[Oni]

I have noticed that white people frequently equate blond hair color with beauty. In several conversations, I have heard individuals describe a woman as just 'blond,' seeming to imply that because her hair was blond,she must of necessity be attractive. I also notice that on the cover of fashion magazines, blond, blue-eyed white women appear to dominate. Why is this look thought to be more attractive than others?
Original Code R637. Click here to see responses from the original archives. Click "to respond" below to reply.

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Name : Oni, Race : Black/African American, Age : 21, City : Cambridge, State : MA Country : United States, 

[jennifer31066]

I think the 'myth' of equating blonde to being beautiful is so sad. I as a black female find it rather offensive, because it simply is not true. Sometimes when you are stuck with 'people who are ignorant' and they speak as if the 'white' complexion is the norm, so then every 'skin hue' has to be described as 'darker' or 'lighter'. This is so sad because my daughter who has 'beautiful brown skin' not because she has 'darker' or 'lighter' skin color than anyone else, often feels inferior, because she was told by an innocent little white girl at school that she will not play with her because her skin is brown. I was amazed because at 4 years you wonder where it comes from. Well one day her mother was amazed when she felt my daughter's skin, she ramarked ' my god, your daughter's skin is softer that my little girl's skin. With a remark like this, I understood why her 'sweet innocent little daughter' did not know better. I wish that white folks who think this way, would help us change the world and change the ignorance with their children. As a cacausion male once explained to his son, who asked me why I was so dark, do I have a tan?....she is dark because she is from a hot country...I wonder what he would think of my very fair cousin who is whiter that he is? I wanted to simply say...well you see there are basically 4 races in this world...but I did not want to hurt his feelings, he seemed like a nice person..who was simply failed by our education system, my daughter unfortunately will be far more opened mined than that poor child. I know some may think, so what's wrong with that answer, black people are from warmer climates. I just think that answer perpetuated the thought in this child's mind that 'she is not the standard' because she is from a hot country. Our children live with this apathy every day. Help us, change this! WE CANNOT EQUATE BEAUTY WITH THE COLOR OF THE SKIN,'PEOPLE IN GENERAL ARE BEAUTIFUL'.

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Name : jennifer31066, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Age : 44, City : edmonton, State : NA Country : Canada, Occupation : MANAGER, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Kecia]

Last week in the locker room, these white women were discussing their children, and one stated how she had one dark daughter (black hair and black eyes) and one light daughter (blond hair and light blue eyes), and they couldn't figure out where these features came from. The woman said she had little hope for the dark one, but when describing the other daughter she spoke with such pride and joy. At first I was a bit taken aback, because they just assume that everything light is better. The same thing is true in some African-American cultures: the lighter and brighter the hair and skin, the better. It has always been my opinion that if the entire world were white, blonde, blue-eyed and Christian, that people would still find reasons to hate. I'm not saying this lady hates her dark daughter, but just how deeply rooted our views on black and white issues are.

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Name : Kecia, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Christian, Age : 35, City : Pembroke Pines, State : FL Country : United States, Occupation : Registered Nurse, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[William24311]

This is something I myself do not understand.I have often noticed American media(British media is today virtually American Media)potray Blond women as the Ultimate in Beauty.This really is weird since though there are a lot of georgeous blond women, many of them are just okay.Indeed I find many Dark haired White,Asian and Black women more attractive but our Good Ol Media kind of ignores them. But I guess U think this is beacause of the Anglo-Teuton Ruling class males of the past who are responsible for this,Right? Wrong.Since in that case Blond men like me would also be potrayed as 'Born Studs'.But see how the media potrays us.Like Asian men we are many a times potrayed as Corporate Geeks or Weaklings. Indeed Media wishes Men to be'Tall,DARK and Handsome'.So blindly blaming W.A.S.P s is wrong. Anather bit of imformation:On my trip to Brazil,I found that the most hottest female Celeb there is a woman named XuXu a Maddona and Oprah in One. This woman looks like a Scandinavian with blue coloured eyes,this in a country where even the pure White minority has very few Blonds. So U see the White Ruling Male establishment cannot be blamed for this foolish trend.A lot of my Blond male freinds believe Jennifer Lopez,Catherine Zeta Jones or Niomi Campbell are much more beautifull than a Blond like Pamela Anderson.

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Name : William24311, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Pagan, Age : 22, City : Leeds, State : NA Country : United Kingdom, Social class : Upper class, 

[Val24497]

As a white natural blonde, i have no clue whatsoever. I wish i had black hair and brown eyes. I have heard that blonde hair is rare and people always want what they don't have. So if most white people have brown hair then that's probaly the obbsession with blondes. Most of my blonde friends are like me and want darker hair. I color my hair red and my friend has always colored hers auburn.

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Name : Val24497, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Christian, City : Altoona, State : PA Country : United States, Education level : High School Diploma, Social class : Middle class, 

[sarah]

i just wanted to say in regards to the previous responder, that she does not speak for all white people. i am a white native american (on the rolls of my tribe, culturally involved, etc). so to the outside world i am just white. and blanket statements such as 'white people are always trying to prove they're superior to other races' are HARMFUL to peaceful relations among races. ugh. 1 step forward, 2 steps back i suppose.

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Name : sarah, Gender : F, Race : American Indian, Age : 25, City : Amherst, State : MA Country : United States, Occupation : student, Education level : 2 Years of College, 

[J. Suess]

R637, I think your question brings to the forefront a predominant social stigma. Society in general seems to have more outspoken attraction to blonde hair. From a white, anglo, or caucasion standpoint I tend to think it is a sign of purity and innocence, not having been stained by all that is unpure or dirty by perception (I think hense, perceived shallowness, naivity, and 'Dumb Blond Jokes'). This is an idea that has been fed to us all for so long. Look at WWII Germany in particular. What was Hitler's ultimate goal? To cleanse all of Europe of all unpure races (Jews, Gypsies, Gays, Blacks, discenters, etc.). All that were not pure arian, genetically or psychologically (Blonde haired, blue eyed, and fair skinned). Which, also by the way I believe are all actually the genetic non-dominant traits in caucasion people. How ironic this was considering Hitler had dark brown hair and was of less fair skin. That being said, true blonde hair especially, whether it be conscious or subconscious awaredness, represents something very uncommon and rare. Whether there is any real perceived beauty or not the fact that it is rare in my mind autmatically increases it's attractiveness. I must say though, I enjoy the sight of ANY truely beautiful woman no matter what her race is (however a beautifule brunette is my first choice), but the occurance when I come in contact with a particularly beautiful blonde woman is a sight like no other to me. Finally, your reference to magazines covers. It's pure marketing. What tends to draw people to spend mone on buying those magazines is what is perceived to beautiful and magazines know that blondes are perceived as being just that way. In the end I don't believe that blondes are more attractive than any other group or hair color, it's just that blondes have been the most vocalized preference. Just remember beauty is in the eye of the beholder and the beholder can be influenced.

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Name : J. Suess, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Methodist, Age : 26, City : Manitowoc, State : WI Country : United States, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Kortni C.]

Our attraction toward blondes is rooted in our instinctive attraction to anything that symbolizes youth. Ever notice how many white children, particularly very young children, are naturally platinum blond? But as they grow older, many lose their blondness and become brown or dark-haired. We subconciously associate blondness with youth, which is why so many blondes are on the cover of magazines, and why blondness is considered desirable--to see an adult with ultra blonde hair is, essentially, a reminder of the innocence and vitality of youth.

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Name : Kortni C., Gender : F, City : Littleton, State : CO Country : United States, 

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