Blondes vs. Brunettes
Blondes vs. Brunettes: The Battle of the Brains
Angie Stewart
3.4.2010
Audience: This paper is written for any person who is convinced and believes that blondes are dumber than brunettes.
Purpose: The purpose is to argue the position that the stereotype of the “dumb blonde” is false.
A married couple were awakened by a call at 2:00 a.m. The wife, a blonde, picked up the phone, listened a moment, and said, “How should I know, that’s 200 miles from here!” and hung up. Her husband asked, “Who was that?” She replied, “I don’t know; some woman wanting to know if the coast is clear.” When I read this joke, it made me laugh, but I must admit that I disagree with the underlying stereotype it is affirming. As I began to research this paper, I typed in a Google search for “blonde jokes” and got a whopping 1,150,000 results! There is no point in exaggerating the obvious; the stereotype that blondes are dumb is alive and well. Despite the overwhelming database of jokes and taunts, blondes in fact are not deprived of brain power.
Let us begin by considering where blondes first became the brunt of jokes and considered to be empty headed bird brains. There are several theories as to the origins. One that I find hilarious is that the ancient Greeks and Romans held a deep admiration for their flaxen-haired neighbors. As a result, they bleached their own hair. This repeated bleaching of the scalp and consequent inhalation could have had an effect on one’s mental status. Another theory is that during the Middle Ages, the common people were the ones who had to work laboriously outside in the fields. This caused their hair to lighten and being the lower class with no formal education, they were viewed as being unintelligent. Blonde jokes entered the American culture in the 1900s. (Wikipedia) Whether these influences are the real reasons for the continuing stamp of ignorance blondes receive, the stereotype itself is a powerful influence on the way
Angie Stewart
3.4.2010
Audience: This paper is written for any person who is convinced and believes that blondes are dumber than brunettes.
Purpose: The purpose is to argue the position that the stereotype of the “dumb blonde” is false.
A married couple were awakened by a call at 2:00 a.m. The wife, a blonde, picked up the phone, listened a moment, and said, “How should I know, that’s 200 miles from here!” and hung up. Her husband asked, “Who was that?” She replied, “I don’t know; some woman wanting to know if the coast is clear.” When I read this joke, it made me laugh, but I must admit that I disagree with the underlying stereotype it is affirming. As I began to research this paper, I typed in a Google search for “blonde jokes” and got a whopping 1,150,000 results! There is no point in exaggerating the obvious; the stereotype that blondes are dumb is alive and well. Despite the overwhelming database of jokes and taunts, blondes in fact are not deprived of brain power.
Let us begin by considering where blondes first became the brunt of jokes and considered to be empty headed bird brains. There are several theories as to the origins. One that I find hilarious is that the ancient Greeks and Romans held a deep admiration for their flaxen-haired neighbors. As a result, they bleached their own hair. This repeated bleaching of the scalp and consequent inhalation could have had an effect on one’s mental status. Another theory is that during the Middle Ages, the common people were the ones who had to work laboriously outside in the fields. This caused their hair to lighten and being the lower class with no formal education, they were viewed as being unintelligent. Blonde jokes entered the American culture in the 1900s. (Wikipedia) Whether these influences are the real reasons for the continuing stamp of ignorance blondes receive, the stereotype itself is a powerful influence on the way
Cited: BBC News World Edition. 9 April 1999. 3 3 2010 <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/315527.stm>. Frank, Robert H. The New York Times. 7 June 2007. 3 March 2010 <http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/07/business/07scene.html?_r=1>. IBN Live: A Network 18 Venture. 18 June 2007. 3 March 2010 <http://ibnlive.in.com/news/legend-of-the-dumb-blonde/43144-19.html?from=search-relatedstories>. Jobson, Kristi L. The Harvard Crimson. 2 December 2004. 3 March 2010 <http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2004/12/2/having-a-blonde-moment-i-am/>. Sharpe, Ricki. Assess Systems Austrlia. 23 November 2007. 3 March 2010 <http://assess-systems.com.au/blog/2007/blonde-brain-drain/>. Wikipedia. 3 March 2010 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dumb_blonde#Dumb_blonde>. WRAL.com. 3 March 2010 <http://www.wral.com/golo/blogpost/2693252/>.