The dumb blonde is a popular-culture stereotype typically applied to people with blonde hair color, most frequently women. The archetypical "dumb blonde", while attractive and popular, lacks both common street-sense and academic intelligence, often to a comedic level. For the 1996 Blur single, see Stereotypes (song). ... Naturally blond hair. ... Hair color is the result of pigmentation due to the presence of the chemicals of melanin and phaeomelanin. ...

Numerous actresses have played characters labelled as "dumb blondes", famously including Marilyn Monroe, Suzanne Somers (primarily for her role as Chrissy Snow on Three's Company), and Goldie Hawn (for her persona on the variety show Laugh-In.) Country music chaunteuse Dolly Parton, aware of this occasional characterization of her, addressed it in her 1967 hit Dumb Blonde (though Parton's lyrics challenged the stereotype, stating "...just because I'm blonde, don't think I'm dumb 'cause this dumb blond ain't nobody's fool..."). More recently, Paris Hilton has been characterized as a dumb blonde due to her public persona, which is portrayed by popular culture as promiscuous and self-absorbed, and Jessica Simpson has been seen as one due primarily to her behavior on her TV series, Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica. Marilyn Monroe (born Norma Jeane Mortenson on June 1, 1926 – August 5, 1962), was a Golden Globe Award-winning American actress, singer, model and pop icon. ... Somers, from the opening credits of Threes Company (early seasons). ... Christmas Snow, better known by her nickname of Chrissy, was a fictional character on the sitcom Threes Company. ... For the Entourage episode, see Threes Company (Entourage). ... Goldie Jeanne Hawn (born November 21, 1945) is an Academy Award-winning American actress, director and producer. ... Rowan & Martins Laugh-In was a United States comedy television show broadcast from January 22, 1968 through 1973 over the NBC Network. ... This article includes a list of works cited but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ... Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American Grammy-winning and Academy Award-nominated country singer, songwriter, composer, author, actress and philanthropist. ... 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar (the link is to a full 1967 calendar). ... Paris Whitney Hilton (born February 17, 1981) is an American celebrity and socialite. ... Jessica Ann Simpson (born July 10, 1980) is an American pop singer and actress who rose to fame in the late 1990s. ...

There is a common category of jokes that employ the dumb-blonde stereotype for their effect. They usually involve a situation in which a blonde performs a random or dangerous act because she misconstrued the meaning of the words describing the act, to comedic results. Another variation employs two blondes, one as the recipient of the other's stupid question, only to give an even more ridiculous answer herself. A joke is a short story or series of words spoken or communicated with the intent of causing laughter or being found humorous by either listener/reader or performer/writer. ...

Origins

Like many popular-culture stereotypes, the origins of this concept are murky. The 1925 Anita Loos novel Gentlemen Prefer Blondes: The Illuminating Diary of a Professional Lady (later used as source for a film by the same name made by Howard Hawks and starring Marilyn Monroe) featured the character Lorelei Lee, a beautiful but empty-headed singer. While some look to this as the source for the concept, in fact, it might be far older. Anita Loos (April 26, 1889 – August 18, 1981) was an acclaimed American screenwriter, playwright and author. ... Gentlemen Prefer Blondes is a novel written by Anita Loos that was published in 1925, a Broadway play produced in 1926, a Broadway musical produced in 1949, which Loos also wrote the book for, and two motion pictures. ... Howard Hawks (May 30, 1896 – December 26, 1977) was an American film director, producer and writer of the classic Hollywood era. ...

Some have suggested that, because Caucasian babies are often born with at least a touch of blonde hair, an association has arisen tying those having fair hair with childhood and youth (and the accompanying proclivities toward naïvité and/or innocence). Also, as blonde hair is often associated with physical attractiveness and youth, some argue that those around blondes may have a tendency to admire or fawn over them, encouraging some to behave in a child-like manner (consciously or not) in order to gain attention and affection. On the other hand, some have postulated that the association is older still, having its roots in ancient times. The ancient Greeks and Romans were fascinated by the fair hair of the Celts and the Nordic peoples and wished to emulate their red and flaxen tresses. People in the Mediterranean area often bleached their hair or bought wigs made from the hair of enslaved Germanic and Celtic peoples, and most notably the highest-ranking courtesans. Due to this association of red and fair hair with harlots, light hair earned a degree of contempt from the high-ranking ladies of society. In Medieval Europe, the upper classes tended to be darker haired than the peasantry, likely due to the period tendency to marry within one's own class and the fact that lower class people were far more exposed to sunlight. Blonde hair was, at this time, often associated with commoners, who were ostensibly deemed less intelligent. Puritans, associating makeup and dyeing of hair with prostitution, forbade the dyeing or bleaching of hair, creating an imprint on dyeing hair that lasted until the 1920s. The "dumb" side could have been a way for wives of adulterous men to reassure themselves about the infidelity of their husbands; to think that their husband's blonde mistress was sleazy, worthless, ditzy, and not very intelligent[1]. Or, the idea might stem from the idea amongst Romans and Greeks that Northern Europeans were barbarians and thus less advanced than Southern Europeans. The 4th edition of Meyers Konversationslexikon (1885-1890) shows the Caucasian race (in blue) as comprising Aryans, Semites and Hamites. The Caucasian race (sometimes called the Caucasoid race) is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as, relating to a broad division of humankind covering peoples from Europe, the Middle East... Ancient Greece is the term used to describe the Greek_speaking world in ancient times. ... History - Ancient history - Ancient Rome This is a List of Ancient Rome-related topics, that aims to include aspects of both the Ancient Roman Republic and Roman Empire. ... A Celtic cross. ... The Nordic countries (Greenland not shown) The Nordic countries is a term used collectively for five countries in Northern Europe. ... The Mediterranean Sea is an intercontinental sea positioned between Europe to the north, Africa to the south and Asia to the east, covering an approximate area of 2. ... Commercial chlorine bleach To bleach something, is to remove or lighten its color, sometimes as a preliminary step in the process of dyeing; a bleach is a chemical that produces these effects, often via oxidation. ... A courtesan in mid-16th century usage was a high-class prostitute or mistress, especially one associated with rich, powerful, or upper-class men who provided luxuries and status in exchange for her services. ... For the record label, see Puritan Records. ...

Some think that some pseudo-blonds are dumb because hair dye and bleach damages brain cells. However, it becomes overgeneralized and some assume that all blondes naturally dumb. ^[1] Although, not all blondes are dumb. Ashlie from Lizzie McGuire, with green hair Hair coloring products generally fall into four categories: temporary, semipermanent, deposit only/demi, and permanent. ... Commercial chlorine bleach To bleach something, is to remove or lighten its color, sometimes as a preliminary step in the process of dyeing; a bleach is a chemical that produces these effects, often via oxidation. ...

Essex girl

Main article: Essex girl

Local variants of the dumb-blonde stereotype (involving the same jokes and much the same use in popular culture) include the United Kingdom's Essex girl — a young, working class woman with an unsophisticated attitude to life. The stereotypical Essex girl wears a short skirt and high heels, and has bleached blonde hair, often pulled back in a severe style sometimes called an Essex facelift. She drinks Diamond White, a very strong cider, which makes her loud and vulgar. Nobody laughs harder at an Essex girl joke than she does. She wears white slingbacks and drives a white Ford Fiesta. Essex girl is the female counterpart of Essex man; both came into currency during the 1980s property boom, when sectors of British society enjoyed an affluence hitherto reserved for the middle classes. Lately, the Essex girl image has waned, to be replaced in part by chavette. Ace lace: a mini in broderie anglaise. ... Essex is a county in the East of England. ... The term working class is used to denote a social class. ... Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres depicts the Comtesse dHaussonville, wearing a dress. ... In English slang, a Croydon facelift (sometimes Essex facelift or Council facelift) is a particular hairstyle worn by young women. ... The Ford Fiesta is a mid-class supermini car designed by the Ford Motor Company in Europe, and also manufactured in Brazil, Mexico, Venezuela, China, India and South Africa. ... Essex Man is a political term used in the United Kingdom to describe a person of a working class background, with aspirations to own property and shares. ... This article cites very few or no references or sources. ... The middle class (or middle classes) comprises a social group once defined by exception as an intermediate social class between the nobility and the peasantry. ... Look up chav, charva in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Valley girl

Main article: Valley girl

Alicia Silverstone and Stacey Dash in Amy Heckerling's Clueless, played the part of two valley girls. Valley girls are stereotypically spoiled brats, usually with wealthy parents and an active but superficial social life. They live in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles, use distinctive words and expressions (such as "grody to the max"), and make excessive use of "totally" and "like"; their dialect became known as Valspeak. This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Alicia Silverstone, (born October 4, 1976) is an American actress and former fashion model. ... Stacey Dash (born January 20, 1966 in The Bronx, New York) is an American film and television actress of African American, Native American and English descent. ... Amy Heckerling (born May 7, 1954) is an American film director, one of the few women directors to have produced multiple box-office hits. ... Clueless is a 1995 comedy film, loosely based on Emma by Jane Austen, written and directed by Amy Heckerling and produced by Scott Rudin. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... San Fernando Valley from southwestern edge. ... Flag Seal Nickname: City of Angels Location Location within Los Angeles County in the state of California Coordinates , Government State County California Los Angeles County Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (D) Geographical characteristics Area     City 1,290. ... Look up like in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Frank Zappa sang about these girls in his song "Valley Girl"; his daughter, Moon Unit Zappa, performed the Valspeak during the song, some of it improvised. Frank Vincent Zappa[1] (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American composer, guitarist, singer, film director, and satirist. ... Moon Unit Zappa (born September 28, 1967, in New York City) is the oldest child of late American rock star Frank Zappa and Gail Sloatman; she goes by the name Moon Zappa. ...

See also

• Bimbo
• Chav
• Essex girl
• Ganguro
• Kogal
• Paninaro
• Sloane Ranger
• Valley girl
• Yuppie
• Sex and intelligence

Bimbo is a term that emerged in popular English language usage in the late 20th Century to describe an often attractive, yet stupid, pliable woman. ... Look up chav, charva in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Ace lace: a mini in broderie anglaise. ... Ganguro gals. ... Kogal (コギャル kogyaru in romaji (romanised Japanese), lit. ... Paninaro (plural: Paninari) is a subculture born in Milan, Italy during the early 1980s at a fast food restaurant called Al Panino (in English :sandwiches). ... The term Sloane Ranger (often pluralised to just Sloanes or Sloanies) originally referred to the young upper- and upper-middle-class men and women living in West London. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Yuppies (or young urban professionals and young upwardly mobile professionals[1]) is a market segment whose consumers are characterized as self-reliant, financially secure individualists who do not exhibit or aspire to traditional American values. ... Sex and intelligence research investigates differences in the distributions of cognitive skills between men and women. ...

References

1. ^ 5/26/07, Whye are people withe blonde haire soe stupude?

External links

• "Valley Girl" lyrics - Lyrics to the song that popularised the valley girl phenomenon.