Am I a Dominican or a Republican?*

The dumb blonde. I recently had a conversation with a friend regarding this topic and it has got me thinking....why do blondes have the stereotype of being dumb? The two cannot quite possibly be mutually exclusive, right? I'm sure you can all guess at my answer - absolutely not! Yes, I am blonde (for now), but I refuse to fall into the stereotypical dumb blonde role. Oh sure, I have my 'blonde moments', but I think everyone does, regardless of their hair color.

I am often cynical of the impressions others have about me, namely those who are meeting me for the first time. Sometimes I feel like a person has already decided the level of my intelligence before talking to me and getting to know me. For example, when I walked into the bank to get my car loan last fall, I am not sure if it was my cynicism or not that made me feel like the loan officer wasn't quite taking me seriously. But then I started talking and asking questions. He seemed surprised that I knew as much as I did about the loan process. Was I pretending to know more about the financing than I did? No. But I did do my research before walking in there. Then there was that day in college while working at Younkers. One customer made it certain what she thought of me. After clearing up a misunderstanding that was NOT my fault, she looked at me said, "well, you are blonde." I was furious and offended that she would have the audacity to say such a thing to a complete stranger.

I often wonder if it is more of an act - do blondes take on the role of stupidity because it is expected? "Being pretty and blonde will get me where I need to go and it's far easier than actually having to think. *squealing laughter* Let me twirl my hair around my finger, chomp my gum, and show more cleavage to land that job I applied for." Vomit. Why anyone would want to come off as unintelligent is beyond me.

I don't know if I will ever quite understand the dumb blonde stereotype, but I take pride in who I am as a blonde. Am I MIT, Harvard, or Yale material? Signs point to no. But I am confident in my level of intelligence, regardless of what color my hair is. And for those skeptics who might question why I am considering going to the dark side, it's not because I am sick of the dumb blonde stereotype. It's more about a fashion statement, a style decision, a change.


*In reference to the title of this posting, I know a girl (a blonde) who asked this very question - no joke. This is the same girl who asked, "Is Africa a continent like the United States?" And when asked what her address was responded with, "Third floor." I could go on, but I'm not sure my patience can!