The Stereotype of "Dumb" Blondes is "Dumb"

Ashley Nicholson
Ms. Lauren Clark
English 101
18 November 2010
Preliminary Essay: Stereotype of Dumb Blondes
What do smart blondes and UFO’s have in common? You always hear about them, but never see any (solorya)! The media has always had its way of portraying certain stereotypes in comical ways. The stereotype of the “dumb blonde” has been used for comic relief in many areas of the media such as sitcoms, movies, online jokes, newspaper comics, etc. In this essay, I will state the possible origins of where the “dumb blonde” stereotype came about then I will make a valid argument with valid evidence as to why the media should not generalized all blondes in the world as “dumb blondes” and the reasons as to why.
The origin of the “dumb blonde” can be traced to several different places and eras of time in the world. One instance of origin can be traced way back to the medieval times of Europe. As we know, people were separated into different classes, upper class and lower class. The upper class always had darker hair than that of the peasants seeing as the fact that the peasants worked in the sun, therefore the sun lightened up their hair, and the upper class were usually indoors. The upper class were also seen as much smarter than the lower class so typically the peasants could be classified as the “dumb blondes” of the medieval age (26 Magazine). Another area of origin found related back in the 1770’s. A Parisian courtesan, Rosalie Duthe, a beautiful woman will long blonde hair, was known for the long pauses she made when speaking. People then began to wonder if she was mentally disabled or just plain dumb (helium). While in these last two examples the fair heads were looked down upon as “dumb blondes“, another case of the ancient Greeks and Romans wanted to all be blonde like “their neighbors to the north”, therefore bleached their hair repeatedly. Some might say that it wasn’t the hair color that made the “dumb blonde” but the increasing amount of chemicals being soaked into a person’s scalp that could have impacted the brain. (Just to note: if this is true, then no matter if you are dying your hair blonde, brown, black, red, gray, etc., you are still making yourself dumb by using chemicals.)
“8 Simple Rules” is a television show that airs on ABC Family. It is much like many other shows on ABC Family in which a family deals with day to day issues with a moral in the end. One of the daughters in the family, Bridget, is a beautiful, popular, blonde haired ditz that is obviously portrayed as the “dumb blonde”. She is a cheerleader at her high school who loves to go hang out at the mall and flirt with boys. (A common classification for all “dumb blondes” in the media) Bridget also often rambles about various things and gets sidetracked very easily when talking. As you can see, she is described as the everyday “dumb blonde”. Her sister, Cary, on the other hand is the counter argument in the show because she is the “smart brunette” who always cracks on Bridget for being dumb when in fact she is jealous of her older sister because she is not as popular as her. The argument that needs to be made is why does the media have to portray Bridget, the blonde, as the dumb blonde cheerleader instead of Cary, the smart, not pretty brunette? Many other shows and movies displayed by the media portray the same aspect such as Marsha in “The Brady Bunch” and Elle Woods in “Legally Blonde“. Yes, Elle Woods was the preppy girl in pink that did the ever so popular “bend and snap” and had her fair share of blond moments, but do viewers see her as just another “dumb blonde” or do they see her as the intelligent women who had a dream of going to law school, succeeded, graduated at the top of her class, then went on to be one of the best attorneys at her law firm? Sadly, this is one of the reasons I dyed my hair from blonde to brown. I had always made straight A’s in high school and gave tutoring sessions to anyone who ever needed them yet, regardless of my grades and the intelligence I had in everyday situations, I was still considered a “dumb blonde” and was not appreciated and respected for being the person I was rather than the person people expected me to be.
People also get the misconception of all blondes are “dumb blondes” by other means of the media such as paparazzi, “People” magazines, and shows like TMZ. There are girls out there such as Paris Hilton, Jessica Simpson, and Brittany Spears that give the media a reason to stereotype against blondes because of their natural ability to just be stupid, however their level of intelligence does not coincide with the fact that they have blond hair. In other words, the media loves to tell the world about the mistakes and “blonde moments” these girls make yet leave out the things that famous, smart blondes do on a day to day basis. In reality, the world doesn’t want to hear the good about famous actresses or singers. The messed up world we live in would rather hear of all the bad, “dumb” things that people have done so the world can criticize those we only wish we could be.
The color hair on a person’s head depends on the genes that person carries. One may dye their hair as I did (a former blonde) yet the true color is hereditary. However, the gene of blonde hair does not also carry a gene along with it of stupidity! There are several smart, intellectual females in this world that are indeed fair headed and have still succeeded in life far more than others. For instance, did you know that Carrie Underwood, a beautiful, talented, blonde haired, famous singer, was salutatorian of her class in 2001? She went on to Northeaster State University and graduated with a mass communication degree with a minor in journalism (pop stars plus). With only Carrie Underwood as a prime example, people and the media do not have valid proof to say that all blondes can be classified as “dumb blondes”. On the other hand, with only this one example, I have valid proof to say that NO not all blondes are “dumb blondes” therefore, the media should stop their classification as a whole and learn to reference their information for a dimwitted blonde elsewhere.




Works Cited

"Carrie Underwood Fan Page." Pop Stars Plus. 2010. Web. 17 Nov. 2010. http://www.popstarsplus.com/music_carrieunderwood.htm.

G, Christine. "Stereotypes associated with blondes." Helium. N.p., 2010. Web. 17 Nov. 2010. http://www.helium.com/items/1986798-blonde-stereotypes.

Solorya, . "Dumb Blonde Stereotype-Myth or Fact 80." HubPages. N.p., 2010. Web. 15 Nov. 2010. http://hubpages.com/hub/Dumb-Blonde-Stereotype--Myth-or-Fact.

"The dumb blonde and her origin." 26 Magazine. N.p., 30 May 2009. Web. 17 Nov.
2010. http://www.26magazine.com/the-dumb-blonde-and-her-origin/.