BLONDES MAKE MEN ACT DUMB

From Mae West and Marilyn Monroe to more modern examples such as Paris Hilton, "blonde" has long been a by-word for a woman not overly blessed in the brain department.

Now the stereotype of the "dumb blonde" is so firmly ingrained in the male psyche that men subconsciously become more stupid than they really are when they see one, according to scientists.

Without realising it, they mimic what they believe – often incorrectly – to be the lesser intelligence of a blonde woman in order to get along with her, a study suggests.

The revelation that meeting a blonde causes a man to have his own "blonde moment" is further evidence that people's behaviour is powerfully influenced by stereotypes.

The research by French scientists was based on tests carried out at Paris Nanterre University where men were shown pictures of women with different coloured hair, then made to take a general knowledge test.

Those who had been shown pictures of blonde women scored lower marks than those who had been shown pictures of brunettes and redheads.

Professor Thierry Meyer, joint author of the study published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology, said: "It proves that people confronted with stereotypes generally behave in line with them.

"Blondes have the potential to make people act in a dumber way, because they mimic the unconscious stereotype of the dumb blonde."

Previously scientists have found that people walk and talk more slowly in front of the elderly, while other studies have revealed that unconscious racial assumptions and prejudices emerge in written tests.

The stereotype of the "dumb blonde" emerged with the development of films, television and glossy magazines.

It is said to have first appeared in the 1920s novel Gentlemen Prefer Blondes by Anita Loos, which was made into a silent film in 1928 and a movie starring Monroe in 1953. It was then perpetuated over the years by blonde celebrities such as Carry On star Barbara Windsor and Goldie Hawn.

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This may also prove that the dumb female blonde myth is fallacy, and that it is more of a male phenomenon altogether. Perhaps men’s minds turn to something else when interacting with an attractive blonde, and their own dumb behavior is then misinterpreted by themselves as originating from the girl?