Blonde vs. Brunette
Several months ago, my best friend told me why she made the transition from blonde to brunette. She had a theory that people would take her more seriously and would be less likely to confuse her bubbly personality with bimboism. When she told me this, I laughed and thought it was. But after having no luck in job hunting, and being refused the job at a sports network, I started to think that maybe she was onto something. Maybe people do judge a book by its cover far more often than I thought. So, at my next hair appointment I went brown.
Strangely enough, the day after I became a brunette I received two phone calls for a job – one at a bar, and one for a career move. I was ecstatic! After two months of handing out resumes and filling out online job applications, my luck had turned around! In the back of my mind, I started to think that the brunette theory was working. I decided to tell my boyfriend about my best friend’s theory and the coincidence with my new jobs. He was quick to tell me that surely my hair colour had nothing to do with my credentials. However, weeks later he found an article stating that brunettes are in fact, more likely to be hired in a professional job.
While the job thing may be a bit of a coincidence, there are some things that definitely were not. I noticed that people unconsciously associated me with my hair colour all the time, and it’s amazing how a jump to the opposing binary also means a change in people’s impression of me.
As soon as I became a brunette I noticed that people’s responses in small chat were quite different. When asked why I moved to Toronto, people now first assume that it is somehow school related. When I tell them my major, people respond without the shocked expression that I got more frequently as a blonde. People also assume more often that I have a serious day job and that I’m not just working at a bar.
I also noticed a difference in perception amongst friends. When people I have known for a while first saw my new look I often heard things like, ‘You look so much more mature’, ‘it’s so sophisticated’, and ‘it’s such a natural look.’ In comparison, when I was blonde I heard things like, ‘oh that’s so fun’, and ‘you look like Malibu barbie’.
Don’t get me wrong. Not everyone should go brunette in hopes of landing a new career or to be taken more seriously. And there are a lot of things about my blonde hair that I miss. For example, it looked better with a tan, I liked it better with my brown eyes, and some would say it matched my personality and common sense factor better too. But there are also a lot of things I don’t miss like being called Kelly Pickler and hearing countless dumb blonde jokes. But in the spirit of the story, Q: why did the blonde cross the road? A: she didn’t, she got lost asking for directions.
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3 Comments to Blonde vs. Brunette
people are just very styrotypical..idk why they judge ppl by their hair color!! theres also dumb brunettes!…I think both brunette and blonde are relly pretty but I prefer dirty blonde..
January 5, 2010
this was helpful to my science fai porject ,
however ; i didnt understand the blonde-joke . .;p
January 13, 2010
I went from bleach blonde back to my natural dark brown hair. It was an adjustment to get used to, but I am thrilled I did it. I get hit on MORE with the dark hair than with the blonde and definitely feel and see the difference with the way people behave towards me. I don’t think I ever want to be a blonde again.
December 10, 2009