There are many different explanations of how the "dumb blonde" stereotype originated but the true origin is unknown. Throughout the years the dumb blonde stereotype has been the subject of academic study including its effect on society.
One of the studies conducted tested how hair colour stereotyping and CEO selection in the United Kingdom go hand in hand. Essentially, when it comes to selecting an appropriate CEO for a company the colour of the persons hair is taken into consideration based on the stereotypes that go along with them. "Blondes are stereotyped as incompetent, but likeable." (Takeda, M.B.et al. (2006), "Hair colour
stereotyping and CEO selection in the United Kingdom", Journal of Human
Behavior in the Social Environment 13 (3): 85–99, the "UK CEO Study") The question the UK CEO Study was aimed at was whether hair color stereotypes affect job progression, mobility and the rise to the corporate suite? They believed that it did and to test their question they analyzed the hair color of CEOs of the top 500 members of the London Financial Time Stock Exchange. The results of the experiment were as follows: "5% (25) blonde hair, 4% (20) red hair, 22.8% (114) black hair, and 68.2% (341) brunettes." (UK CEO Study) The total population of the UK is made up of "25% blondes, 68% brunettes, 1% redhead, and 6% with black hair." (UK CEO Study) The results for the number of blondes who are CEOs is quite shocking when you take into consideration that 25% of the UK is made up of blondes. Only 1% of the UK is made up of redheads and yet their percentage is almost tied with blondes. This study proved that hair stereotyping does occur and that it does play a role in job progression.
Similarly, the same analysis was performed on Fortune 500 companies which had results that were even more pronounced then the UK CEO Study. "The results showed that 2.2% (11) CEOs had blonde hair, 3.4% (17) CEOs had red hair, and the remaining 92% (460) had either black or brown hair."(Takeda, M.B. et al. (2005), "Hair Colour Stereotyping and CEO Selection: Can You Name Any Blonde CEOs?", Equal Opportunities International; 2005; 24, 1; "Fortune 500 Study")
Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland did a person perception study that examined stereotypes, more specifically the dumb blonde and temperamental redhead stereotypes, based on physical appearance. "A total of 150 subjects were shown five photos of women who were equal in physical attractiveness." (Fine-Davis, M. and Weir, S. 'Dumb Blonde' and 'Temperamental Redhead':The Effect of Hair Colour on Some Attributed Personality Characteristics of Women, The Irish Journal of Psychology, Volume 10, Issue 1, 1989, pages 11- 19 "Trinity College Study")
The subjects had to rate each photo based on five characteristics: shy, aggressive, intelligent, popular and temperamental. Three groups, each made up of an equal number of men and women, rated the pictures. Each group rated five pictures, four of which were the same for all groups and a fifth that was of the same person for each group but with a different wig for each of the groups: brunette, blonde, and redheaded. The men ranked the blondes as more popular and less intelligent than the brunettes and redheads whereas the women did not. However both the men and the women ranked the redhead as more aggressive and temperamental than the blondes and brunettes."The study showed that the dumb blonde stereotype exists among males but not females whereas the temperamental redhead stereotype exists among both." (Trinity College Study)
In addition to being judged based on your hair color, women are also judged based on the amount of makeup they wear. California State did a study to determine how both hair color and cosmetics affect people's perception of ability for a professional position. "One hundred thirty six college students reviewed an identical professional resume for a female applicant for the position of a staff accountant." (Kyle, D.J.; Mahler, H.I. (1996), "The effects of hair color and cosmetic
use on perceptions of a female's ability", Psychology of Women
Quarterly 20 (3): 447–455 "California State Study") Attached to the resume was a picture of the female with red, blonde, black, or brown hair either wearing makeup or not. The participants were asked to look over the resume and the picture and assign a salary. Not only did brunettes have the highest salary but when they had no makeup on their assigned salary was even higher. Blondes were assigned the lowest salary. Candidates wearing makeup were always assigned a lower salary than candidates without makeup. "The findings demonstrate that biases regarding personal appearance may affect judgments about a female applicant's ability" (California State Study).
In my next blog post, I will discuss how these stereotypes are reflected in the portrayal of women on television shows.
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