, Damn stupid story. God I hate the Sun. not the one in the sky. Well that one too come to think of it...

jgoreham @ Dec 6th 2007 4:43PM

This offends me not only as a woman (and feminist), but as a gamer, too.

SNKNGSHPS @ Dec 6th 2007 10:18PM

I agree with Danny. I'm 99% sure this is making fun of the blatant sexism, not promoting it.

Vu @ Dec 6th 2007 10:58PM

Indeed, "classy publication like The Sun..." would be our main context clue that this is meant in jest.

Matdredalia @ Dec 7th 2007 5:05AM

I'm a girl-gamer, feminist, and all around "woman", and I honestly am not offended on any other count other than the fact that no redheads were mentioned.

Honestly folks, it's more or less mocking the Sun's stupid little "test".

I agree, we could have lived without it, but part of DSFanboy is to cover every bit of DS news and media, even when it's sexist, dumb, and for the sole purpose of giving men hard ons.

Soviet Rocket @ Dec 7th 2007 5:57AM

Also female, also gamer, also all-around "woman", also not offended. This is called "humor" people. Those girls aren't striking those poses b/c they are taking themselves seriously in this article.

P.S. Yay brunettes!
P.P.S. I hope that the fact that brunettes are clearly intelligent species will work in my favor on my law school exams in the next two weeks.

Micah @ Dec 7th 2007 5:52AM

Check out the brains on the girl on the left. Wowzers. She could recite pi to ten digits with me any time. :D

Soviet Rocket @ Dec 7th 2007 6:00AM

Brains AND personality.

Abby @ Dec 7th 2007 10:48AM

I agree that this post was mostly mocking The Sun's contest. Right on for doing that. I also recognize that this isn't a political blog (and some day I will get around to making a feminist gaming blog) so it's not really Eric's/DS Fanboy's responsibility to critique this in depth.
Just sayin' the "ogling" and comments about redheads took it a bit too far.

Matdredalia @ Dec 7th 2007 1:39PM

I agree the ogling thing wa s a bit off, but I think Eric was just acknowledging that that was what the male fanbase would be doing anyways.

My little brother doesn't read DSFanboy, but I do religiously and ask him to read articles all the time. He never does, so I've stopped asking.

However, when he saw me reading this article, he stopped, leaned over my shoulder, saw the two brunette's playing DS and said "Wow, that's so hot."

So, I think Eric was just basically saying what all the guys were thinking. I don't think it was meant to be sexist, more or less just laugh at the male contingency and their tendency to go "BOOBIES!!!!"

Abby @ Dec 7th 2007 2:52PM

Sure, some parts of the fanbase are going to ogle, that's what the link is for. Like I said in my first comment, however, the stereotype of male gamers as behaving like that doesn't really serve them either.

I personally am a redhead and feel uncomfortable when redheads are fetishized. It's just a hair color. That said, I don't think the poster had any ill intent. I understand that I'm in the minority of readers here, and that most aren't going to be bothered by this sort of thing. Even women. Doesn't change the fact that I am.

Eric Caoili @ Dec 7th 2007 2:58PM

as many of you pointed out, i posted about this because of The Sun's ridiculous writing in describing the event. there were actually two other lines that i wanted to quote, but i eventually cut them out to keep the post's length down.

also, the only reason i mentioned redheads is because my wife is a redhead, and she'd kill me if she heard me talking too favorably about blondes and brunettes.