Blonde stereotype

Background

There are several aspects to the stereotypical perception of blonde-haired women. A persistent stereotype takes men to find them more physically attractive than other women; Anita Loos popularized this idea in her 1925 novel Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. which extends in Brazil to blonde women's disparagement as sexually licentious.

"Blonde jokes" reinforce the depiction of the "dumb blonde." Its origin may be traced to Europe, where a French courtesan named Rosalie Duthé was satirised in the 1775 play Les Curiosités de la Foire for her habit of pausing a long time before speaking, appearing not only stupid but literally dumb (mute). This stereotype has become so ingrained that it has spawned counter-narratives, as in the 2001 film Legally Blonde, in which a beautiful blonde woman overcomes prejudice aroused by her looks to succeed in Harvard Law School. However, an analysis of IQ data carried out by the National Longitudinal Surveys on a survey database of American "baby boomers" (NLSY79 data) found the natural blonde women in this demographic (which excluded the African American and Hispanic) to have a slightly higher mean IQ than brunette, black-, and red-haired women.

Hitchcock blondeAlfred Hitchcock preferred to cast blonde women for major roles in his films, as he believed that the audience would suspect them the least, comparing them to "virgin snow that shows up the bloody footprints", hence the term "Hitchcock blonde".

Typology

Annette Kuhn divides blonde stereotypes in cinema into three categories in The Women's Companion to International Film:

• The "ice-cold blonde": Kuhn defined it as "a blonde who hides a fire beneath an exterior of coldness". She provided Grace Kelly as an example. English actress Madeleine Carroll originated the role in Alfred Hitchcock's The 39 Steps (1935), with Kelly among those who would follow her.
• The "blonde bombshell": Kuhn defined it as "a blonde with explosive sexuality and is available to men at a price". She provided Brigitte Bardot, Lana Turner, Jean Harlow, Joan Blondell, Mae West, Barbara Eden, Marilyn Monroe, and Diana Dors as examples.
• The "dumb blonde": Kuhn defined it as "a blonde with an overt and natural sexuality and a profound manifestation of ignorance". She provided Jayne Mansfield, Marion Davies, Alice White, Marie Wilson, and Mamie Van Doren as examples.

In cognitive linguistics, the stereotype uses expressivity of words to affect an emotional response which determines a gender role of a certain kind. In feminist critique, stereotypes like the "blonde bombshell" or the "dumb blonde" are seen as negative images that undermine the power of women.

{{Anchor|Blonde bombshell}} Blonde bombshell

Main article: Bombshell (slang)

The blonde bombshell is a gender stereotype that connotes a very physically attractive woman with blonde hair. A review of English language tabloids from the United Kingdom has shown it to be a recurring blonde stereotype, along with "busty blonde" and "blonde babe".

Jean Harlow started the stereotype with her film Bombshell of 1933. Following her, Marilyn Monroe, Jayne Mansfield and Mamie Van Doren helped establish the stereotype typified by a combination of curvaceous physique, very light-colored hair and a perceived lack of intelligence. During the 1950s, the blonde bombshell started to replace the Femme fatale as the mainstream media stereotype. Marjorie Rosen, a historian of women in films, says of the two top blonde bombshells of the time that "Mae West, firing off vocal salvos with imperious self-assurance, and Jean Harlow, merchandising her physical allure for the masses, transformed the idea of passive female sexuality into an aggressive statement of fact".

Dumb blonde

The notion of "dumb blonde" has been a topic of academic research reported in scholarly articles and university symposia, which tend to confirm that many people hold to the perception that light-haired women are less intelligent than women with dark hair. It is believed the first recorded "dumb blonde" was an 18th-century blonde French courtesan named Rosalie Duthé whose reputation of being beautiful and dumb, even in the literal sense of not talking much, inspired a play about her called Les Curiosités de la Foire (Paris 1775).

While there is no evidence that suggests that blondes are less intelligent than other people, it has been suggested earlier that the state of being blonde probably creates opportunities that do not require investing in education and training. A possible earlier hypothetical explanation is that physically attractive women have less pressing incentives to cultivate and demonstrate their intellect to ensure their future, since physical attractiveness is an asset, or correlatively that intelligent women have less pressing incentives to dye their hair to a presumed attractive color. The purported validity of this explanation is purely hypothetical and has been corroborated earlier by its applicability to a similar pervasiveness of the "dumb athlete" stereotype. At the same time, newer data have shown that natural blondes have the highest IQ among white women, which is already explained by the scientists as possible greater incentive to intellectual activity in the place where the blonde grew up, which directly refutes the earlier suggestion that blondes have less intellectual incentives. The dumb blonde stereotype (and the associated cognitive bias) may have some negative consequences and it can also damage a blonde person's career prospects.

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1925) by Anita Loos originated as a comic novel and explores the appeal of blonde women. It spawned a musical on Broadway, and two films released in 1928 and 1953. The Encyclopedia of Hair describes Marilyn Monroe's blonde role in the second film as that of "a fragile woman who relied on her looks rather than on intelligence—what some people refer to as 'dumb blonde'." At the same time, in the film she demonstrates a certain amount of wit regarding her life position expressed in the song "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend". Madonna emulated that screen-persona of Monroe in her music video Material Girl.

Many blonde actresses have played stereotypical "dumb blondes", including Monroe (dyed blonde), Judy Holliday, Carol Wayne and Goldie Hawn. Goldie Hawn is best known as the giggling "dumb blonde", stumbling over her lines, especially when she introduced Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In "News of the Future". In the American sitcom Three's Company the blonde girl (originally Chrissy, played by Suzanne Somers, and later Cindy and Terri) is sweet and naïve, while the brunette (Janet, played by Joyce DeWitt) is smart.

Blonde jokes

Main article: Blonde joke

There is a category of jokes called "blonde jokes" that employs the dumb blonde stereotype.{{cite journal

Blonde jokes have been criticized as sexist by several authors, as most blondes in these jokes are female, although male variations also exist.{{cite journal

Blondes versus brunettes

Main article: Blonde versus brunette rivalry

In a 16 November 2011 article titled "Blondes vs. Brunettes: TV Shows with Betty and Veronica-Style Love Triangles", media critic Tucker Cummings cited several TV shows that featured a "classic war between blonde and brunette love interests", including The Office (where lighter-haired Pam Beesly competes with brunette Karen Filipelli for the attention of Jim Halpert), Suits (where blonde Jenny Griffith competes with brunette Rachel Zane for the attention of Mike Ross), and Dexter (where blonde Rita Bennent and brunette Lila West compete for the affections of Dexter Morgan, the main character). Typically, she wrote, "... the blonde (is) stable, and typifies the 'girl next door,' while (the) ... brunette, is haughty, and a bit more exotic." In Archie comics, Betty Cooper and Veronica Lodge have been engaged in a mostly friendly competition for over 70 years.

A number of studies have been conducted over the years to measure society's attitude toward blondes and brunettes. Wortham, et al. have shown that more men find brunettes more physically attractive.{{citation

In a 2012 interview with NBC News, Lisa Walker, Sociology Department Chair at the University of North Carolina said that hair color "absolutely" plays a role in the way people are treated and claimed that numerous studies had shown that blonde women were paid higher salaries than other women. In a study by Diana J. Kyle and Heike I. M. Mahler (1996), the researchers asked subjects to evaluate photographs of the same woman with "natural" (not dyed) looking brown, red, and blonde hair in the context of a job application for an accounting position.{{citation

A study that looked at the CEOs of the Financial Times Stock Exchange's (FTSE) top 500 companies investigated how hair color could be a potential barrier to professional success.{{citation

In an interesting defiance of the image of swarthy, dark-haired Latin Americans, many such actors and actresses, both in Latin America and in the U.S., such as Christina Aguilera and Shakira, have blonde hair, blue eyes, and/or pale skin.*

Counter representation

At the same time, there are many examples where the stereotype is exploited only to be combatted.

The singer Dolly Parton, aware of this occasional characterization of her, addressed it in her 1967 hit "Dumb Blonde". Parton's lyrics challenged the stereotype, stating "just because I'm blonde, don't think I'm dumb 'cause this dumb blonde ain't nobody's fool". Parton has said she was not offended by "all the dumb-blonde jokes because I know I'm not dumb. I'm also not blonde."

The author of the comic strip Blondie, Chic Young, starting with "Dumb Dora", gradually transformed the titular character into a smart, hard-working, family-oriented woman.

Blonde men

Nazi propaganda idealized Nordic Aryan Herrenmensch as blonde, blue-eyed, athletic, and tall. This stereotype was exploited in Soviet World War II films.

References

Sources

• Encyclopedia of Hair: a Cultural History, by Victoria Sherrow, Greenwood Publishing Group, 2006,

References

1. Jay L. Zagorsky, [https://www.researchgate.net/publication/305222263_Are_Blondes_Really_Dumb "Are Blondes Really Dumb?"], [[Economics Bulletin]] 36(1):401-410 · March 2016
2. [https://theconversation.com/are-blondes-actually-dumb-56560 "Are blondes actually dumb?"] by Jay L. Zagorsky
3. [[Ed Sikov]], ''Film Studies: An Introduction'', page 134, [[Columbia University Press]], 2009, {{ISBN. 9780231142939
4. Stephanie Ann Smith, ''Household Words'', page 76, [[University of Minnesota Press]], 2006, {{ISBN. 9780816645534
5. Hornaday, Ann (4 May 2014) "In Praise of the Dumb Blonde" ''The Washington Post'', page E14. Retrieved 4 May 2014 [https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/in-praise-of-the-dumb-blonde-an-archetype-in-need-of-saving/2014/05/01/4fdf67b4-cfbe-11e3-a6b1-45c4dffb85a6_story.html]
6. Victoria Sherrow. ''Encyclopedia of hair: a cultural history''. [https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofha0000sher/page/149 Page 149]
7. Some women have also reported that they feel other people expect them to be more fun-loving after they have lightened their hair, as an ad for [[Clairol]] hair colorant implies: "Is it true blondes have more fun?" Such stereotypes engender a view of blonde women as less serious or intelligent than others, reliant on their looks to succeed,''Encyclopedia of Hair'', p. 255
8. Revista Anagrama, Universidade de São Paulo, [http://www.revistas.usp.br/anagrama/article/view/35305 Stereotypes of women in blonde jokes pp. 6-8], version 1, edition 2, 2007
9. ''Encyclopedia of Hair'' [https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofha0000sher/page/274 pp. 149-151]
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35. In the 20th century, a class of [[meta-jokes]] about blondes (i.e. jokes about blonde jokes) has emerged. In a typical plot of this type, a blonde complains about the unfairness of the stereotype propagated by blonde jokes, with a punch line actually reinforcing the stereotype.Limor Shifman, Dafna Lemish, [https://books.google.com/books?id=ZjrXrueVe-0C&pg=PT108 "Virtually Blonde: Blonde Jokes in the Global Age and Postfeminist Discourse"], in: ''The Handbook of Gender, Sex and Media''
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