David, you and I tried to have a mature discussion about the mystique that blonds have in the world. Why does so much of the world love them, even worship them, from birth to the grave; genuine or fake. I have nothing against an individual blond (some of my best friends are....) however in much of the Western world, blond means beauty and status. When you're blond, doors open automatically; when you're not they're more likely to be revolving. It is the standard by which beauty is set. How come??
I'm sorry to say, David, you have fallen victim to this standard. You admit to finding them most beautiful and claim that you can't help it. I suggest that for the sake of the non-blonds of the world, (your best friends and co-bloggers...) someone like you, intelligent, intellectual and worldly, should make an effort to resist this concept and be part of the solution, not the problem!
Well Pam, I haven´t fallen victim of any standard, is just like that, I love blondes and I don´t want to do anything about it. First, I don´t think that the Western World is easier for them, life is tough for everybody and problems don´t check the colour of your hair. You also say that your best friends are blondes, then you should know that they see life from a different point of view. They are sweet, allure you, embrace you with their aura and use to be quite smart. Then I´d like to be a part of the solution, my proposition is let´s build a place called Blondesland (women only), I can sacrifice myself being the president of the Blondes with curves (aka Goddesses) part of that lovely country. Let the rest of the world for dark haired, after a century Blondes will make a new paradise on Earth and we just will destroy everything with envy, evil and jealousy.
David, while problems don't check hair colour, you must agree that appearances do matter. If a woman's face is disfigured due to cancer, or a man has rotten teeth (or even worse, no teeth!) their experience of the world will be different than yours or mine. Therefore how one looks helps to determine how one is treated. Sweet? Alluring? Embrace you with their aura? Are you saying that you believe that blonds do these things better than others? I know they have fun, but... At any rate, please do build this Blondesland and volunteer as president. However you will have to accept all the Blondes: those with curves and those without and all the fakes out there as well. No discrimination. For the rest of us, the idea of containing their privilege in one location (surrounded by tall chain-link fences please) would be most helpful for the rest of us. My blond friends admit to and enjoy their privileged status in the world... even when they'd rather grow dreads like mine... I do want to know though, suppose I died my hair blond? Would I then become alluring and sweet to you? (Just want to know my options)
I guess that, sadly, also blondes can have cancer or no teeth and their experience will be as bad as the one we can have. Blondes´ aura is something that you can´t get dying your hair because is something that is just their privilege. It seems to me that I´m excusing myself about my love for blondes and I don´t have to. Imagine that you have to apologize to the world because you like cheese or something like that. Alluring, being sweet or just a woman that makes me crazy is their privilege so you are not going to have more options after dying your hair, because after that you should have to learn how to talk sweetly, how to walk the way they do and many other details that should take the rest of your life. And...blondes out there, please, we are waiting for your comments!
I agree that you should really be able to appreciate and love whatever and whoever you want--cheese or blonds--we all should. However, let's go a little deeper. One cannot separate blond-ness from whiteness. As a conscious, politically aware black woman who has been observing, studying and "living" race relations in the world , I am interested in the overall subject of white privilege. I consider blond-ness, blue-eye-ness to be an outward symbol of extreme white privilege. You are not alone: in general, whites (and many blacks too) value blondness above all. There is a saying that goes: if you're black, get back, if you're brown, stick around... Again, I don't have any issues with individual blonds, it is the fact that it is without question, the standard by which beauty is set, that bothers me. If you look at the images on television, magazines, the fashion industry etc. blonds were there first! It is only in recent times that dark-skinned, nappy-headed women have been featured, and even now they are in the extreme minority. So in other words, for me it has everything to do with the opportunities that exist for whites in general, and blonds in particular, that upsets me. Yes, let's hear from blonds, and non-blonds!
I agree with you but let´s separate humour from racism. Of course that whiteness means, sometimes, power and money, while blackness means something worst. I´m also sick of mags with blondes on the main role but that´s the way it is. I understand your complaints and also think that is a matter of justice with the races not of a powerful league of blondes trying to conquer the world. Beautiness now is also a privilege of some black models (that I also like a lot) though that´s a really bad symbol that encage you in a role of models, basketball players, athletes or blues men. All the typical stuff for whoever is completely awful. This is a matter of common sense and justice, both are gone for holidays since many centuries ago.
Ah yes! I do agree that so much of this is bad for everyone involved. It is almost as though there is an attempt to substitute one form of power for another. I think the term that's often used is "sexual politics" or the "politics of sexuality". Do you think it is a kind of colonization of the mind that helps to keep us separate from each other? I guess that's what I'm feeling from the obsession with blondness. If blond is the highest level of beauty, then everything else is below that, right? Therefore, we are all victims of this social construction. No, I do not believe that blondes are trying to "conquer the world"! I'm not blaming them for anything!! Please! However, there are forces out there that have elevated blondes for a long time, and I think they are the same forces that are now elevating some black models, basketball players, athletes and blues men, just as you say. The question is what does it mean for you and me, average, non-blond people? Anyway, holidays (vacaciones) are temporary therefore we must have hope that common sense and justice will return and then we can all work together on these issues and make the world a better place for all of us.
