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This piece is from our series, Hair Story. We interview an array of women from different walks of life to discover what their hair means to them. From photographing non-binary people who challenge society's norms by wearing their hair in bright colours, to investigating stereotypes, this series explores the intrinsic link between hair and identity.

Being blonde is loaded. You can be an expensive blonde like Gwyneth Paltrow. You can be rock'n'roll blonde like Debbie Harry. You can be sexpot blonde like Marilyn Monroe. Hell, you can be any kind of blonde you want - as long as you're a dumb one.

Of course, of all the stereotypes women face, the 'dumb blonde' is a mild one, especially considering how harmful and dangerous the hair stereotypes faced by women of colour can be. But it is curiously persistent. I've been blonde for all my adult life and a generous fraction of my childhood. Born blonde, like many Caucasian babies, I enjoyed nature's very own caramel highlights until I was about six or seven, when my Neapolitan genes kicked in. I waded in the waters of dirty, dishwater blonde until I was about 18, and then I was finally allowed to dye my hair the way I really wanted. First, a half-head of highlights. Then, a full head followed, with appointments every 12 weeks, until I finally decided I wanted to be even blonder, and the lighter hue I desired pushed me into the 'hairline and parting every six weeks' club.

I climbed down from those giddy highs after a year, fatigued and with a sore neck, and have since settled for a mixture of a half-head and balayage that only needs attention every four or so months. I can't ever remember being particularly concerned about being thought of as dumb (when you tell people you work in beauty, you can often see them docking points off your IQ and, quite frankly, I don't care if anyone so superficial takes me seriously or not). But I've never forgotten a date in 2016 when, after an evening of what I believed to be pleasant chatter with a man, he uttered the immortal words: "Well, you don't look clever."

It's believed that blonde hair has been around for over 10,000 years and is the result of a genetic mutation. If you're naturally blonde and able to digest lactose, congratulations - you're officially a mutant twice over. Give Professor X a call. The lighter pigment of blonde hair allows more sunlight to penetrate to the scalp, which means better vitamin D absorption (or so the theory goes), which was useful in parts of the world that were cold and dark. It was rare and so, like a potential partner with a holiday home, became desirable.

Historians roundly agree that the notion of blondes being dumb dates back to a play performed some 250 years ago, titled Les Curiosités de la Foire, based on the misdemeanours of the legendary courtesan Rosalie Duthé, which established blondes as both stupid and sexually available. Duthé took long pauses before she spoke, leading people to believe she was literally dumb, as well as stupid. Fast-forward to 1953, and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes hit the box office with Marilyn Monroe as Lorelei, epitomised as the dumb blonde. Portrayed as absentminded, slightly scatty and interested in marrying solely for money, some of Lorelei's most famous lines only emphasise the stereotype: "I can be smart when it's important, but most men don't like it." In contrast, her co-star, Dorothy (a brunette) is characterised as smart and more capable.

Aside from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Hitchcock, who described blonde characters as "virgin snow", spoke of his preference for casting them in his films, as he believed that the audience would not find them as dubious as other personas. Meant to project an air of unsuspecting innocence, it seems Hitchcock employed blonde hair as a tool to throw viewers off course when narrowing down suspects.

But the dumb blonde trope transcends popular culture, as Shona Pickersgill, Refinery29's marketing research manager, recalls. "In interviews there is sometimes a look of shock when I explain that I did my dissertation on the salience of the term 'terrorism' in the Arab-Israeli conflict, and not a good kind of shock. I work in insight and when debriefing large, data heavy research projects to clients, questions about my work are often directed to men or other more senior people in the room. This leaves me with quite a strong sense of self-doubt."

Shona's case is not an isolated one. Production manager, Liz Kyneur recounts: "It drives me mad whenever I'm labelled as a 'dumb blonde'. I worked in a company with a lot of men and my blonde hair was always the go-to joke they made whenever I would question the rationale behind anything or suggest a different approach to a project. That said, I'd always have a snappy response handy. The sad thing is, though, as soon as I joke about my light locks, I feel like my opinions are considered less worthwhile, even if people don't realise they're doing it!"

Interestingly, it seems the dangerous stereotype is ingrained in blonde women themselves, as Jess Commons, lifestyle director, adds. "There are times I've felt stupid myself because of my blonde hair. Often, I have felt like I didn't appear as intellectual as women in the room who had cool or short, sensible haircuts. In the past, I have felt as though I was being judged for being stupid and basic - when I almost certainly wasn't being judged at all."

I've never forgotten a date in 2016 when, after an evening of what I believed to be pleasant chatter with a man, he uttered the immortal words: 'Well, you don't look clever.'

Over time, the dumb blonde trope has morphed into the 'beauty and brains' dichotomy, which at least allows a whole other crop of women to have their intelligence questioned. This is not a step forward, even if it does represent inching away from Western beauty ideals. Calling a blonde 'dumb' is a surprisingly effective way to curb someone's appetite for life and confidence in their own abilities, effective enough to render them docile so they can't unlock their powers. But then think of Valencia in Crazy Ex-Girlfriend or Gretchen in Mean Girls. It's not blondeness that renders them dumb - it's their beauty. If blonde is beautiful (and for the record, I wholeheartedly believe Eurocentric beauty standards to be violent colonialist hogwash, but I digress), then as we know from the trope, a beautiful blonde will empty your wallet (Rebecca Romijn, Femme Fatale), ruin your marriage (Glenn Close, Fatal Attraction) and perhaps even end your life (Sharon Stone, Basic Instinct).

Dumb blonde is just another stereotype in a long line of misogynist lies that aim to silence and humiliate women. In the Venn diagram of stereotypes, blondeness is the overlap between stupidity, promiscuity, gold-digging and naked self-interest. But one thing is for sure: just because I'm blonde, don't think I'm dumb, because this dumb blonde ain't nobody's fool.

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The Dumb Blonde: Why Does The Stereotype Live On In 2019?

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This piece is from our series, Hair Story. We interview an array of women from different walks of life to discover what their hair means to them. From photographing non-binary people who challenge society's norms by wearing their hair in bright colours, to investigating stereotypes, this series explores the intrinsic link between hair and identity.

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https://theconversation.com/are-blondes-actually-dumb-56560

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Who are you calling dumb? Blonde thinking via www.shutterstock.com

Blondes are often stereotyped as dumb.

The dumb female blonde is a staple of Hollywood movies, such as Reese Witherspoon in " Legally Blonde." Amazon currently sells many joke books that poke fun at blondes' perceived lack of intelligence.

While they are derided for their supposed stupidity, until now no one has actually investigated the question: "Are blondes actually dumb?"

The answer to the question is important. Discrimination is a reality in today's world. However, many people's prejudices are based on ill-conceived notions that often don't match the facts.

I recently published research investigating blondes' intelligence. The research found that blonde-haired white women - as Witherspoon's "Legally Blonde" role shows - are certainly not dumb, and blondes might actually be slightly smarter than those with other hair colors.

If this longstanding belief is wrong, how many other commonly held prejudices are also erroneous? How many seemingly harmless biases are actually damaging?

What survey collects this kind of information?

To investigate this question, I used a long-running government program called the National Longitudinal Surveys, or NLS. The NLS repeatedly questions the same individuals over an extended period of time, many from their teenage years until they die. This year is the 50th anniversary of this long-running set of surveys and my 20th year on the project.

Many of you are thinking a government survey that can answer "are blondes actually dumb" is probably just another pork barrel or boondoggle project, like building a bridge to nowhere, in which the government spends millions on questionable projects. However, the NLS has been anything but a pork barrel project.

The NLS was started in the 1960s because the government was very worried about the decline in the number of men working in the U.S. This decline, however, was not a recent phenomenon but instead had been happening steadily since the late 1950s.

Some of the early research produced by the NLS pointed out that the reason for this decline was Social Security's increasing generosity. The program provided a safety net for workers in their retirement, but a side effect was eliminating a need for men to work their entire lives.

The NLS was then expanded in the 1970s to understand the impact of a massive government training program called the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act, or CETA. It was expanded again in the 1990s to understand the labor market problems encountered by millennials.

Why does the survey collect hair color?

But to get back to my main question, are blondes dumber than brunettes or redheads?
The NLS asks questions that, when taken out of context, may seem extremely strange. For instance, in one multiyear survey, the NLS repeatedly asks about a person's weight and height. Given that most people don't grow in height after their teenage years, asking respondents to state their height well into their late 20's is unusual.

Why does the government need to know this kind of information? Since the survey goes back to reinterview the same people over and over again, it is important to make sure the right person is interviewed. Many respondents are provided with a stipend to provide an incentive to answer the survey for the 10th or 20th time. To ensure the correct respondent participates, instead of a brother, sister or roommate, it is very helpful if the interviewer knows someone's height, weight, eye or hair color.

Knowing that someone shrank by five inches or suddenly no longer has blue eyes and blonde hair is an easy indicator that the wrong person might be answering the survey's questions. The one drawback to the hair color question is that it is self-reported. Even though the question asked respondents for their "natural" hair color, some respondents might have lied.

Why does the survey track IQ?

The NLS has also tested many respondents' IQ.

The IQ questions were included because Congress requires the Pentagon to test all military recruits and reject those who are not intelligent enough to handle dangerous weapons (defined by Congress as the bottom 30 percent of the population).

Each military recruit takes a test called the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery before joining one of the U.S. armed forces. Parts of the test are used to determine the best type of job someone is suited for, while another part, called the AFQT, measures innate intelligence.

To determine how AFQT scores match up with the general population, the military needed to know the intelligence of large groups of U.S. teenagers. Two groups of NLS respondents have been used by the Pentagon to determine the fitness of recruits, which provides the second piece of information needed to determine the intelligence of blondes.

The answer might surprise you

Combining the NLS's IQ data with the hair color information from the same group of teenagers provides the ability to answer the question: are blondes actually dumb?

The surprising answer - at least given the prevalent stereotype - is that among white women, those reporting having blonde hair have the highest average IQ and the second-highest median, or midpoint, IQ. Plus both the mean and median are above 100, which is the value given to a person who has exactly average intelligence.

The NLS data suggest the Hollywood myth of the dumb blonde is not only a cheap stereotype but in fact a lie.

Unfortunately, while the NLS collects information on a diverse range of subjects, it cannot answer the follow-on question, "Do blondes have more fun?" Maybe the next 50 years of collecting data to answer some of society's serious problems will provide enough information to also answer this question.

In the meantime, if you have believed for years that blondes are less intelligent, stop perpetuating this myth. Regardless of your prior beliefs, spend a minute thinking about all the other prejudices society still blindly assumes are true. My guess is that many of them also will not stand up to careful scrutiny.

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Blondes are often stereotyped as dumb. The dumb female blonde is a staple of Hollywood movies, such as Reese Witherspoon in " Legally Blonde." Amazon currently sells many joke books that poke fun at blondes' perceived lack of intelligence. While they are derided for their supposed stupidity, until now no one has actually investigated the question: "Are blondes actually dumb?"

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https://www.researchgate.net/publication/305222263_Are_Blondes_Really_Dumb

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Discrimination based on appearance has serious economic consequences. Women with blonde hair are often considered beautiful, but dumb, which is a potentially harmful stereotype since many employers seek intelligent workers. Using the NLSY79, a large nationally representative survey tracking young baby boomers, this research analyzes the IQ of white women and men according to hair color. Blonde women have a higher mean IQ than women with brown, red and black hair. Blondes are more likely classified as geniuses and less likely to have extremely low IQ than women with other hair colors, suggesting the dumb blonde stereotype is a myth.

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Zagorsky, Jay L. and Rosella Gardecki. 1998. "What Have Researchers Learned from the

National Longitudinal Surveys?" Journal of Economic and Social Measurement, 25(1), 35-57.

... Aufgrund der bisherigen Ausführungen scheint Haarfarbe somit ein brauchbarer Indikator dafür zu sein, Erfolg und Misserfolg in vielen Bereichen vorherzusagen. So bescheinigt Zagorsky (2016) beispielsweise anhand einer Stichprobe mit insgesamt N = 5.827 Personen (15-21 Jahre, 51 Prozent davon Frauen) Blondinen -entgegen allgemeiner Vorurteile -sogar intelligenter zu sein als deren Geschlechtsgenossinnen mit anderer Haarfarbe. Angesichts der Befunde, dass es einen Zusammenhang zwischen Kopfumfang und Intelligenz gibt (was sich bereits bei Neugeborenen feststellen lässt) (vgl.Galton, 1889;Rushton, 1995), ist der Befund, dass Haarfarbe ein Indikator für Intelligenz sein kann, nicht sonderlich verwunderlich.Brand (2002) beschreibt jedoch, dass es sich bei den Befunden immer nur um Durchschnittswerte handelte und im Einzelfall Personen "mit einem relativ kleinen Gehirn intelligent und jemand mit einem sehr großen Gehirn (und Kopf) ausgesprochen dumm sein" kann (S. 12).Dieses Ergebnis, dass Haarfarbe ein brauchbarerer Indikator für die Bestimmung von Intelligenz ist, gilt es nun zu hinterfragen bzw. ...

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Discrimination based on appearance has serious economic consequences. Women with blonde hair are often considered beautiful, but dumb, which is a potentially harmful stereotype since many employers seek intelligent workers. Using the NLSY79, a large nationally representative survey tracking young baby boomers, this research analyzes the IQ of white women and men according to hair color.

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Year when being a real blonde was popular

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Year when being a real blonde was popular

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Nike Ad showing a blonde women being successful in tennis

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Nike Ad showing a blonde women being successful in tennis

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"Beauty is nothing without the brains" Mercedes Ad

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"Beauty is nothing without the brains" Mercedes Ad

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Best Sexy Funny Banned Commercial Compilation

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a dumb blonde walks into a library... funny commercial for Mercedes Benz. more funny videos: http://lolfactory.blogspot.com

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Martha Stewart - Successful book writer and cook

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Martha Stewart - Successful book writer and cook

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The Grit and Glory of Dolly Parton (Published 2020)

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More than 50 years into her legendary career, she’s still capturing America’s particular mythology — its dreams and its disappointments — like no other.

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No joke: Blondes aren't dumb, science says

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COLUMBUS, Ohio - The "dumb blonde" stereotype is simply wrong, according to a new national study of young baby boomers.

The study of 10,878 Americans found that white women who said their natural hair color was blonde had an average IQ score within 3 points of brunettes and those with red or black hair.

While jokes about blondes may seem harmless to some, it can have real-world implications, said Jay Zagorsky, author of the study and a research scientist at The Ohio State University.

"Research shows that stereotypes often have an impact on hiring, promotions and other social experiences," Zagorsky said.

"This study provides compelling evidence that there shouldn't be any discrimination against blondes based on their intelligence."

The study found that the average IQ of blondes was actually slightly higher than those with other hair colors, but that finding isn't statistically significant, said Zagorsky, who works in the university's Center for Human Resource Research (CHRR).

"I don't think you can say with certainty that blondes are smarter than others, but you can definitely say they are not any dumber."

The results for blond white men were similar - they also had IQs roughly equal to men with other hair colors.

The study was published last week in the journal Economics Bulletin.

Data from the study came from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 (NLSY79), a national survey of people who were between 14 and 21 years old when they were first interviewed in 1979.

The NLSY79 is conducted by CHRR for the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

In 1980, participants in the NLSY79 took the Armed Forces Qualification Test, or AFQT, which is used by the Pentagon to determine the intelligence of all recruits. The overall AFQT score is based on word knowledge, paragraph comprehension, math knowledge and arithmetic reasoning.

In 1985, all participants were asked, "What is your natural hair color?"

To eliminate any bias in the IQ tests caused by ethnic and racial differences, Zagorsky dropped all African Americans and Hispanics from the analysis.

The resulting findings showed that blonde-haired white women had an average IQ of 103.2, compared to 102.7 for those with brown hair, 101.2 for those with red hair and 100.5 for those with black hair.

Blonde women were slightly more likely to be in the highest IQ category than those with other hair colors, and slightly less likely to be in the lowest IQ category.

The study can't say whether there are any genetic relationships between hair color and intelligence, but Zagorsky did find one fact that could at least partially explain why blondes showed slightly higher intelligence: They grew up in homes with more reading material than did those with any other hair color.

"If blondes have any slight advantage, it may simply be that they were more likely to grow up in homes with more intellectual stimulation," he said.

Zagorsky noted that more women than expected in the NLSY79 reported that they were blonde. In the survey, 20.7 percent of white women reported being blonde, compared to only 17.1 percent of men. Assuming that hair color is not related to gender and that men were less likely to color their hair, Zagorsky said the results suggest that about 3.5 percent of women reported their natural hair color as blonde when it was not.

Zagorsky said he couldn't say for sure how that may have affected the results, but he said the major finding was almost certainly still true: Blondes could hold their own intellectually with those of any other hair color.

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No joke: Blondes aren't dumb, science says

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COLUMBUS, Ohio - The "dumb blonde" stereotype is simply wrong, according to a new national study of young baby boomers.The study of 10,878 Americans found that white women who said their natural hair color was blonde had an average IQ score within 3 points of brunettes and those with red or black hair.While jokes about blondes may seem har...

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Paris Hilton on Her Revealing New Documentary: "I'm Not a Dumb Blonde. I'm Just Really Good at Pretending to Be One." 

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Paris Hilton on Her Revealing New Documentary: "I'm Not a Dumb Blonde. I'm Just Really Good at Pretending to Be One." 

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There's possibly no celebrity better equipped to deconstruct their public image than Paris Hilton. Having spent most of her life staring down a camera lens, the 39-year-old is all too aware of what you think when she coos "that's hot" in the overly breathy baby voice that's become her signature.

Coming across like a freshly tanned Barbie doll in a velour tracksuit, Hilton was thrust into the public eye as one-half of the privileged celebutantes at the heart of The Simple Life alongside bestie Nicole Richie. After the seminal reality series debuted in 2003, a writer for the New York Times decried that, "In a ravenous celebrity culture, Ms. Hilton's rise shows how far celebrity itself has been devalued." But two decades into a career parlaying her party-girl image into a global empire, even Hilton's most vocal critics can't accuse her of simply being "famous for being famous"-at least anymore.

A new documentary, This Is Paris, is a reintroduction of sorts for anyone who still associates Hilton with her early aughts tabloid infamy. Since releasing her first fragrance in 2004, Hilton's perfume collection is estimated to have done more than $2.5 billion in sales. She has 19 product lines that span skin care, handbags, jewelry, and lingerie, with more than 45 branded retail locations across the Middle East and Asia. Purportedly the highest-paid female DJ in the world (raking in up to $1 million per gig), Hilton has come a long way since her days on The Simple Life inquiring whether Walmart " sold wall stuff," which is exactly what she and This Is Paris director Alexandra Dean wanted to showcase.

"I easily could have made this some vanity project if I wanted to, but I feel like I've done that my entire career," Hilton told Vogue over a recent Zoom call from her Los Angeles home. "I wanted to release something that wasn't some facade I was just putting up." No stranger to having her life documented by a camera crew-including as recently as the Netflix documentary The American Meme-Hilton has rarely spoken about the events of her life with as much candor as she does in This Is Paris. Most noteworthy is the revelation that when she was just 16, Hilton's parents sent her to the Provo Canyon School, "an intensive, psychiatric residential treatment center for youth" in Utah, where she says she spent 11 months enduring all manner of physical and psychological abuse until she was 18. Provo was a last-ditch effort by Kathy and Richard Hilton to control their rebellious daughter, who would often cut school and sneak out to nightclubs after the family moved from Los Angeles to New York in 1996.

Hilton hadn't planned on discussing these experiences in This Is Paris until Dean started probing her about the recurring nightmares she'd been experiencing since she was a teenager. Details of the abuse started pouring out as Hilton began contextualizing the trauma she never divulged to anyone-including her parents-upon her release from Provo. "All I wanted this film to focus on was my life as a businesswoman, but ultimately I decided to tell it how it is," says Hilton. "I want to show that you can go through hardship and still make something of yourself and not let your past define you. I love showing who I am because I'm so proud of who I've become." (As the New York Times reported this week, the school has noted on its website that it changed ownership in 2000, after Hilton was a student. A representative from Provo said the school does "not condone or promote any form of abuse.")

With the documentary now streaming on YouTube, Hilton recently sat down with Vogue to chat about the "therapeutic" experience of making This Is Paris, early aughts nostalgia, and leaving behind her "blonde ditz" persona for good.

You're constantly on the go in This Is Paris, traveling to Belgium or Korea or back home to Los Angeles. You described yourself as a workaholic who always needs to keep herself distracted, so how have you adjusted to the past few months taking a forced pause?

It's a new way of life for everyone. It's given me the time to finally pause in one place and actually reflect on everything happening. I'm so grateful that I'm in the most incredible relationship of my life. [Hilton is now dating businessman and family friend Carter Reum.] I feel so lucky that I've finally found true love, because I can't imagine going through this pandemic by myself. It's been like being in a relationship for five years given the amount of time we've spent with each other. I have someone by my side that I'm so incredibly in love with and we've become so close.

What was the genesis of This Is Paris and figuring out what a documentary about this moment in your life would look like?

So many production companies have pitched my team ideas over the years and I always said no. I was focused on my business, and reality shows just weren't in my interests anymore. Then I had some great meetings with IPC, who told me the story they wanted to tell and convinced me to trust their vision. But the original premise of this film was not what I ended up talking about. I was only going to talk about the empire I created as a businesswoman because I was sick of the misconceptions people still had about me. I don't want to be remembered as that dumb-blonde airhead from The Simple Life. That's not who I am, and I wanted to show that, because I'm very proud of the woman I am and what I've created. I'm discussing things I've never even told my own sister, parents, best friends, ex-boyfriends. It was a very therapeutic experience.

What were those conversations like as far as convincing your family to be a part of this project?

I'm so grateful they decided to be a part of it. Especially my sister, Nicky [Rothschild]. We've always been opposites-she hates the spotlight and turned down The Simple Life when the producers wanted it to be her and I. That's just not a life that she wanted. But she knew that if she didn't do this film that it wouldn't be the full picture. No one knows me better than my sister, but even she never knew what I went through because I hadn't discussed it with her or my mom before. I asked my dad [Richard Hilton] to participate, but he didn't want to be in it at all. He's a businessman and said he didn't want to discuss his private life. Obviously, it was hard for my mom to hear what I went through and everything I never told her before. It was very emotional for all of us.

At one point in the documentary, you said, "My mom wanted me to be a Hilton, I wanted to be Paris." Can you elaborate on that?

My mom and dad were always very strict and sheltered. My mom wanted me to have that kind of debutante, princess life, and that's just not who I was. I didn't want to just be known as the Hilton hotel granddaughter. That whole socialite world felt so fake to me. I never wanted to be like that, but I felt like I had to pretend because my parents were so strict. Then I moved to New York as a teenager and just completely rebelled.

How was someone with your background expected to behave, as a celebrity heiress?

I was expected to marry some guy, have kids, and be a socialite. That's just not something that ever interested me. I always strived to be independent and on my own. I think everything I went through when I was younger made me that way. And even though it was so painful and traumatic, I try to always look at the positives because I don't think I'd be the businesswoman I am today if I didn't go through what I did. It gave me the drive to be independent so no one could ever control me again. I felt like success was freedom. And also just wanting that love. Traveling the world and hugging my fans and seeing their eyes light up is such an incredible feeling. I just feel like I was put here for a reason, to make people happy and be a positive light.

I read your first book, Confessions of an Heiress-

Loves it.

In the chapter "How to Be an Heiress," you wrote, "I'm a fantasy to a lot of people. They want to think that I have way more fun than they do, and no one wants to think that I have a normal life or problems... I've only been me, so I can't tell if my life is perfect or not." What role did you feel like you served in the public eye as your celebrity grew and your life became more scrutinized?

I felt like I was this kind of fantasy, Barbie-princess, fairy-mermaid unicorn. Even though I was playing into a character, I know most people aren't really like that. I just seemed like this free spirit even though nobody knew the other things I was going through, so I was almost like an escape for people. But also I think the media would just use that and treat me like... [ pauses] Sometimes I would feel like a punching bag. A lot of people felt they could just be mean to me and say anything. It's been painful reading some of the things that have been written about me just because I know the truth. People in Hollywood sell stories that aren't true just because they know they're going to get paid more money for whatever juicy lie they can make up. I don't know. It's just...it's been a lot.

The film opens with a montage showing how often you were mocked on late-night talk shows and parodied across pop culture, like South Park and Saturday Night Live. How did the media's treatment of you inform the way you chose to present yourself to the public?

When people said things that hurt my feelings, in my mind I'd say, "Paris, that's you playing a character, that isn't you. Don't feel bad when people are saying things because people aren't talking about you, they're talking about what they think you are." That mindset protected me because I'd already been so exposed and the whole world already had all these preconceived notions about me. I'm not a dumb blonde. I'm just really good at pretending to be one.

I loved the scene in This Is Paris when you talked about your relationship with David LaChapelle and how working with him so soon after your experiences at Provo really brought you out of your shell.

I owe basically everything to David. Shooting with him and being his muse changed my life.

I read an interview, where he said: "Paris had a charisma back then that you couldn't take your eyes off. She would giggle and laugh and be effervescent and take up a room. She hadn't been home for three days but she looked incredible. You never saw that girl looking messed up." What do you think he saw in you?

He accepted me and made me feel so confident after going through so many traumatic experiences. That Vanity Fair story put me on the map and introduced me to the entire world. I'll always be so grateful to David for the iconic work we've done together. He made me feel so beautiful. He's one of those people I can actually be myself with who saw something in me that I didn't because I was just so lost when I got out of Provo. Meeting someone like him who could open my eyes to this whole new world of glamour was magical. I love him so much.

How did that newfound freedom impact your sense of style? Even in your earlier club-kid days, you were never just recreating looks off the runway.

I've never been one to follow trends. I think because I'm an Aquarius, I'm just naturally creative and a little eccentric. I've never been one of those people who had to have the latest Dior or Chanel. I loved going downtown on 8th Street where Patricia Field's and all these other fun stores used to be. My mom would buy me a ballgown and I'd literally be in a miniskirt with a latex top and rainbow extensions. I was just having fun with fashion, and it's amazing now to see all of those styles coming back. During Fashion Week, a lot of my designer friends will show me their mood boards, and there are so many photos of me from back in the day. I love seeing the girls recreate all my looks, like the 21st birthday dress and just that entire vibe. Back then everyone made fun of me for what I wore. It was crazy for a New York socialite to dress like that, but obviously I was ahead of my time.

As cheeky and over-the-top as your fashion choices could be, you were definitely curating your own sense of style.

And I didn't have a stylist or a publicist. No hair or makeup teams. Literally my sister and I were just doing this by ourselves. It was so different, because today everything is so planned out. Everyone has a creative director. Nothing is original, everyone is a carbon copy of each other. Everyone has the same face, the same everything. I'm very proud to be, like, the O.G.

You were also doing it before social media made it easier to build yourself into a brand. How would you characterize your relationship with social media today?

Social media can be fun, but when people use other peoples' opinions as something to define who they are, it just becomes dangerous. I think there's a lot of great influencers. I'm friends with a lot of them and I love the messages they're putting out. But then there's others that, I think, just do it for the likes. They'll say things just to get attention; a lot of these kids don't realize that it's going to live with them. It's important for kids to think about the things they're putting out into the world. Chances are, if it's something you don't want out there forever, it's going to end up haunting you for the rest of your life. I've built a very tough skin, but I can't even imagine being a teenager today.

At the beginning of This Is Paris, you say, "I created this brand and this persona and this character, and I've been stuck with her ever since." Do you still feel stuck?

When I filmed that scene, I really did feel that way. After really telling my story and just coming clean with everything, I feel like I'm not stuck anymore. I think even people who only ever judged me from the headlines will reconsider things they might've said about me in the past, which is exciting because I love proving people wrong. I can't wait for people to meet the real Paris.

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Paris Hilton on Her Revealing New Documentary: "I'm Not a Dumb Blonde. I'm Just Really Good at Pretending to Be One."

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Having spent most of her life staring down a camera lens, the 39-year-old is all too aware of what you think when she coos "that's hot" in the overly breathy baby voice that's become her signature. But "This Is Paris" shows an unexpected side to the reality-TV star.

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Maddie Fitzpatrick - Suite Life of Zack and Cody

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Maddie Fitzpatrick - Suite Life of Zack and Cody

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YOU may need to change the punchline to your favourite blonde joke. A new study refutes the "damaging stereotype" that fair-haired folk are dumb.

A BLONDE calls her mum.

Blonde: "Mum mum! I'm a genius!"

Mother: "Really dear? How's that possible?"

Blonde: "I finished a puzzle that I've been working on for one year and on the box it said 'for 2-5 years'."

Jokes like this (fairly lame) one have been riffing off the dumb blonde stereotype for years. But it might be time to change the punchline, because a new study of young Baby Boomers has shown that this stereotype is wrong.

The study of 10,878 Americans found that women who said their natural hair colour was blonde had an average IQ score higher than brunettes and those with red or black hair.

While jokes about blondes may seem harmless to some, it can have real-world implications, said Jay Zagorsky, author of the study and a research scientist at The Ohio State University.

"Research shows that stereotypes often have an impact on hiring, promotions and other social experiences," he said.

"This study provides compelling evidence that there shouldn't be any discrimination against blondes based on their intelligence."

The study found that the average IQ of blondes was actually slightly higher than those with other hair colours, but that finding isn't statistically significant, said Mr Zagorsky, who works in the university's Center for Human Resource Research (CHRR).

"I don't think you can say with certainty that blondes are smarter than others, but you can definitely say they are not any dumber."

Blonde women had an average IQ of 103.2, higher than that of women with brown hair (102.7), red hair (101.2) and black hair (100.5).

It's also important to note that the study only surveyed white women.

The results for blonde men were similar - they also had IQs roughly equal to men with other hair colours.

The study can't say whether there are any genetic relationships between hair colour and intelligence, but Mr Zagorsky did find one fact that could at least partially explain why blondes showed slightly higher intelligence: They grew up in homes with more reading material than those with any other hair colour.

"If blondes have any slight advantage, it may simply be that they were more likely to grow up in homes with more intellectual stimulation," he said.

Mr Zagorsky also said the results suggest that about 3.5 per cent of women reported their natural hair colour as blonde when it was not.
The study was published last week in the journal Economics Bulletin.

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YOU may need to change the punchline to your favourite blonde joke. A new study refutes the "damaging stereotype" that fair-haired folk are dumb. A BLONDE calls her mum. Blonde: "Mum mum! I'm a genius!" Mother: "Really dear? How's that possible?"

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Blonde stereotypes are stereotypes of blond-haired women. Sub-types of this stereotype include the " blonde bombshell" and the "dumb blonde". Blondes are stereotyped as more desirable and less intelligent than brunettes. There are many blonde jokes made on these premises. Although chiefly aimed at women, jokes of this style have also been aimed at similar stereotypes associated with men, such as the " dumb jock" and the " surfer dude".

The blonde bombshell is one of the most notable and consistently popular female character types in cinema. Many showbiz stars have used it to their advantage, including Jean Harlow, Marlene Dietrich, Marilyn Monroe, Jayne Mansfield, Brigitte Bardot and Mamie Van Doren.

There are several aspects to the stereotypical perception of blonde- haired women. On one hand, over history, blonde hair in women has often been considered attractive and desirable. Blonde hair has been considered attractive for long periods of time in various European cultures, particularly when coupled with blue eyes. This perception is exploited in culture and advertising.

In contemporary popular culture, it is often stereotyped that men find blonde women more attractive than women with other hair colors. For example, Anita Loos popularized this idea in her 1925 novel Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. Blondes are often assumed to have more fun; for example, in a Clairol commercial for hair colorant, they use the phrase "Is it true blondes have more fun?" Some women have reported they feel other people expect them to be more fun-loving after having lightened their hair. In much of the Americas, such as in North America, the blonde stereotype is also associated with being less serious or less intelligent. However, an analysis of IQ data carried out by the National Longitudinal Surveys on a survey database of American " baby boomers" (NLSY79 data), the natural blonde women in this population category (excluding African American and Hispanic persons) have a slightly higher mean IQ than brunettes, black and red haired women.

On the other hand, a blonde woman is often perceived as making little use of intelligence and as a "woman who relies on her looks rather than on intelligence." At the same time, people tend to presume that blondes are less serious-minded and less intelligent than brunettes, as reflected in "blonde jokes". The root of this notion may be traced to Europe, with the "dumb blonde" in question being a French courtesan named Rosalie Duthé, satirised in a 1775 play Les Curiosités de la Foire for her habit of pausing a long time before speaking, appearing not only stupid but literally dumb (in the sense of mute). The latter stereotype of "dumb blonde" is exploited in blonde jokes. In Brazil, this extends to blonde women being looked down upon, as reflected in sexist jokes, as also sexually licentious.

Alfred Hitchcock preferred to cast blonde women for major roles in his films as he believed that the audience would suspect them the least, comparing them to "virgin snow that shows up the bloody footprints", hence the term "Hitchcock blonde". This stereotype has become so ingrained that it has spawned counter-narratives, such as in the 2001 film Legally Blonde, in which Reese Witherspoon succeeds at Harvard Law School despite biases against her beauty and blonde hair, and terms such as cookie-cutter blonde (CCB), implying standardized blonde looks and standard perceived social and intelligence characteristics of a blonde. Many actors and actresses in Latin America and Hispanic United States have blonde hair and blue eyes and/or pale skin, such as Christina Aguilera and Shakira.

Annette Kuhn divides blonde stereotypes in cinema into three categories in The Women's Companion to International Film:

The "ice-cold blonde": Kuhn defined it as "a blonde who hides a fire beneath an exterior of coldness". She provided Grace Kelly, Veronica Lake, Kim Novak, Mae Murray, and Eva Marie Saint as examples.

The "blonde bombshell": Kuhn defined it as "a blonde with explosive sexuality and is available to men at a price". She provided Brigitte Bardot, Lana Turner, Jean Harlow, Joan Blondell, Mae West, Barbara Eden, Marilyn Monroe, and Diana Dors as examples.

The "dumb blonde": Kuhn defined it as "a blonde with an overt and natural sexuality and a profound manifestation of ignorance". She provided Jayne Mansfield, Marion Davies, Alice White, Marie Wilson, and Mamie Van Doren as examples.

In cognitive linguistics, the stereotype uses expressivity of words to affect an emotional response which determines a gender role of a certain kind. In feminist critique, stereotypes like the blonde bombshell or the "dumb blonde" are seen as negative images that undermine the power of women.

Blonde bombshell

The blonde bombshell is a gender stereotype that connotes a very attractive woman with blonde hair. A review of English language tabloids from the United Kingdom has shown it to be a recurring blonde stereotype, along with "busty blonde" and "blonde babe".

Jean Harlow started the stereotype with her film . Following her, Monroe, Mansfield and Van Doren helped establish the stereotype typified by a combination of curvaceous physique, very light-colored hair and a perceived lack of intelligence. During the 1950s, the blonde bombshell started to replace the Femme fatale as the mainstream media stereotype. Marjorie Rosen, the historian of women in films, says of the two top blonde bombshells of the time that " Mae West, firing off vocal salvos with imperious self-assurance, and Jean Harlow, merchandising her physical allure for the masses, transformed the idea of passive female sexuality into an aggressive statement of fact". In 1993, Sharon Stone hosted a documentary about Jean Harlow, Harlow: The Blonde Bombshell.

Dumb blonde

The notion of "dumb blonde" has been a topic of academic research reported in scholarly articles and university symposia, which tend to confirm that many people hold to the perception that light-haired women are less intelligent than women with dark hair. While there is no evidence that suggests that blondes are less intelligent than other people, it has been suggested that the state of being blond creates opportunities that do not require investing in education and training. It is believed the first recorded "dumb blonde" was an 18th-century blonde French courtesan named Rosalie Duthé whose reputation of being beautiful and dumb, even in the literal sense of not talking much, inspired a play about her called Les Curiosités de la Foire (Paris 1775).

A possible explanation is that attractive women have less pressing incentives to cultivate and demonstrate their intellect to ensure their future, since attractiveness is an asset, or correlatively that intelligent women have less pressing incentives to dye their hair to a presumed attractive color. The validity of this explanation is corroborated by its applicability to a similar pervasiveness of the " dumb athlete" stereotype. The dumb blonde stereotype (and the associated cognitive bias) may have some negative consequences and it can also damage a blonde person's career prospects.

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1925) by Anita Loos originated as a comic novel and explores the appeal of blonde women. It spawned a musical on Broadway, and two films released in 1928 and 1953. The Encyclopedia of Hair describes Marilyn Monroe's blonde role in the second film as that of "a fragile woman who relied on her looks rather than on intelligence-what some people refer to as 'dumb blonde'." At the same time, in the film she demonstrates a certain amount of wit regarding her life position expressed in the song " Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend". Madonna emulated that screen-persona of Monroe in her music video Material Girl.

Many blonde actresses have played stereotypical "dumb blondes", including Monroe (dyed blonde), Judy Holliday, Jayne Mansfield (dyed blonde), Carol Wayne and Goldie Hawn. Goldie Hawn is best known as the giggling "dumb blonde", stumbling over her lines, especially when she introduced Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In "News of the Future". In the American sitcom Three's Company the blonde girl (originally Chrissy, played by Suzanne Somers, and later Cindy and Terri) is sweet and naïve, while the brunette ( Janet, played by Joyce DeWitt) is smart.

Country music star Dolly Parton who recorded a song called " Dumb Blonde", famously said that dumb blonde jokes about her doesn't offend her because, "I know I am not dumb, and I am not blonde."

There is a category of jokes called "blonde jokes" that employs the dumb blonde stereotype. It overlaps at times with other jokes that portray the subject of the joke as promiscuous and/or stupid. Some blonde jokes rely on sexual humour to portray or stereotype their subjects as promiscuous. Many of these are rephrased sorority girl or Essex girl jokes, much as other jokes about dumb blondes are based on long-running ethnic jokes. Many of these jokes are mere variants on traditional ethnic jokes or jests about other identifiable groups (such as Italian jokes involving Carabinieri, Sardarji jokes or Pathan jokes). Similar jokes about stereotyped minorities have circulated since the seventeenth century with only the wording and targeted groups changed.

Blonde jokes have been criticized as sexist by several authors, as most blondes in these jokes are female, although male variations also exist. In fact, dumb blonde jokes are overwhelmingly female-specific: according to an extensive search in various publications and on the Internet, about 63% of dumb blonde jokes are directed exclusively at females (compared to less than 5% that directly referenced dumb blond men). Research indicates that because of this, men report being amused by blonde jokes significantly more than women do. The fact that most of these jokes target the invariably dim-witted, and sexually promiscuous, female makes them even more sexist. In the 20th century, a class of meta-jokes about blondes (i.e. jokes about blonde jokes) has emerged. In a typical plot of this type, a blonde complains about the unfairness of the stereotype propagated by blonde jokes, with a punch line actually reinforcing the stereotype.

In a November 16, 2011 article titled " Blondes vs. Brunettes: TV Shows with Betty and Veronica-Style Love Triangles", media critic Tucker Cummings cited several TV shows that featured a "classic war between blonde and brunette love interests", including (where lighter haired Pam Beesly competes with brunette Karen Filipelli for the attention of Jim Halpert), (where blonde Jenny Griffith competes with brunette Rachel Zane for the attention of Mike Ross), and (where blonde Rita Bennent and brunette Lila West compete for the affections of Dexter Morgan, the main character). Typically, she wrote, "... the blonde (is) stable, and typifies the 'girl next door,' while (the) ... brunette, is haughty, and a bit more exotic." In Archie comics, Betty Cooper and Veronica Lodge have been engaged in a mostly friendly competition for over 70 years.

A number of studies have been conducted over the years to measure society's attitude toward blondes and brunettes. Many of the studies have shown that men, especially those of European descent, find blonde women more attractive than brunettes, redheads, or women of other races who had darker hair, eyes, or complexion. A Cornell University study showed that blonde waitresses receive larger tips than brunettes, even when controlling for other variables such as age, breast size, height and weight.

In a 2012 interview with NBC News, Lisa Walker, Sociology Department Chair at the University of North Carolina said that hair color "absolutely" plays a role in the way people are treated and claimed that numerous studies had shown that blonde women were paid higher salaries than other women. In a study by Diana J. Kyle and Heike I. M. Mahler (1996), the researchers asked subjects to evaluate photographs of the same woman with "natural" (not dyed) looking brown, red, and blonde hair in the context of a job application for an accounting position. The researchers found that the blonde-haired applicant was rated as significantly less capable than her brunette counterpart. In addition, participants designated the female applicant's starting salary as significantly lower when she was depicted as a blonde than when she was shown with brown hair.

A study that looked at the CEOs of the Financial Times Stock Exchange's (FTSE) top 500 companies investigated how hair color could be a potential barrier to professional success. In another study by Brian Bates, two sets MBA graduates were given the same Curriculum vitae of the same women split between two sets of attached photos - blonde and brunette. The brunette was considered more for a managerial position and for a higher salary. A 2011 University of Westminster study evaluated how men perceived women who entered a London nightclub as a blonde or a brunette. The study, published in the Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, used the same woman and had her dye her hair a different color for each visit. The results showed that, as a blonde, she was more likely to be approached for conversation than as a brunette. However, when the researchers interviewed the men who spoke to her, the men rated her more intelligent and attractive as a brunette than as a blonde.

French magazine believes that the rivalry is more prevalent in the United States. In a 2012 article, Le Monde argued that American TV has almost, without exception, characterized blonde women as having the positive values of purity, goodness, and sincerity, frequently at the expense of their brunette counterparts. The article provided several examples including (where Samantha, the blonde witch, displays a sense of tolerance while her dark haired cousin Serena plays the wild one), (where blonde Krystal pitted against brunette Alexis), and (in both the original series in 1984 and the remake in 2009 shows an intelligent, humanistic blonde battling a brunette leader of the alien cannibals).

In Russia, according to a 2011 survey by the Southern Federal University, brunettes are considered more attractive than blondes. It is important to note that among the respondents in this study were 50% men and 50% women.

One theory forwards, as an explanation, the concept the feminization of blond hair, which can be seen by the overwhelming association of the dumb blond persona with females. This idea draws on the stereotype that females have a lower psychometric intelligence than males.

At the same time, there are many examples where the stereotype is exploited only to combat it. The film Legally Blonde starring Reese Witherspoon featured the stereotype as a centrepiece of its plot. However, the protagonist turns out to be very intelligent and is shown to have been underachieving due to society's low expectations of her.

Country music entertainer Dolly Parton, aware of this occasional characterization of her, addressed it in her 1967 hit " Dumb Blonde". Parton's lyrics challenged the stereotype, stating "just because I'm blonde, don't think I'm dumb 'cause this dumb blonde ain't nobody's fool". Parton has said she was not offended by "all the dumb- blonde jokes because I know I'm not dumb. I'm also not blonde."

The author of the comic strip , Chic Young, starting with "Dumb Dora", gradually transformed the titular character into a smart, hard-working, family-oriented woman.

In The Simpsons episode " To Surveil with Love" Lisa faces prejudice with her brunette peers because of her blonde hair. She dyes her hair dark brown to prove her point that not all blondes are dumb, and that people need to look past stereotypes.[citation needed ]

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2. ^ Victoria Sherrow. Encyclopedia of hair: a cultural history. Page 149

3. ^

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8. "Despite the Dumb Jokes, Stereotypes May Reflect Some Smart Choices"

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# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Blonde stereotypes are stereotypes of blond-haired women. Sub-types of this stereotype include the " blonde bombshell" and the "dumb blonde". Blondes are stereotyped as more desirable and less intelligent than brunettes. There are many blonde jokes made on these premises.