Men prefer blondes because they are accommodating, stupid, superficial, more inclined to thoughtlessly have fun, less annoying. And it is not for nothing that this is not just a common idea, but constantly fueled. Starting with a cult film Gentlemen Prefer Blondes 1953 directed by Howard Hawks, based on novel by Anita Loos who was the first to draw a diagram in black and white.
Stupid is he who does stupid things
Research by Garnier found that 75% of people thought (as of 2009) that brunettes were smarter than blondes. And it’s prejudice which women know and must learn to deal with. Not last Eileen Carey, CEO of Silicon Valley, what is it in 2017 dye your hair brown win the respect of investors, who, she said, were not convinced of her stability due to her blonde hair (here is the news from ABC News). But usually The Simpsons predicted it seven years earlier: in a 2010 episode (CCTV and reality shows) very smart and brilliant Lisa Simpson dyed her hair brown be taken seriously in a debate, win it with your wits, and then scream”I am blond!”.
But there are also films that gloat over the stereotype that associates blonde hair with stupidity: Revenge of the Blondes for example, with Reese Witherspoon at Harvard but no one talks to her because she is wearing pink and has blond hair (yes, a reference to Barbie It’s clear). AND dumb blonde featured in the series starting with Phoebe in Friends, down to character a penny V The Big Bang Theory or in a dark cartoon scooby doowhere it is noted how the two female archetypes are represented by the fair-haired, attractive and stupid Daphne and wise, dark, unattractive Velma.
Blondes are stereotyped as more desirable but less intelligent brunettes (red “fiery”, see sometimes basicity). And perhaps precisely because they are considered less intelligent, they are more desirable. But they are also smart (and you don’t have to be smart to be smart). If a blonde is perceived and built as beautiful what we always know from stereotypes, this is a beautiful blonde who destroys families (Glen Close in fatal attraction) and perhaps even end the life of a poor unfortunate woman (Sharon Stone in the basic Instinct), but just high school hallway command (Queen George in Mean Girls and Kelly Taylor in Beverly Hills 90210).
Origin of the stereotype
Certainly blondes are not stupid in fact. Indeed, from the analysis IQs of boomers and women according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor, women are emerging natural blondes have a slightly higher average IQ for brunettes and redheads.
But the very first jokes and stereotypes that blonde equals idiot dates back to eighteenth century Europe, when the protagonist of a satirical play staged in 1775 was a courtesan named Rosalie Dute. The title was Les Curiosites de la Foire and the character of Rosalie, as well as thick blond hair, are distinguished by the fact that immeasurably stupid.
A couple of hundred years after thrill-master Alfred Hitchcock he prefers to hire blondes for the lead roles in his films as he believed “the public would never suspect them”. Blonde means stupidity, and therefore harmlessness.
Do men prefer blondes?
A Cornell University study says that Blonde waitresses get higher tips compared to blackberries. No wonder they say that men prefer blondes (but marry brunettes). We can also read about it in the Journal of Social Psychology, more specifically, in a study of hundreds of heterosexual men. Researchers at the University of Augsburg in Minnesota showed subjects several photographs. women with different hair colors ask them to rate each of them in terms of expected age, health, physical attractiveness, emotional potential, and parenting skills. The results show that compared to women with dark hair, men found blonde women overall more attractive, but also more messy. They would choose them for one night, but not as mothers of their children.
Of course, in addition to the need state how sexist this study is and the indication that the appearance of persons is not sufficient to establish abilities, character or intellectual traits is evidence that men actually prefer blondes more often. At least for light dates.
Blonde equals youth
However, this prejudice always finds its roots. in the concept of fertility as a criterion: since prehistoric times the preservation of the spirit and the unconscious procreate, push the caveman to young and healthy women. In this sense hair was – is – an indicator of youth health and therefore fertility, and since hair tends to darken with age, women with blond hair perceived as younger. So more fertile. That’s why the stimulus is on a physical level in relation to blondes. But precisely because you consider yourself young they are also perceived as stupid. And that’s what blackberries gain value when the relationship straight people are looking for is more serious. This is not our opinion: research says so. Indeed studies say.
So much so that a survey on the topic of hair color as a potential obstacle to professional success was also conducted among the managing directors of companies. top 500 companies on the Financial Times stock exchange (FTSE).
A 2011 University of Westminster study assessed how men perceive women based on hair color, rather than the other way around. always the same girl. Sometimes with dyed blonde hair, sometimes with dyed brown hair. She was more likely to be approached by strangers when she entered clubs with blond hair, but when researchers later interviewed men who spoke to her, was rated smarter and attractive to those who knew her when she was a brunette. Who’s the fool now?
“stupid blonde” stereotype however, unlike the proven male preference for blondes, it has no scientific basis: there is no evidence that blondes are less intelligent or genius than other people. But there is always a “but”, a possible other explanation that justifies the birth of this stereotype – the belief that attractive women are not encouraged learn or develop (and demonstrate) their intelligence or their culture in order to secure their future. And that’s because women they are still judged by their appearance.
Blonde Kim Kardashian looks like a movie villain
It’s a man’s look, sister
And if on the one hand being attractive to women is perceived as a virtueon the other hand, it may actually undermine their trust. Obviously, this is a trivial conjecture, although it is based on the fact that attractiveness makes life easierwhether you are female, male, or gender neutral, it doesn’t matter.
The one that follows reasoning is a man’s vision – still dominant – which imposes itself on the whole world: le women introjected a dichotomy beauty versus intelligenceabove all, and blond hair as a symptom of personality traits, relationships, the brain… shortly thereafter. So much so that we also joke about it: we also got our “blonde” back name recovery blonde distorted for decades and transformed into a concentration of prejudice and making it our own: we claim to “be blonde inside” if we are not also outside to jokingly justify ourselves after an oversight or fault. It doesn’t change that underlies any stereotype there is a misogynistic culture that he promotes misogynist lies profit only provides it status quo: The more women care about how they look, the less space they conquer.