Blonde stereotype
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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There are several aspects to the stereotypical perception of blond-haired women. On one hand, over history, blond hair in women has been considered attractive and desirable. On the other hand, a blond woman is often perceived as making little use of intelligence and as a "woman who relie(s) on her looks rather than on intelligence." is exploited in blonde jokes.
Dumb blonde
The dumb blonde is a popular culture stereotype applied to blonde-haired women. The archetypical "dumb blonde", while attractive and popular, lacks both common street-sense and academic intelligence, often to a comedic level. The dumb blonde stereotype is frequently used in the popular blonde jokes.
Numerous actresses have played characters labelled as "dumb blondes", famously including Marilyn Monroe and Goldie Hawn. Country music chanteuse 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..."). Also, saying she was not offended by "all the dumb-blonde jokes because I know I'm not dumb. I'm also not blond." 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.
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