With Hundreds of Hair Dye Options Out There- Why Are Blonde Stereotypes Still a Thing?

I am tall and blonde. I have been blonde (whether natural or not) as long as I have been considered tall. I know being tall and light haired is not the norm (being blonde is recessive) so I am used to sticking out in a crowd no matter what I do. With 75-84 percent of the population having dark brown or black hair how could I not stand out? Even if there were many times I wish I didn’t.

I recently thought about a memory that I have early in my career that brought me back to this stereotype issue. I was interviewing for jobs and not getting offers. With my confidence and positivity at a low point I didn’t know what to do, try, just to get that opportunity I desperately wanted. I decided to seek out the advice of professionals in the field I was trying to pursue. One professional told me something I will never forget. They said, “You look too pretty, too intimidating- how can you expect someone to hire you if you are distracting them?” They then proceeded to advise to me for my next interview, “Put your hair up and add hair spray so it appears darker so it’s not distracting, wear no make up, and wear a suit that is slightly not tailored correctly on the baggier side.” I thought this advice was insane as I had always operated on the dress to impress mantra but I had tried everything else already so I figured why not? The next day I had an interview and I was immediately offered the role the next day.

I would like to believe my smarts, personality, and clear eagerness to give 100 percent are the reason why I got the job offer. However, since I followed the advice of a professional that I respected I will never know if it was the advice or me that got that offer. As I get older I think more and more- how the hell is my hair distracting???

This made me start thinking of blonde stereotypes- where did they originate and what made them popular in modern culture? If we want to extinguish these stereotypes it is up to us to not perpetuate them- whether in movies, television, social media, or in real life.

Stereotype 1: The Dumb Blonde

 The concept of blondes being dumb is believed to have started in 1775 in the play Les Curiosités de la Foire, based on the misdemeanours of the legendary courtesan Rosalie Duthé,. The play depicts her as a pretty but unanimated doll who can do the bare minimum. All she does is eats, drinks, dances, sings, and seemingly acts like a real person in a beautiful living body. Throughout the play, the audience starts to realize she has some wit to her as she successfully deprives men from their money.  A woman treated and even PORTRAYED like a doll and the only reason they think she is smart is because she can con a man? How many movies and televisions shows can you name that have this exact formula? Daenerys Targaryen from Game of Thrones first season anyone???

So who was the Rosalie Duthé the one who is known as the original “Dumb Blonde?”  Born in 1748, she became the mistress of an English financier after leaving convent school.  Her bestie while in school? None other than the blonde Madame Du Barry (the famed mistress of Louis XV of France).  After her first conquest as mistress, Duthé danced at the Paris Opera Ballet, but it didn’t take her long to become a favorite among the aristocracy, even including Charles X of France. She was a muse to many artists and even posed nude several times for them. So someone who worked to become a dancer and moved up in society had zero intelligence? It is her smarts that made her who she was; her looks just helped her along the way. You cannot get that far up the lady without having any brain cells.

Fast-forward to 1953, and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes hit the box office with Marilyn Monroe as Lorelei, which brought the dumb blonde to the big screen. Lorelei’s character is seemingly absentminded, scatter-brained, and interested in marrying solely for money.

This stereotype even exists today. Kelly Bundy of Married… with Children (1987) is a perfect example.

Stereotype 2: The Blonde Bombshell

What is a “Blonde Bombshell”? Is it someone who is super intelligent that happens to have a light hair color? While this is the case for many of my light-haired comrades this is not the definition by society. Society defines the term “Blonde Bombshell” as an  exciting, dynamic, sexy female with blonde hair. Why is the term Brunette Bombshell not a thing then? There are many dark haired women who are exciting, dynamic, and sexy. You guessed it- the movie PR machine dubbed this term and it still is used today.

Infamous neurotic Howard Hughes wanted to create a moniker for Harlow, as Mary Pickford had been “America’s Sweetheart” and Clara Bow had been “The “It” Girl.” After discarding some ideas such as as “Blonde Landslide” and “Darling Cyclone,” Hughes’ publicity director came up with “Platinum Blonde.” In 1931 Jean Harlow starred in a movie with this namesake . Two years later the she starred starred in another Hollywood movie called Bombshell. One of the taglines Bombshell was “Lovely, luscious, exotic Jean Harlow as the Blonde Bombshell of filmdom.” Just like that a phrase is born that has lasted throughout the decades.

If Jean Harlow (or the PR male machine behind her rather) originated the term “Blonde Bombshell”, Marilyn Monroe solidified it in the 1950’s . Just look at her portrayals in the press,- even the movies she did- Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, How to Marry a Millionaire (1953), and The Seven Year Itch (1955) all perpetuated the “Blonde Bombshell” persona.

Fast Forward to modern times and this stereotype is still in full use today. All you need to do is look at the 1990’s Blonde Bombshell staple, Pamela Anderson:

Even Kim Kardashian West has been dubbed by many as the “Marilyn Monroe of our generation.”

It looks like the term “Blonde Bombshell” isn’t going away anytime soon.

Stereotype 3: Blondes Have More Fun

 Anita Loos popularized this idea in her 1925 novel Gentleman Preferred Blondes and the movie namesake brought it to the big screen. What solidified this? You guessed it- ADVERTISING. A Clairol ad that was conceived in the late 1950’s started this off and it has not stopped since.

Jack Daniels jumped on the bandwagon as well:

Even as recent as the 2010’s we STILL have advertisers broadcasting this message:

So what’s the moral of this story? ALL stereotypes are wrong. We as a society need to look at the individual rather than simply classifying them as a group. Classifying someone into a group overall is wrong but especially when you are using someone’s physical attributes as a classification to equal their mental and emotional ones.

While stereotypes based on something as ridiculous as a hair color seem light-hearted and harmless they are not. They are not as dangerous as the classification of a group based on race, gender, or sexuality but are demeaning all the same. No stereotyping should be tolerated and it is up to us to stop it.

I am a tall, blonde woman and I can tell you I am NOT dumb (what is dumb anyway), I by no mean consider myself a bombshell (I am currently wearing baggy sweats and a hoodie), and there is no way I am having more fun as I spend more nights in my sweats then in stilettos.