Why have we women been stereotyped by our hair color?

Question

I heard some blonde jokes on TV tonight. Why is it that we women have been stereotyped by our hair color. A brunette is sophisticated, a blonde is ditzy, a red head has a temper. I have a question though. Why are guys not stereotyped by their hair colors. I mean for example would a red headed guy have a worse temper? Is a blonde guy's IQ going to drop? I guess it is a double standard and blonde jokes still exist and everybody thinks they are funny. Where did this stereotyping women based on hair colors of the past come from? Why was it done? I don't know. I know that we tend to color our hair more than guys, but some guys these days will add color. Feel free to elaborate as to where this stereotyping comes from. I assume from the past, but why did it start? Who started it. I really don't know, but am curious.

HawkPerception · Accepted Answer

I'm sick of people that say judging others is wrong. We all do it inherently... judging others based on their looks. It's a defensive mechanism humans have to assess danger. If you don't judge based on appearance, then that means you don't have any awareness around dangerous things like say... a bear or a man that looks like a thug and has a bunch of tattoos and piercings. If you don't judge based on appearance, then that means you could date someone that looks like a frog. You should never be afraid of spiders or snakes or anything that looks creepy either.

Everyone can do whatever they want, but they will be judged for it, just the same as if a man sits on a couch all day eating potato chips or chooses to dress like a bum everywhere he goes. How you dress and present yourself has a direct effect on how others view you. That's why you dress to impress for interviews. It's why you dress nicely on dates. It's why you put effort into your hair so it doesn't look untidy and dirty.

The fact of the matter is most people that dye their hair ridiculous neon colours and cut their hair short usually come from that LGBT, cancel culture, body positivity, feminazi crowd. They're not usually mentally sane. They're always the same ones barking and acting like dogs in streets.

If you dress like a goth, I'm going to assume you have relationship issues with your parents and are rebellious and want to identify as someone that's "different" from the usual crowd, so you dress that way for attention.

It's a fact that women with blonde hair get more attention from men (for many psychological reasons). Humans aren't blind and can see patterns with this, so women will usually die their hair blonde when they want more attention from males (it's not a bad thing). Because they get all that attention, their ego tends to be up in the air and they tend to be louder with their opinions, even if they're dumb opinions. That's where the stereotype of blondes being airheads came from.

lightbulb27 · Accepted Answer

human nature to generalize learnings, especially when emotional. thats how we get all sorts of isms... racism, etc..

Reality is... it's the brain doing the "ditzy" thing, that is real and can happen in any hair color or length. The color indicator represents some attribute learned about women but it does not reflect the what is happening in the mind.

humans making false learnings...:)

fartingspinster · Accepted Answer

Marilyn Monroe was quite intelligent, and she was originally a brunette - but she bleached her hair to embody the persona she wanted and didn't showcase her intelligence

I think in general the beauty standard of the west was blonde. I remember a mother emphasizing her daughter's blonde hair as a reason for her beauty. And movies always stereotyping beauty queens as blonde. And when you have beauty, people can't comprehend beauty and brains. Or a lot of times thats how they are primed from childhood "oh you dont need to bother yourself with that, you are pretty" and the girl will believe she doesn't need to work hard or work internally on herself.

As for red heads having a temper... most of the redheads came from Ireland/Scotland. So the temper is an ethnic stereotype i believe.

I dont quite get the brunette reason tbh, but its similar to the glasses stereotype "oh you must be smart!" But could be the same reason as why the blondes weren't expected to work as hard because of beauty standards, and so the brunettes weren't given the same treatment and also received the signal they need to work harder.

I remember in Jr high the boys would go crazy over two things. Blondes, blue eyes, and big boobs. So unless the brunette was well endowed, she wasn't getting as much attention because they rarely have blue eyes.

Dont forget though... guys DO get stereotypes based on hairtype also.
Red heads are stereotyped as timid and not as manly for some reason, or not as handsome.
Blondes ARE still typically stereotyped as laid back, surfer dude types, or not as intelligent
And brunettes are considered more intelligent, but also tend to be the serial killers or mentally irregular individuals in shows/movies.

CupcakeTheDestroyer · Accepted Answer

It’s almost like everything we are as women is picked apart and mocked in order to make us be quiet. Wonder who thought that up?

Anonymous · Answer

This stems from a mix of tropes, cultural associations, outdated stereotypes and old folk stories. Society has long attached certain personality traits/characteristics to specific hair colors. For instance blondes have been seen as more gullible, carefree, naive, innocent, or frivolous, redheads as having a fiery temper, more rebellious, dangerous, deviant, as well as being associated with Irish descent, witches, and vampires (some replies already mentioned the Celts, but the ancient Greeks had a similar superstition in which they actually believed that redhead women turned into vampires, after they died yikes) whereas brunettes have been portrayed as mysterious, seductive temptresses, also getting the plain Jane, intelligent or the girl-next door clichés...

Of course the film industry has played a big industry in reinforcing and propagating these stereotypes thriugh Disney films/shows, cartoons and Hollywood movies, but the real elephant in the room is none other than patriarchy 🙄 that has been objectifying and trying to keep women under control since the dawn of time by using such strategies of "divide and conquer", so that we're busy fighting with each and also by controlling the narrative about our worth (which we know that they base solely on our appearance) and through shaming tactics, as well...

Of course, needless to say all these stereotypes are utterly ridiculous and bear no connection to reality or scientific basis. All humans are different and their hair color, looks, ethnicity or race has nothing to do with one's personality, character, or interests, inner worth but apparently that's a hard concept for some people to grasp

EzraIsShy76028 · Answer

Beats me. It sure is stupid. It's basically like racial stereotypes but applied to hair for some reason, lol.

In general people do love to stereotype anything and everything though. Like a fedora for some reason. In a literal sense just a regular hat, but because of overweight socially inept losers associated with it, it becomes a shameful hat to wear. Or glasses being stereotyped as nerdy even though their only purpose is to help you see.

Also in general, people like to simplify everything and do black and white thinking as it's just simply easier. Black hair=mysterious, blonde hair=dumb, red hair=angry, colorful dyed hair=quirky, etc. It's bullshit but it's just how people think of it I guess.

Finchie40 · Answer

I think it stems down from the older famous blonde hair female celebrities , like Marilyn Monroe etc. Blondes received a lot of attention from men back in the day , and they still to this day , if she was beautiful with blonde hair , she was considered a knock out or a bomb shell no matter how intelligent or dumb or ditzy and gullible she was , it didn’t matter , she was blonde and beautiful and guys’ went nuts over it , I know Hugh Hefner introduced Blondes into Playboy Magazine and that became a very popular thing with the guys’ as well , especially with the Centerfolds. So I think a lot of jokes were made based off of those reasons , mainly because females’ were in the spotlight for her hair color and beauty for so many years , I think that’s why females’ get stereotyped for their hair color. But overall they are just jokes that don’t really mean shit , it’s just to make people laugh and not to be taken seriously. Jokes are just jokes.

FunkyMonkee · Answer

What do you think of this blonde joke?
A blonde was driving just over the speed limit on the highway one sunny afternoon when a state trooper pulled her over, got out of his car, pulled out his ticket book, started taking down her info as he walked up to her driver side window. She rolled down the window and asked him, "Are you selling tickets to the policeman's ball?" The trooper said in a serious yet pre-occupied voice as he continued writing, "Troopers don't have balls, ma'am.". After a few seconds, he stopped writing, closed his book, put his pen away, got back in his car and drove away!

D_Bone_Steak · Answer

Guys got stereotyped as just men in general. Made us all out to be retards that can't do shit. Meanwhile, women need us and get to take for granted everything we created or keep working in their house. Lick my ass women... You wouldn't even have a country without us. Or a laundry machine. Lick it. You on your computer right now or phone? Lick it. I could go on but women need to lick my ass. They don't realize it until they have to think about going without the things men have provided them for their comfort.

ShellyB · Answer

I mostly agree w you but, I think red head guys do have a reputation for hot tempers? Though I don’t think most people take that stuff seriously. I think red headed girls are more likely to get teased about it bc guys love teasing us for some reason.

But yes, hair color can lead to some quick judgments and opinions, for good or bad I guess. I am usually blonde (my natural color is dirty blonde aka light brown) and I feel like I get more attention when blonde and people are a little nicer to me, like I notice more people smiling at me. Though, I am sometimes treated like I am ditzy that doesn’t bother me much so, for me the tradeoff is worth it. I do not think hair color affects how guys are viewed as much, you’re right. JMO!

CruelParadise · Answer

It was probably traditions and classes. Red heads probably came from Celtic ancestors and were seen as feisty or aggressive. Blonde girls probably came from wealthier families and they were raised to be wives and didn’t have too many challenges so probably didn’t think critically as much as girls from other cultures who had different hair colors, eye colors, and skin tones. Basically different features.

Anonymous · Answer

Blonde goes back to Marilyn Monroe. And that's self explanatory. Since it wasn't her natural hair color it probably plays into that it's all an act. Because we all know how a lot of women will play dumb to make a man FEEL superior.

Redhead probably has to do with "fire"

As far as guys not stereotyped. It's probably because women are known for thier emotion, not for thier sound judgement. And I'd LIKE to say that's b. s. but women just keep reinforcing that notion over and over again.

ItWasShadow · Answer

I don't know where it all started but I know in some cultures people are associated with 5 elements linked to characteristics. As someone mentioned red hair associated with fire, pale skin with red ting is another example beyond hair.

It could be a mix-up of causation vs correlation assuming that the cause of a bad temper is due to red hair where it could be more due to how their environment shapes them, and same with "ditzy" blonde vs lowering their own expectations because people excuse behavior with, "Oh, she is blonde.."

As a guy though, it does annoy me that there are excessive stereotypes for women that seem to deflect one's attention from guys toxic behavior.

Whatever the cause or reason, it is still an " us vs them" mentality, lacking emotional maturity and cured with education 😁

RavVid · Answer

I think a red hair guy is likely to be assumed hot tempered and I've met a blond guy who had to have blonde jokes explained to him.

(incidentally you can't have blonde guys because the e is a gendered ending and e is feminine. It is a French import. Proper English word is fair).

Over Gingas are getting the most stereotyping now. Rightly so.

It is very unusual to find a woman who hasn't chosen her hair color. Blondes want to stand out and get male attention.

glennos89 · Answer

Good question! I really don't know. I think men are also stereotyped in our society.

All guys are the same, they only think about sex.

Guys who drive big cars are doing it to make up for their small dick

Personally I believe that the majority of those stereotypes began as a joke that eventually got stuck into society. Sometimes they might have contained a partial truth about someone and eventually got stereotyped

fish5505_87 · Answer

That's just the way it is, somethings will never change! Sorry! Not sure, those stereo types were around when I was a kid. I guess like anything else you can search the interwebs. I was really blond most of my life until my mid 30's, as guy, I used to blame my hair as a joke every time I didd something dumb. Most people got a kick out of it. Probably incentive to females since the stereotype is usually about them, I was young, and meant no harm.

berrytired · Answer

It's a weirdly broad generalization to make for sure. Most people in the world have black hair. Do non white people not have personalities outside of being 'serious, mysterious, intimidating'? lol

A certain percentage of unnatural blondes may be the kind of women that don't feel attractive without it and care more about what people think, but that's about it.

Shiprex · Answer

Media. To a degree men are stereotyped by their hair AND height. Tall DARK and handsome, blonde beach bum and gingers smell like cabbage and potato.

NathanDavis · Answer

I don't do that... and I think those ideas died in the past century as well...

ovixs90 · Answer

My theory sone groups hated the beauty of blond women and there rare genetics so they want them to mix up and destroy blond people. If about stereotype it comes from media, movies which dictates trends and brainwash people to believe what they are told and accept it as fact.

Zack-Bann · Answer

Men get stereotyped by facial hair styles

But it’s all stupid really

People are individuals and everyone knows that deep down

But the stereotypes came about has a joke and have evolved into this “common knowledge”

DishLady · Answer

The pool of guys who made it up in the 1940s just has nothing better to do. 😂

Crazyced · Answer

Redhead dudes WISH their stigmas were limited to having a temper

NicholasRedone · Answer

Same reasons as men being stereotypes for hair colours

Anonymous · Answer

It's not just that, people also tend to "forget" that there are also girls with black hair (that's not a brunette, they have brown hair).

DrPepper12 · Answer

Misogyny & mores. Women change colors hence the stupidity.

Zoe04 · Answer

So we’re fighting with each other so we don’t notice what their doing.

Anonymous · Answer

Unfortunately, we live in a patriarchal world, and fckuing men have more opinion over us than we do.

Anonymous · Answer

I do know the answers in detailed history, but people generally don't like to hear anything about history these days.

Professor-college · Answer

I had no idea when women are labeled by their hair color

Alexa6 · Answer

I don't know I guessing, but I think they need some way to “compete” with one another.

msc545 · Answer

Guys are stereotyped by their height and how much money they have - by women. Stop complaining.

4ngelic · Answer

ginger men are stereotyped

LAWoman2000 · Answer

They feel the need to have us fighting with each other.

PaleDale · Answer

Yeah hair color... beats me

beefcakebradybatson · Answer

I LOVE buxom blondes !!!

chocolatetwopointo · Answer

bc we’re not seen as people, js how we look.

Manuelwe · Answer

No that is what women want to control men

Rocketmansupertramp · Answer

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

Why have we women been stereotyped by our hair color?

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