If beauty is supposedly subjective, why have we continuously been fed the “blonde bombshell” look as one of the primary forms of beauty? Marilyn Monroe, Pamela Anderson, Britney Spears, and Sabrina Carpenter: apart from being the sex symbols of their generation, they all share one thing in common: blonde hair. That, and being white, of course. 

Natural blonde Isolde Poulsen, 23, from Stockholm, said: “The thing I’ve always gotten the most compliments on has always been my hair. It’s like part of my identity; I can’t imagine ever changing it.” 

The fact that Swedish women, popular for being tall, skinny and blonde, are often associated with being some of the most beautiful women in the world is no coincidence. Although beauty is impossible to quantify, a questionable Travelers Today article ranked the top five countries with the most stunning women, placing Sweden at the top. 

Looking back on history, blonde hair has had its traction for quite some time, dating back thousands of years to the time of ancient civilisations like Greece and Rome. Gods and goddesses were often portrayed in art with golden hair, which encouraged a cultural desire for blonde hair and the social status that went along with it. 

Professor of Sociology of Race at the University of Swansea, Steve Garner, said: “The main impact that colonialism had on beauty standards is in shaping people to see an obvious hierarchy, with pale skin at the top, and having blonde hair on top of pale skin is kind of a double stamp of authority, control, and power.” 

When asked about how her clients feel after dyeing their hair blonde, Hair Educator and Blonde Specialist Leanne Lea said: “There’s something really satisfying when you’re a brunette, and you go blonde; it gives you more confidence, you turn heads when you’re blonde.” 

A half-Swedish 31-year-old teacher, Mia Persson, tired of people dismissing her “Swedish-ness” due to having naturally curly dark brown hair and olive skin, drastically dyed her hair platinum blonde almost as an experiment. 

She said: “I think I naturally have a warm and inviting demeanour that leads to people being nice to me- but as a blonde, I experienced this to a whole new level, especially from men. It was as if it made my life easier.” 

In 1925, Anita Loos popularised the idea that Gentlemen Prefer Blondes in her book and later movie adaptation featuring Marilyn Monroe. 

Although the debate of whether men prefer blondes over brunettes is still somewhat unreliable, other studies prove the advantages of being a blonde woman in society. 

A Cornell University study revealed that blonde waitresses receive higher tips than brunettes. On top of that, a study from the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia, found that blondes earn 7% more than non-blondes on average. So, being blonde might make life a little easier. But what is it about blonde hair that leaves such admiration? 

One aspect of it is its association with youth. As children, most natural blondes had extremely light hair that darkened over time. So, keeping this same blonde hair could be used to imply youth. As per The Journal of Social Psychology, lighter hair is “linked to better perceptions of youth and attractiveness.” 

Alfred Hitchcock, the British filmmaker, even stated he preferred casting blonde women for his major films because they looked more “innocent.” The longstanding and mildly grotesque idea that men, in general, like younger women, would somewhat explain the fascination with blondes. 

But, surely, having blonde hair couldn’t mean anything more than just liking how it looks, could it? 

In a recent New York Times article, Tressie McMillan Cottom wrote about how blondeness can be shorthand for whiteness. Blonde is not just a hair colour; it carries meaning. 

As she said, we hate to think the things we enjoy carry meaning, but they do. When you think of a blonde, you probably imagine someone more like Margot Robbie than Nicki Minaj. 

And this, as Dr McMillan Cottom says, isn’t because their hair colour is unnatural, as almost all blondes colour it, but because “a blonde is a body with a cultural history of purity, power, and inheritance.” 

It’s also been argued that the word brunette is only used in a white context. Again, you rarely envision a black or Asian woman when you think of a brunette, even though they have naturally brown hair. 

In the article “Why Going Blonde Has Never Been Just About Hair Colour”, Arabelle Sicardi wrote: “You can’t dwell on the significance of blonde on stage and screen without thinking of how it has been shorthand for racial purity across countries and party lines.” 

Dr Garner drew an example from far-right groups: “They see Scandinavia as the ancestral homeland of pure whiteness, and that’s partly because of its correspondence with blondeness.” 

But is this power that comes with blonde hair something that can’t be separated from whiteness? 

Kiyana Anderson, 21, whose name has been changed for anonymity purposes, was born in the UK and is of Jamaican descent. She often wears blonde braids and wigs to experiment with different styles and boldly express herself. 

She said: “I feel like rocking blonde hair as a Black woman is a statement of confidence because historically, it hasn’t been something people expected or encouraged us to do.” 

“People treat blonde hair like it’s more acceptable or glamorous, but at the same time, my Blackness doesn’t disappear. My Blackness comes with me, no matter the hairstyle. Society

Still sees me as a Black woman first, and at the end of the day, I’m just a Black girl with a wig on.” 

In December 2024, Beyoncé was accused of “culture appropriation” by political strategist Joey Mannarino due to having blonde hair, which sparked controversy online. Apart from being factually wrong, as Black people can also have genes for carrying blonde hair, such as Melanasians who live in the north-east of Australia for example, this statement was a reflection of colour-blind racism, as explained by Dr Garner. 

He said: “This is when you think racism is entirely in the past and everyone is now on a level playing field. Cultural appropriation is a reflection of a power relationship, and it’s impossible for people in the dominant group to appropriate from the dominant group. 

Ultimately, Beyoncé is an African-American woman in a culture which is still dominated by whiteness.” 

Being an ethnic minority in a country dominated by whiteness is no easy task. For a 20-year-old University of Sheffield student, Isobelle Castro, dyeing her hair blonde was a way of seeking acceptance from the Western World. 

“Deep inside I wanted blonde hair just to fit in, because coming from a southeast asian descent, I felt like nothing stood out about me- I wanted to be noticed and I didn’t think my natural hair was pretty enough,” she said. 

“When I went back to Thailand, my grandmother was not very accepting. She kept telling me my natural hair was beautiful, and that I had been ‘westernised’.” 

Miss Lea, who was nominated the second most inspirational person in the hair industry in 2023 by How To Cut It, explained that her clients will normally take around four to five sessions to get to their desired blonde and will usually come in every three months for the maintenance. This is a cost a lot of people cannot afford, which makes blondeness in itself a status symbol. 

A study at the University of British Columbia revealed that blonde female politicians were likely to do better than women with any other hair colour. If we look at Hilary Clinton, for example, throughout all her presidential years, she wore her hair blonde.

The bright blonde balayage, which screams “I have a holiday home in the Hamptons and a private jet”, with whiteness connotations in every highlighted strand of hair, winking to unfair power dynamics and racial biases. Yet- in her first photo post-elections, we see her with gray hair. The show is over. 

This is no anti- blonde brigade, by all means flaunt your blonde locks- this is simply a mere observation of how even the most trivial things, such as hair, can carry deep meaning even across different cultures. But let’s face it -from Barbie dolls to Ivanka Trump, the power of blondeness is like a draft that sneaks in through an open door—unseen, but always felt.

Read more about self image here.