Shades of Blonde

[Dogmudgeon]

Long before pResident Bush asked the famous question, "Is our children learning?", the question on America's mind was "Is It True Blondes Have More Fun?" Well, according to to Joanna Pitman, author of On Blondes, they seem to have more of everything.

Dheera Sujan reviewed the book for Radio Netherlands. Here's a few paragraphs:

Blonde hair has been incorporated into western mythology since ancient Greek times when Aphrodite, the goddess of beauty, was portrayed in painted statues as a blonde. Blondes had more fun even according to the women of the classical era, who went to extraordinary lengths to emulate their role model in beauty and allure. They used powdered silver, saffron and even pigeon dung to bleach their hair; it's a tradition that's been followed ever since, according to Joanna Pitman, author of "On Blondes."

The book includes all sorts of titbits on blondness, from the annual costs of keeping Princess Diana faithful to blonde princesshood (nearly 8,000 euros), to the beginnings of the Nazi obsession with fair hair. And did you know that Madonna always sells more records when she's portrayed as a blonde on her album covers than when she's her natural dark self? Or that the famous prototype Hollywood blonde Jean Harlow had to wear a platinum wig towards the end of her short life because the bleaches she'd used had reduced her own hair to grey bristles?

Pitman - who had her hair dyed blonde while she was writing the book - says that she noticed a visible change in people's reactions to her as a blonde. She got far better service from librarians, bar tenders, and shop assistants. "People stood up to offer me a seat on the tube," she says. "It was bizarre seeing the way they reacted so differently to me just because of the colour of my hair. And in fact I even had to ask my husband if I could afford not to be blonde, because I got so much more done when I was blonde."

Blonde is no longer the flagship colour of the bimbo. Margaret Thatcher, Hilary Clinton and Princess Diana all became increasingly blonde as their power and popularity grew. "They all got more and more confident as they got blonder," Pitman says. "Compare the early photos of the painfully shy Diana with her mousy brown hair, and by the end, she was this goddess. She wasn't trying to hide her height anymore, she was just so much more confident that she looked good."

Read -- and listen to -- the whole thing at Radio Netherlands.

--bkl
Just blond enough to get away with murder. Occasionally.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

1. Going blonde-naturally

My mousy brown hair is starting to go blonde. Well, really, it's white/grey hair that's more yellow than grey or white. Looks like I'll never be one of those old ladies who puts blue on their hair, if going blonde gets you better treatment!

[Dogmudgeon]

2. Paging Lady Clairol

I'm wondering if there's such a thing as Lord Clairol.

--bkl
'Cause I'm a Blond
B-L-I-N-D
(Julie Brown)

[Ellen Forradalom]

3. Blonde hair has a death grip on the American psyche

But I see the problem is not restricted to our own country. What is it about yellow hair anyhow?

[Skittles]

4. I am sick of fake blondes

I'm a real one and find them very obnoxious.

fake blonde hair means it's probably not the only thing they are faking

[Stuckinthebush]

5. I find fake blondes very unattractive

Especially when you can see the roots. But worse yet is the bleached blonde look. Yikes! I have never been attracted to someone with bleached blonde hair.

There is also something with skin tone and hair color. I can't put my finger on it, but many times women who dye their hair blonde just don't look right because of something with skin tone that doesn't fit with their new look.

Anyway - blonde is fine if that is what you are, but don't go changing to try to please me (or any other man or woman for that matter!).