Blonde Empowerment

This past week I discovered two extremely valuable sources in my research. They were both books that I checked out from the library which focused on the fascination with being blonde and the roots of the blonde myths. After reading through several chapters of each book I realized there is so much more to being blonde than simply being dumb or sexual. Being blonde can actually be incredibly empowering: just like Marilyn Monroe showed us in the 1950s. In one of the books, On Blondes, an entire chapter was devoted to Marilyn Monroe and I was captivated to learn how her entire persona was changed simply by dying her hair blonde. She did blonde better than almost anyone and made millions doing it. In Blonde Like Me, by Natalia Ilyin she explores her constant desire to have blonde hair and wonders why so many women continuously resort to peroxide and hair dye. These questions really turned my way of thinking about blonde stereotypes and I now see them as empowering rather than restricting. Jessica Simpson is the classic example of this. Her dumb blonde image on the TV show Newlyweds skyrocketed her appeal as well of the show's and whether or not she is actually as dumb as she appeared on TV is still a mystery. Either way, she has made millions in what she does and she was actually paid by Chicken of the Sea to endorse the tuna that she once questioned to be chicken. Basically, blonde women can take the myths and stereotypes surrounding them as oppressive or they can use them to manipulate others. The logic is as follows: Sex sells, blondes are sexy, therefore blonde sells.