Blond 443498 224845292 2008-07-10T17:55:02Z Rewinn 223022 /* Sub-categories */ let's avoid politicians {{pp-semi|small=yes}} {{otheruses}} {{redirect|Blonde}} [[Image:Akseli Kokkonen.jpg|thumb|right|A young man with blond hair.]] '''Blond''' (also spelled '''blonde''', see below) is a [[hair color]] characterized by low levels of the dark [[pigment]] [[melanin|eumelanin]]. The resultant visible hue depends on various factors, but always has some sort of [[yellow]]ish color, going from the very [[pale (color)|pale]] blond caused by a patchy, scarce distribution of pigment, to reddish "strawberry" blond colors or golden brownish blond colors, the latter with more eumelanin. ==Etymology, spelling, and grammar== The word ''blonde'' was first attested in [[English language|English]] in 1481 and derives from [[Old French]] ''blont'' and meant "''a colour midway between golden and light chestnut''". It largely replaced the native term ''fair'', from [[Old English]] ''fæger''. The [[French language|French]] (and thus also the [[English language|English]]) word ''blond'' has two possible origins. Some linguists say it comes from [[Middle Latin]] ''blundus'', meaning ''[[yellow]]'', from [[Old Frankish]] ''*blund'' which would relate it to Old English ''blonden-feax'' meaning ''grey-haired'', from ''blondan/blandan'' meaning ''to mix''. Also, Old English ''beblonden'' meant ''dyed'' as ancient [[Germanic peoples|Germanic]] warriors were noted for dyeing their hair. However, other linguists who desire a [[Latin]] origin for the word say that Middle Latin ''blundus'' was a vulgar pronunciation of Latin ''flavus'', also meaning ''yellow''. Most authorities, especially French, attest the Frankish origin. The word was reintroduced into English in the 17th century from French, and was for some time considered French, hence ''blonde'' for females/noun and ''blond'' for males/adjective.<ref>[http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=blond&searchmode=none Origin of "blonde"], from [[Etymonline]]. .</ref> Writers of English often will still distinguish between the [[masculine]] ''blond'' and the feminine ''blonde''<ref name="AHBEU">[http://www.bartleby.com/64/C005/002.html "Blond/Brunet"] from [[The American Heritage Book of English Usage]] (1996)</ref> and, as such, it is one of the few adjectives in English with separate [[grammatical gender|masculine and feminine forms]]. However, many writers use only one of the spellings without regard to gender, and without a clear majority usage one way or another. The word is also often used as a noun to refer to a woman with blond hair, but some speakers see this usage as [[sexism|sexist]]<ref name="AHBEU"/> and reject it. (Another hair color word of French origin, ''[[Brunette|brunet(te)]]'', also functions in the same way in orthodox English.) The word is also occasionally used, with either spelling, to refer to objects that have a color reminiscent of fair hair. Examples include pale wood and [[lager]] [[beer]]. === Sub-categories === [[Image:Sharin Foo by David Shankbone.jpg|thumb|200px|Danish rock singer [[Sharin Foo]] with platinum blonde hair.]] Many sub-categories of blond hair have also been invented to describe someone with blond hair more accurately. Examples include the following: * '''Platinum blond''' - Pale blond, nearly white; found naturally almost exclusively in children, but occurring rarely among some adults * '''Ash blond''' - usually quite fair, with some ashen (grey) tones * '''Sunny blond''' - Very bright, ranging from almost yellow to light yellow. * '''Sandy blond''' - similar to sand in color * '''Golden blond''' - lighter, with a gold cast * '''Strawberry blond''' - reddish blond * '''Bleached blond''' - artificially dyed blond hair * '''Zebra blond''' - streaked blond and brunette * '''Dirty blond''' - a variety of hair color that mixes lighter blonde with some darker browns giving a dark blonde appearance. * '''Brownish blond''' - darkest shade of blond which sometimes looks light brown and other times dark blond. * '''Pool blond''' - Blond tinted with green due to exposure to copper in swimming pools. There are many terms for this form of blond. ==Origins== Lighter hair colors occur naturally in Europeans, and as rare mutation in other ethnicities<ref name="The Times">[http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2087-2058688,00.html "Cavegirls were first blondes to have fun"], from [[The Times]]. Note, the end of the Times article reiterates the [[Disappearing blonde gene]] hoax; the online version replaced it with a rebuttal.</ref>. In certain European populations, the occurrence of blond hair is very frequent. The hair color gene MC1R has at least seven variants in Europe and the continent has an unusually wide range of hair and eye shades. Based on recent [[Genetics|genetic]] information carried out at three Japanese universities, the date of the genetic mutation that resulted in blond hair in Europe has been isolated to about 11,000 years ago during the last [[Ice Age]]. Before then, Europeans mostly had darker hair and eyes, which is predominant in the rest of the world.<ref name="The Times"/> There is no consensus, but many theories, as to why certain populations in Europe had a high incidences of blond hair. Some say that if the changes had occurred by [[natural selection]], they would have taken about 850,000 years, but modern humans, emigrating from Africa, reached Europe only 35,000-40,000 years ago.<ref name="The Times" /> Other theories suggest a different form of selection: that early men simply found blond hair more attractive.<ref>http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?xml=/earth/2007/11/19/sciblonde119.xml</ref> Canadian anthropologist [[Peter Frost]], under the aegis of [[University of St Andrews]], published a study in March 2006 in the journal ''[[Evolution and Human Behavior]]'' that says blond hair evolved very quickly at the end of the last Ice Age by means of [[sexual selection]].<ref>[http://www.ehbonline.org/article/PIIS1090513805000590/abstract Abstract: "European hair and eye colour: A case of frequency-dependent sexual selection?"] from ''Evolution and Human Behavior'', Volume 27, Issue 2, Pages 85-103 (March 2006)</ref> According to the study, the appearance of blond hair and blue eyes in some northern European women made them stand out from their rivals at a time of fierce competition for males made scarce due to long, arduous hunting trips; this hypothesis argues that women with blond hair posed an alternative that helped them mate and thus increased the number of blonds. A theory propounded in ''The History and Geography of Human Genes'' (1994), says blond hair became predominant in Europe in about 3000 BC, in the area now known as [[Lithuania]], among the recently arrived [[Proto-Indo-Europeans|Proto-Indo-European]] settlers, and the trait spread quickly through [[sexual selection]] into [[Scandinavia]]. As above, the theory assumes that men found women with blond hair more attractive.<ref> Cavalli-Sforza, L. Luca; Menozzi, Paolo; and Piazza Alberto ''The History and Geography of Human Genes'' Princeton, New Jersey: 1994 Princeton University Press Page 266 -- Map of the incidence of the gene for blonde hair in Europe. </ref> In 2002, the [[Disappearing blonde gene]] hoax cited [[WHO]] as the source of a "scientific study" predicting blonds were eventually going to become extinct. ==Geographic distribution== [[Image:Light hair coloration map.png|thumb|175px|Light hair map in the indigenous population of Europe and surroundings.{{fact}} Yellow: >80%, light orange: 50-79%, light brown: 20-49%, dark brown: 1-19%.]] Blonde hair is at the highest frequency among the indigenous peoples of [[Northern Europe]]. Generally, blond hair in Europeans is associated with paler [[eye color]] ([[gray]], [[blue]], [[green]] and light [[brown]]) and pale (sometimes [[freckle]]d) [[skin]] tone. Strong [[sun]]light also lightens hair of any pigmentation{{Fact|date=June 2008}}, to varying degrees, and causes many blond people to freckle, especially during childhood. {{Fact|date=June 2008}} [[Image:Vanuatu blonde.jpg|thumb|left|175px|Blond Pacific Islander Boy<ref>[http://news.softpedia.com/news/Naturally-Blonde-Blacks-48181.shtml Naturally blonde blacks]</ref>]]In [[Caucasus]] there are a high frequency of blonds, mostly to be found in [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]], [[Azerbaijan]] and [[Armenia]]{{Who|date=June 2008}}. In [[Central Asia|Central]] and [[South Asia]] it is still found in higher frequency among some populations, particularly among the [[Kalash]] of [[Pakistan]] and the [[Nuristani people]] of [[Afghanistan]] (up to one third of the Nuristani).<ref name=Iranica2>{{cite encyclopedia |last= Dupree|first= L.||editor= [[Ehsan Yarshater]]|encyclopedia= [[Encyclopædia Iranica]]|title= Af<u>gh</u>ānistān: (iv.) ethnocgraphy|url= http://www.iranica.com/newsite/articles/v1f5/v1f5a040a.html| accessmonthday= | accessyear= |edition= Online Edition|publisher= [[Columbia University]]|location= United States}}</ref> The [[Iranian people|Iranians]] and their related groups have a higher frequency of blonds than other ethnic groups of the Middle East, mostly in the Northern parts of Iran. In western Asia blonds are mostly found in [[Israel]], Western [[Syria]], [[Lebanon]] and the [[Hatay province|Hatay province of Turkey]]. In North Africa, blonds are found in [[Morocco]], [[Tunisia]] and northern [[Algeria]]. [[Indigenous Australians|Aboriginal Australians]], especially in the west-central parts of the continent, also have a fairly high instance of natural blond-to-brown hair,<ref>[http://anthro.palomar.edu/vary/vary_1.htm Modern Human Variation: Overview<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref><ref>[http://www.gnxp.com/blog/2006/04/blonde-antipodals.php Gene Expression: Blonde antipodals<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> with as many as 90-100% of children having blond hair in some areas.<ref name="gnxp1">[http://www.gnxp.com/blog/2005/08/blonde-australian-aboriginals.php Gene Expression: Blonde Australian Aboriginals<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> The trait among Indigenous Australians is primarily associated with children and women and the hair turns more often to a darker brown color, rather than black, as they age.<ref name="gnxp1"/> Blondness is also found in some other parts of the South Pacific such as the [[Solomon Islands]] and [[Vanuatu]]. Again there are higher incidences in children but here many adults too carry this indigenous blond mutation. Some [[Guanches]] populations, particularly the now extinct aboriginal population of [[Tenerife]], one of the [[Canary islands]] of the African Atlantic coast, were said by 14th century Spanish explorers to exhibit blond hair and blue eyes.<ref>[http://www.familytreedna.com/(czkb1cubrllp4y45bfy33aud)/public/Guanches-CanaryIslandsDNA/index.aspx http://www.familytreedna.com/(czkb1cubrllp4y45bfy33aud)/public/Guanches-CanaryIslandsDNA/index.aspx] ''Familytreed.com''</ref><ref>[http://washingtontimes.com/travel/20050421-090747-8069r.htm http://washingtontimes.com/travel/20050421-090747-8069r.htm] ''Washingtontimes.com'' </ref> Blondness was also reported among South American Indians. ==Relation to age and distribution on body== Blond hair is common in Caucasian [[infant]]s and [[children]], so much so that the term "baby blond" is often used for very light-colored hair. Babies may be born with blond hair even among groups where adults rarely have blond hair,<ref>See http://www.gnxp.com/blog/2006/04/blonde-antipodals.php for discussion of Melanesian and Aboriginal Australian children with blond hair.</ref> although such natal hair usually falls out quickly. Blond hair tends to turn darker with age, and many children born blond turn light, medium, or dark brunette before or during their [[teenage]] years. True blonds often have platinum blond hair as children, pale skin with little pigment, pale eye-lashes and grey eyes. If their hair darkens with age it tends to turn a darker ash-blond, not the rich brown of a brunette. Eyelashes and eyebrows remain fair. (Eyelash color is probably the best marker for prediction of adult hair color.){{Fact|date=March 2008}} Those who turn brunette as teens usually have more pigment to begin with; a slightly golden skin tone that tans a little more easily than the paler skin of true blonds, often (but not always) a richer, more golden-blond hair color, dark eye-lashes and bright blue, green, hazel or brown eyes. {{Fact|date=March 2008}} The [[androgenic hair|body hair]] of blonds is also blond, although [[terminal hair]] elsewhere on the body may be darker than hair on the head, and even brown. Facial hair is often reddish. [[Vellus]], on the other hand, may be very light or even transparent. Hair that grows from a [[mole (skin marking)|mole]] or from a [[birthmark]] may be dark.{{Fact|date=March 2008}} {{-}} ==Culturally related ideas== [[Image:Sif from Swedish Edda translation.jpg|thumb|right|150px|An 1893 depiction of the [[Norse mythology|Norse goddess]] [[Sif]]. In surviving sources, Sif is particularly noted for her golden hair]] In [[Norse mythology]], both the goddess [[Sif]]<ref name=BYOPRO92>Byock, Jesse. (Trans.) (2006) ''The Prose Edda'', page 92. Penguin Classics ISBN 0140447555</ref> (wife of [[Thor]]) and the major goddess [[Freyja]]<ref name=FREYJABLONDE>From the 13th century ''[[Friðþjófs saga hins frœkna]]'': :''A song of [[Valhalla|Valhal's]] brightness,'' :''And all its gods and goddesses,'' :''He'd think: "Yes!" yellow's Freyja's hair,'' :''A corn-land sea, breeze-waved so fair.''</ref> are described as blonde. In the eddic poem [[Rígsthula]], the blond man Jarl was considered to be the ancestor to the dominant warrior class. In Northern Europe [[fairy]] lore, fairies value blond hair in humans. Blond babies are more likely to be stolen and replaced with [[changeling]]s, and young blonde women are more likely to be lured away to the land of the fairies.<ref>[[Katharine Mary Briggs|Katharine Briggs]], ''An Encyclopedia of Fairies, Hobgoblins, Brownies, Boogies, and Other Supernatural Creatures,'' "Golden Hair," p194. ISBN 0-394-73467-X</ref> In European [[fairy tale]]s, blond hair was commonly ascribed to the heroes and heroines. This may occur in the text, as in [[Madame d'Aulnoy]]'s ''La Belle aux cheveux d'or'' or ''[[The Beauty with Golden Hair]],'' or in illustrations depicting the scenes.<ref>[[Marina Warner]], ''From the Beast to the Blonde: On Fairy Tales And Their Tellers,'' p 362-6 ISBN 0-374-15901-7</ref> One notable exception is [[Snow White]] who, because of her mother's wish for a child "as red as blood, as white as snow, as black as ebony," has dark hair.<ref>[[Marina Warner]], ''From the Beast to the Blonde: On Fairy Tales And Their Tellers,'' p 365 ISBN 0-374-15901-7</ref> This tendency appears also in more formal literature; in [[Milton]]'s "[[Paradise Lost]]" the noble and innocent Adam and Eve have "golden tresses"<ref name=milton>{{cite web |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=kbO9UPxIyVAC&pg=PR40&lpg=PR40&dq=in+paradise+lost+is+adam+blond&source=web&ots=lZ0mbGzjYy&sig=hHJtSzuIwni2_e9mhejPsEqgjLI#PPA93,M1 |title=Paradise Lost: A Poem in Twelve Books |author=[[John Milton]]|year=[[1674]] |publisher=Google Books |accessdate=February 2|accessyear=2008}}</ref>, while near the end of [[J. R. R. Tolkien]]'s monumental [[Lord of the Rings]], the especially favourable year following the [[War of the Ring]] was signified in the Shire by an exceptional number of blond-haired children. [[Image:Gentlemen Prefer Blondes Movie Trailer Screenshot (16).jpg|thumb|left|150px|Marilyn Monroe in ''[[Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (film)|Gentlemen Prefer Blondes]].'']] In contemporary popular culture, it is often stereotyped that men find blonde women more attractive than women with other hair colors. [[Alfred Hitchcock]] preferred to cast blonde women for major roles in his films as he believed that the audience would suspect them the least, hence the term "Hitchcock blonde"<ref name=Allen>{{cite book |author=Allen, Richard|title=Hitchcock's Romantic Irony|publisher=[[Columbia University Press]]} |year=[[2007]]|id=ISBN 978-0231135740}}</ref>. [[Blonde jokes]] are a class of derogatory [[joke]]s based on a "[[dumb blonde]]" stereotype of blonde women being unintelligent, sexually promiscuous, or both. In other parts of modern culture, blonde women are often portrayed as "promiscuous", leading to the [[stereotype]] that blondes "have more fun." [[Jean Harlow]] (a natural ash blonde) and [[Marilyn Monroe]] (pale blond as a child though her hair darkened to brown) were notable bleached blonde sex icons of twentieth-century America, frequently portraying stereotypical [[dumb blonde]]s in their films. In the early-mid twentieth century, Nordicists such as [[Madison Grant]] and [[Alfred Rosenberg]] associated blond hair with a [[Nordic race]], which they distinguished from a larger [[Aryan race]] that included what they called the non-blond [[Alpine race]]. During [[World War II]], blond hair was one of the traits used by [[Nazi]]s to select Slavic children for [[Germanization#Germanisation during the Second World War|Germanization]]. ==References== {{reflist|2}} ==See also== * [[Disappearing blonde gene]] * [[Gentlemen Prefer Blondes]] ==External links== {{commonscat|Blond hair}} *[http://chemistry.about.com/od/howthingsworkfaqs/f/greenhair.htm Why Does the Pool Turn Blonde Hair Green?] </br> {{Hair colors}} </br> [[Category:Hair color]] <!-- interwiki --> [[ang:Fæger hǣr]] [[ay:Paqupaqu]] [[da:Blondine]] [[de:Blond]] [[es:Rubio]] [[fr:Blondeur]] [[gd:Gruag bhàn]] [[hr:Plavuše]] [[it:Capelli biondi]] [[he:בלונד]] [[ka:ქერა]] [[nl:Blond]] [[ja:金髪]] [[pl:Blond (kolor)]] [[pt:Loiro]] [[qu:Suqu]] [[ru:Блондины]] [[simple:Blonde]] [[sl:Blond]] [[sr:Плавокосе особе]] [[sh:Plavuša]] [[fi:Vaaleahiuksisuus]] [[sv:Blond]] [[zh:金髮]]