On Blondes

by Pitman, Joanna

• ISBN13: 9781582341200
• ISBN10: 1582341206
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2003-03-04
• Publisher: Bloomsbury USA

Summary

Number of natural blondes in America: 1 in 20. Number of American females who dye their hair blonde: 1 in 3. Blondeness became a prejudice in the Dark Ages, an obsession in the Renaissance, a mystique in Elizabethan England, a mythical fear in the nineteenth century, an ideology in the 1930s, a sexual invitation in the 1950s, and a doctrine of faith by the end of the twentieth century. With its powerful imagery of wealth, light, youth, and vitality, built up over thousands of years, it has woven itself into the most popular materials of the imagination. In art and literature, in history and popular culture, blonde has never been a mere color. For two and a half thousand years, it has been a blazing signal in code, signifying beauty, power, and status. From Greek prostitutes mimicking the golden haired Aphrodite, to the Californian beach babe; from pigeon dung and saffron dyes to L'Oreal-because you're worth it-Joanna Pitman unveils the lengths to which women will go to become blonde. We watch while the blonde as erotic symbol, saintly virgin, or racial elite waxes and wanes throughout the ages, but never disappears. Why is it that blondes rose to prominence in Hollywood and in Nazi Germany at the same time? Why do young Japanese women today want to be blonde? By looking at the world through the eyes of famous and infamous blondes and their admirers, we are drawn into an intriguing portrait of society. Weaving a story rich in drama, mystery, triumph, deception, disaster and curiosity, Joanna Pitman effortlessly combines the wealth of her knowledge with a sharp and clear-sighted view of the power of the blonde throughout the ages. Joanna Pitmanis the photography critic for the LondonTimesand a features writer for theTimes Magazine. From 1986 to 1987, she worked as a volunteer for SAIDIA, a small British-funded aid organization, building clinics in Samburn, Kenya, and from 1990 co 1994, she worked as theTimes's Tokyo bureau chief. She currently lives in London with her husband and two daughters. In art and literature, in history and popular culture, blonde has never been a mere color. For two and a half thousand years, it has been a blazing signal in code, signifying beauty, power, and status. From Greek prostitutes mimicking the golden-haired Aphrodite to the California beach babe, from pigeon dung and saffron dyes to L'Oreacute;al (because you're worth it), Joanna Pitman unveils the lengths to which women will go to become blonde. We watch while the blonde as erotic symbol, saintly virgin, or racial elite waxes and wanes throughout the ages, but never disappears. Why is it that blondes rose to prominence in Hollywood and in Nazi Germany at the same time? Why do young Japanese women today want to be blonde? By looking at the world through the eyes of famous and infamous blondes and their admirers, Joanna Pitman draws us into an intriguing portrait of society. Weaving a story rich in drama, mystery, triumph, deception, disaster, and curiosity, Pitman combines her knowledge with a sharp and clear-sighted view of the power of the blonde throughout the ages. "Pitman, a distinguishedTimesof London writer, has taken up the subject of why golden hair has so fascinated men and, to a lesser extent, women, for so many centuries. She traces the origin of the fetish to Greek times, when the sex-goddess (literally) Aphrodite was depicted as a golden blonde, thereby encouraging any number of naturally raven-tressed women to bleach themselves to match her image. Through the ages, the association of blonde hair with sexual allure has held, right down to the present, when advertisers double-talk women into seeing blondeness as both empowering ('I'm worth it') and seductive ('I'm worth dating'). With such an engaging subject, it would be hard to go wrong, and Pitman's engaging style only highlights the appeal of this combination o

Author Biography

Joanna Pitman, formerly the Tokyo bureau chief for the London Times, is curretnyl the Times' photography critic and a features writer for the Times Magazine . She lives in London with her husband and two daughters.

Table of Contents

Author Note	viii
Acknowledgements	ix
Introduction	1	(8)
Aphrodite Rising	9	(14)
The Empress and the Wig	23	(16)
The Devil's Soap	39	(12)
Is She Not Pure Gold?	51	(18)
The Cardinal and the Blonde Borgia	69	(16)
Four Blocks of Caviare and a Feather Bed	85	(18)
Like a Virgin	103	(18)
Saint-Seducing Gold	121	(16)
Wretched Pickled Victims	137	(18)
The Aryan Awakes	155	(12)
Body Politics	167	(16)
The Man Who Would be God	183	(20)
Blonde Venus	203	(20)
Dirty Pillow Slip	223	(16)
Of Princesses, Punks and Prime Ministers	239	(24)
Afterword	263	(2)
Endnotes	265	(8)
Select Bibliography	273	(12)
Index	285