- They're famous
- They're iconic
- They're blonde.
Despite the dominance of blonde women in the media who are business savvy entrepreneurs, the misconception that "blondes are unintelligent" still runs rampant in society.
Recently, a 29-year-old Canadian businesswoman, Jordan Wimmer, sued her former boss for, among other things, harassment in the workplace. She claimed that her boss often made "dumb blonde" jokes. Ms.Wimmer, a blonde, took offense to his inappropriate remarks. The case has made international headlines because it brings up the issue of blonde discrimination.
One country has taken strides to reduce such discrimination. Hungary banned "dumb blonde" jokes in 2004 after over 100,000 citizens signed a petition in support of the movement.
Some people may not take the issue as seriously as the Hungarian government, but that does not make it a laughing matter. Student Kristi L. Jobson states in her article "Having a Blonde Moment":
"I realize there are plenty of other problems society has to deal with—racism, elitism, sexism—and the thought of adding “blondism” to the list seems annoying and superfluous...
but blonde discrimination is real."
As a blonde, I have faced discrimination because of my hair colour. I have heard professors make dumb blonde jokes in lectures, strangers say I'm stupid because I'm blonde and people underestimate my intelligence, apologizing later, citing my hair colour.but blonde discrimination is real."
It's unfortunate that in 2009 we have yet to look past physical differences.
Until society can accept that hair colour does not determine intelligence, then the blondes of the world will have to continue proving the stereotype wrong...and look good doing it.
Mary,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed this post. I've mentioned this before, but I've been called out as a dumb blonde nearly my entire life, despite many academic achievements I am proud of. I was actually told by someone at my internship at CTV I would have a hard time being taken seriously in the journalism industry as a pretty, blonde female.
I also find it interesting that blonde is one of the most desired hair colours (ie. lots of women get blonde highlights, or just colour their hair blonde) yet there is such a stigma against blondes. A large portion of very famous Hollywood actresses are blonde (ie. Reese Witherspoon, Cameron Diaz, Jennifer Aniston, etc) and are all over the covers of magazines/in popular culture. So if blonde is a desirable hair colour, is worn by extremely successful women, than why the constant assumption that blonde=dumb?
Something else I find interesting, why do certain women play up the dumb blonde image? Take Paris Hilton for example. I am by no means a fan of the woman, but she has been cited as a very smart business woman by numerous people. She managed to turn her famous last name and party lifestyle into a brand, and has numerous endeavours to her empire, hair extensions, perfumes, and say what you will, but they do sell. However, she is known for her dumb blonde image that she plays up. Apparently, there was an MTV documentary about her entitled "Paris, not France" which shows the great contrast between her public life and her personal life. Her voice and mannerisms completely change when not in the public eye.
I've never seen the documentary, but I would be curious to. I wonder if she would have been as successful if she tried to brand herself as a smart blonde. Why can't you be both? Smart, and blonde?