Dumb Blondes in Movies

There's Something About Mary

Cameron Diaz plays the lead role of Mary in the hit comedy There's Something About Mary. The dumb blonde stereotype is reinforced as Mary is desired by men because of her looks. In the case of Mary, four men desire her and are fighting to try and win her heart. Mary is attractive, funny, popular, and loved by all. Although Mary is a successful orthopedic surgeon she is still depicted as being a dumb blonde based on the things she does throughout the film. One example of this is when she is going to meet Ted for their date and she sees semen hanging from him ear because he had just finished masturbating in preparation for the date. Mary mistakenly identifies the semen hanging from his ear as hair gel, grabs it, and puts it in her hair. She is later shown in the restaurant with her hair standing straight up as a result of the semen.  

Legally Blonde

The title alone gives you the impression that the movie is going to be about a blonde women but could be referring to the fact that she is a true blonde or the fact that she attends Harvard to study law. This movie is interesting because it both shows people using the blonde stereotype against Elle because the way that she acts, talks, and dresses but also shows Elle going against the stereotype and proving that she has a brain. A lot like the Big Bang Theory post in regards to Bernadette, Elle's character is shown to be both smart and dumb. She proves to everyone that she has a brain but she also speaks in a way that makes her sound unintelligent. This gives her character balance while still emphasizing the stereotype. Although this movie does depict Elle as having a brain it also reinforces the idea that even though a blonde women has a brain she is still a dumb blonde in other ways and that does not change. Elle is considered beautiful, popular, and desired by men especially at her old sorority. 

Vivian one of the other lead female characters and she is the one who challenges Elle the most. Vivian is an intelligent brunette who is portrayed as pretty but dresses in a way that does not allow for her full beauty to shine through. She also does not wear a lot of make up. Vivian is taken more seriously and considered to be more smart based on the way she looks but it later becomes evident that Elle is just as smart as her. This portrayal is consistent with the California study referred to in my earlier blog post.

There are numerous other examples of blondes being portrayed as dumb in movies including Shelley from House Bunny and Cher from Clueless.

In my next blog, I will discuss my own experiences with the dumb blonde stereotype.

Advertising

A common stereotype that goes hand in hand with the dumb blonde stereotype is the over sexualized stereotype of blonde women. The commercial to the left is for a burger restaurant called Nando's. The commercial shows a blonde women whose breasts are so large that they block the view of part of her plate. She appears to be too stupid to realize this and the women who points it out to her is a brunette. The catch phrase "sex sells" fits perfectly with this commercial because the women's breasts are the main focus.





Similarly, in the car commercial to the left the blonde women is shown attempting to order food in a library. When she is informed she is in a library she re-orders but in a quieter voice. The purpose of this commercial is to attract a male's attention with an attractive blonde and a funny commercial.







The image to the right is one of the labels for a beer called Platinum Blonde. They capitalize on the dumb blonde stereotype by putting the label on upside down. This emphasizes the "dumb" part of the dumb blonde stereotype.




My next blog post will discuss dumb blonde stereotypes in movies.

Dumb Blondes in Television

Big Bang Theory
Reaching an audience of over 19 million on the first new episode of the new year is the popular television show The Big Bang Theory. Kaley Cuoco plays Penny, one of the lead female characters, who is portrayed as the stereotypical dumb blonde. Penny is lacking in intelligence but to make up for it she is shown to be beautiful, desired by men because of her looks, popular, and funny. In other words, what she lacks in brains she makes up for in looks and personality. In numerous episodes Penny's lack of intelligence is pointed out and laughed at. This is used to remind the audience that Penny is a dumb blonde and nothing more.

Penny can be contrasted with the other female characters of the show. Bernadette is a blonde female lead who is shown to have both brains and beauty. The voice that her character has is what balances her character out and makes her appear to be a dumb blonde even though she is actually intelligent. Amy is a brunette female lead who is depicted as overly intelligent but not necessarily sexy or pretty. She is shown wearing unflattering clothes and wears no makeup.

Although Penny is often portrayed as being dumb, is she really? The answer is no. She may not have had the highest grades in school but she is street smart, which referenced often throughout the television series. The reason Penny is portrayed as dumb is because of the group of men she hangs out with, Sheldon, Leonard, Howard, and Raj are four very intelligent men who are professors in science and engineering. These men are school smart and tend to discuss their work in front of Penny using advanced terms that most people do not understand unless they studied in that particular field.

Married With Children

Kelly Bundy plays the daughter of Al and Peggy in the 1987 television show Married With Children. Kelly is both beautiful and stunning but is lacking in intelligence. In one of her episodes she even states that all she needs in her life is her looks. She is a party animal who enjoys showing off her body and hooking up with guys. Married With Children has emphasized the dumb blonde stereotype through Kelly. Kelly has a tendency to lose her train of thought while speaking and both mispronounces and misspells words.


There are numerous other examples of the "dumb blonde" particularly in television comedies including Pheobe from Friends, Brittany from Glee and Jillian from Family Guy.

In my next blog, I will discuss dumb blondes as portrayed in advertising.

Academic Studies of The Dumb Blonde Stereotype

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.