Why blondes are ridiculed?

Question

I'm not a native english speaker, so I think there must be something wrong with this word, or what else>

Answer 1

The common stereotype is that blondes are stupid. There is no truth to this, just as there is no truth to the stereotype about people that have red hair. A person's hair color has nothing to do with intelligence or personality.

Answer 2

The stereotype is somewhat based on the fact than many men prefer blondes as sexier and generally more attractive. To that end, many self obsessed women will spend a lot of time turning their hair blonde to be attractive to the male. (you rarely see men do such things). If you are that shallow to have to change your appearance that much, you must not be carrying much baggage upstairs, if you know what I mean. There are a number of blonde jokes that go wth the stereotype. Why do Blondes wear pad in their shoulder clothing? So that they don;t bump ther heads on their shoulders when they talk.

Now, that said,, there are a vast number of highly intelligent and beautiful blondes. They get stereotyped too unfortunately.

The stereotype of Marilyn Monroe is that of a dumb blonde that spreads her legs at a moments notice.

Answer 3

I really believe this start rd but in the roaring twenties' so called show girl would bleach their hair and were considered bimbos.then later came Mae West ,then Marilyn Monroe and the expression "Dumb Blonde" became with all blondes. Thinking they only had looks and know possible brains of knowledge. I myself am a blonde for many years.Beleive me we are not all stupid, we may act that way at times at our convience or to our atvantage.we hold many college degrees and are professionals.So this stigma has stuck for centuries unfortunately,but I HAVE MORE FUN AS A BLONDE and I laugh when people tell those silly blonde jokes.We blondes are getting the last laugh

Answer 4

Cause they're so darn pretty! That is an old vaudeville joke. Actually Dumb Blond Jokes have only been around for about two Centuries. In Heroic England Blond Hair on a Hero was a staple for Centuries but around 1800 it became fashionable in novels to portray fair haired damsels as pretty but shallow while their plainer brunette siblings were praised for their brains. For nearly two centuries Women were praised more for their Beauty than for their Brains. When Women with Brains began to assert all women's rightful place in society around the year 1900 the Dumb Blond Jokes burst out all over. Early Cinema captured Blond hair better then Brown and so many early comediennes were blond; Marion Davies, Mabel Normand, Mary Pickford - - - actually they often portrayed plucky smart characters but their actions were often 'dumb' or misperceived. Actually hair color has nothing to do with intelligence but blond jokes are funny. Go Figure. Peace.

Answer 5

Hollywood has had a lot to do with the continuation of this myth. Several notable actresses have been labeled "dumb blondes", Marilyn Monroe and Suzanne Somers (due to her role as Chrissy Snow on Three's Company) Goldie Hawn is best known for playing a dumb blonde in several roles, including the stage persona she used on Laugh-In. Jessica Simpson is famous for her 'real life' dumb blonde persona, though opinion differs as to whether this is entirely affected, partially affected or simply her genuine personality. Paris Hilton is also considered a prominent dumb blonde judging on her many escapades that leak into the tabloids and the media.

So I would have to say that the blonde myth is something that has been built upon for the past decades thru televison,plays, books and movies. And the dumb blonde is a prominent part of pop culture. :

Answer 6

Blondes tend to be less intelligent because people who dye their hair tend to be more interested in enhancing their appearance rather than enhancing their intelligence.

This isn't true for all blonde people. I know some very intelligent women with blonde hair.

Answer 7

I'm also not a native speaker.

Answer 8

There is a popular picture of "dumb blondes" (particularly of women). It's not entirely serious. That is, much of it is just in good fun.

But in any case, where did this idea come from?

Here's a good wikipedia link that suggests several possible origins:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/dumb_blonde

Here's my own summary and assessment of the suggestions:

1) YOUTH: The association of fair-hairedness with youth, therefore naivete, and perhaps a resulting tendency to treat adult blondes --who appear more like children?-- as young and simple. (I'm a bit skeptical of this explanation, at least as a central reason. I also know of no evidence that blonde women were typically treated as 'more simple' than other women.)

2) PROSTITUTES, PERFORMERS ETC:
The popularity of light-colored hair led many southern Europeans to dye theirs; this was especially common among courtesans and later prostitutes.
..a) Some suggest that this led society in general (perhaps esp. nervous or jealous wives) to ease their concern about such women by viewing them as 'beautiful...but not very bright' (and so, perhaps, less threatening?)
..b) Perhaps (my idea) some of these 'beautiful women' (not necessarily just prostitutes) THEMSELVES adopted a style and mannerisms that would make them appear younger, simpler, less threatening --which might make them BOTH more attractive to men AND less threatening to other women?
(Obviously, (a) and (b) could work together.)

3) BRAIN DAMAGE from BLEACH. The potency of old bleaches actually caused brain damage in some individuals, hence the image was encouraged by instances of genuinely daft blondes. (Intriguing idea, but I know of no documentary evidence for such cases or for any stories or stereotypes about them, esp. about dumb prostitutes.)

4) RECENT POPULAR CULTURE - portrayals in books, film...

...a) Books portraying the beautiful woman (typically blonde, but this is not always emphasized) as shallower or at least simpler, while the brunette (often the main character) shows more wit or cunning. Bearrunning notes this pattern and dates it to about 1800. Some good examples: the beauty Blanche Ingram vs. plain JANE EYRE, the narrator and main character, is a good example; the tomboyish and outspoken Jo of LITTLE WOMEN vs. her beautiful sisters; the classic (beginning of the pattern?) is PRIDE AND PREJUDICE where the main character is the witty, fiery, brunette Elizabeth Bennett whose older sister Jane is a sweet, trusting blonde beauty (Note that not all of these treat the beauties/blondes as deficient in character or as "dumb". It's more often about the 'plainer' and/or more unusual brunette overcoming obstacles, including the rivalry of the [blonde] beauty.)

...b) The shape of the MODERN image is better seen in the popular 1925 Anita Loos novel (and shortly after that, play) *Gentlemen Prefer Blondes* featured a dumb-blonde songstress, fond of rich men and diamonds...
...c) The film portrayals by Marilyn Monroe and others BUILT on and spread this stereotype (Monroe, in fact, starred in the screen version of Loos's book.)

The last of these (#4) is the only one for which we have much hard evidence, and is probably enough of an explanation on its own.

But it's entirely possible that more than one of these "causes" worked TOGETHER. Even if Loos, and a group of blonde starlets established to stereotype, what suggested this image to her in the first place? At least the beauty/glamor part of it may have been rooted in the old European attraction to fair hair. Whether the "dumb" part was ALSO based on images (socially created or self-chosen) of the manner of such women or was more Loos's own creation to give interest to this bumpkin character -- a portrayal that then caught on-- is difficult to say. But the fact that this character was a simple country girl --DIFFERENT from the sophisticated beauties-- makes me tend to think that Loos herself should get the real credit.

(I have an older sister who is very bright, still blonde, and loves to send the rest of the family "dumb blonde" jokes. The point is that it has succeeded as a humorous stock CHARACTER ... and those who use it often do so for fun... NOT because of their deep-seated suspicion of the intellect of fair-haired women.)

Answer 9

Because blondes taste better thus blondes have more fun.

Answer 10

Jealous because we turn heads when we walk down the street !