Blonde Funny Joke Really

The blonde stereotype , the stereotype perception of blond-haired women, has two aspects. Over the history blond hair in women has been considered attractive and desirable. Also, a blond woman is often perceived as making little use of intelligence, a "woman who relied on her looks rather than on intelligence".

The dumb blonde is a popular-culture derogatory stereotype applied to portraying them as beautiful and sexy, and dumb. This stereotype is used in blonde jokes . A related derogatory stereotype is "bimbo", an attractive but unintelligent woman regardless of hair color.

Background

Blond hair has been considered attractive and sexy since very old times and in various human cultures. This perception is exploited in culture and advertising.

At the same time, people tend to presume that blondes are less serious-minded and less intelligent than brunettes, as reflected in "blonde jokes", which entered the American culture in 1900s. The roots of this notion may be traced to Europe, with the "dumb blonde" in question being a French courtesan named Rosalie Duthe, satirised in a 1775 play Les curiosites de la Foire .

The notion of "dumb blond" has been a topic of academic research reported in scholarly articles and university symposia, which tend to confirm that many people hold to the perception that light-haired women are less intelligent than dark-haired ones.

Dumb blonde

The dumb blonde stereotype (and the associated cognitive bias) may have some negative consequences and it can also damage a blonde person's career prospects.

Examples

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (a novel, a Broadway musical and a film) explores the ideas of a blond woman's appeal. The film starred Marilyn Monroe as the blonde and Jane Russell as her wise brunette friend. The Encyclopedia of Hair describes Monroe's role as that of "a fragile woman who relied rather on her looks rather than on intelligence - what some people refer to as "dumb blond".

Pro-dumb stereotype examples

Many blond actresses have played stereotypical "dumb blondes", including Judy Holliday, Jayne Mansfield and Goldie Hawn.

In the American sitcom Three's Company the blond girl (originally Chrissy played by Suzanne Sommers, and later Cindy and Terri) is sweet and naive, while the brunette (Janet, Joyce DeWitt) is smart.

Counter-dumb stereotype examples

At the same time, there are many examples where the stereotype is exploited only to combat it.

The film Legally Blonde starring Reese Witherspoon featured the stereotype as a centerpiece of its plot. Howvere the protagonist turns out to be intelligent enough to graduate from Harvard Law School.

Country music legend Dolly Parton, aware of this occasional characterization of her, addressed it in her 1967 hit Dumb Blonde . Parton's lyrics challenged the stereotype, stating "...just because I'm blonde, don't think I'm dumb 'cause this dumb blonde ain't nobody's fool...". Parton has said she was not offended by "all the dumb-blonde jokes because I know I'm not dumb. I'm also not blonde."

The author of the comic strip Blondie , Chic Young, starting with "Dumb Dora", gradually transformed his subsequent Blondie into a smart, hard-working, family-hearted woman.

Loni Anderson's character Jennifer Marlowe on the show WKRP in Cincinatti often played up a perception of being a dumb, flirty blonde. In several episodes it was seen she only did so to get her way.

Blonde jokes

There is a category of blonde jokes that employ the dumb-blonde stereotype for their effect.

Blonde jokes have been criticized as sexist by several authors, as most blondes in these jokes are female, although male variations also exist. Research indicates that because of this, men find blonde jokes significantly more amusing than women say they do.

Many blonde jokes are variations on other stereotypical jokes. Blonde jokes nearly always take the format of the blond(e) placing himself or herself in an unusual situation, performing a silly act because he or she misconstrued the meaning of how an activity is supposed to play out, or making a comment that serves to highlight his or her supposed promiscuity, lack of intelligence, or cluelessness.

Related stereotypes

  • Valley girl and Essex girl carry many of the same connotations as "dumb blonde", although they are non synonymous.
  • Bimbo

See also

  • Ganguro
  • Sex and intelligence

References

  • Encyclopedia of Hair: a Cultural History , by Victoria Sherrow, Greenwood Publishing Group, 2006, ISBN 0313331456

Notes

  1. ^ Encyclopedia of Hair , p. 255
  2. ^ Regenberg, Nina (2007), "Are Blonds Really Dumb?", in mind (magazine) (3) , http://www.in-mind.org/issue-3/are-blonds-really-dumb.html  
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Encyclopedia of Hair , pp. 149-151
  4. ^ The Observer (29 July 2001), The new blonde bombshell , http://www.guardian.co.uk/theobserver/2001/jul/29/featuresreview.review  
  5. ^ Encyclopedia of Hair , p. 255
  6. ^ Karen Thomas. She's having a blonde moment . October 27, 2003. USA Today.
  7. ^ "The Comics", by Coulton Waugh, M. Thomas Inge, 1991, ISBN 0878054995
  8. ^ Blondie: the Bumstead Family History , by Dean Young and Melena Ryzik (2007) ISBN 140160322X
  9. ^ Greenwood, D; LM Isbell (2002). "Ambivalent Sexism and the Dumb Blonde: Men's and Women's Reactions to Sexist Jokes". Psychology of Women Quarterly (Blackwell Publishers) 26 (4): 341–350. doi:10.1111/1471-6402.t01-2-00073.  
  10. ^ Thomas, Jeannie B. (1997). "Dumb Blondes, Dan Quayle, and Hillary Clinton: Gender, Sexuality, and Stupidity in Jokes". The Journal of American Folklore 110 (437): 277–313. doi:10.2307/541162.  
  11. ^ Blundy, Anna (2007-08-25). "'Blonde' jokes aren't funny - No other minority would stand for this cruel stereotyping". Spectator, the (Romford) : 18–19. ISSN 00386952.  
  12. ^ Greenwood, D; LM Isbell (2002). "Ambivalent Sexism and the Dumb Blonde: Men's and Women's Reactions to Sexist Jokes". Psychology of Women Quarterly (Blackwell Publishers) 26 (4): 341–350. doi:10.1111/1471-6402.t01-2-00073.

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