Blond and Blue
Throughout history, people have created a ranking system that designates one thing better than another. Often it was based on a hierarchal premise that the rich and powerful dictated what was better or worse. The class system followed this pattern to meet their particular needs, disallowing any concern for emotional or psychological repercussions that ultimately follows with this form of characterization.
There is always an idealistic dream that expresses supreme goodness of man treating everyone equally kind and loving, but we know that dream is not even seen in fairy tales or love stories. There is always an antagonist that creates an atmosphere of hate, fear and disunity. In America this hatred has been demonstrated by the white male and female towards people of a darker hue.
There have been a number of research experiments consciously or unconsciously assessing the success of brain washing African Americans to hate themselves. One of the most evident was the 1940’s experiment of Dr’s. Kenneth and Mamie Clark, using dolls to study attitudes about race. They found that Black children often preferred to play with white dolls than black. This was viewed as evidence of internalized racism caused by stigmatization. A more recent experiment in the 80’s had rendered the same outcome.
It appears that white women, with the guidance of white men in the field of fashion and cosmetics, created a standard for what beauty is for white women. Evidence for this phenomenon is demonstrated by the projection of white, blue eyed, blonde haired women as the pinnacle of natural beauty, a Nordic look that is remnant of the Viking era. If young white children with brunette hair were put in the position of selecting between a blonde and brunette, which would they pick? Could a similar experiment be created for young white girls, asking the same question as were asked of black children: i.e. Which doll is the bad one or which one is ugly, etc.
We know there are many white women who dye their hair blonde because of what it symbolizes: presence, wealth, beauty, and etc. “Blondes have more fun”. Often times Blondes are depicted as mindless airheads, but still heralded by white men as the purist of the Arian race. Do you think white girls, who are not naturally blonde, are sensitive to the recognition given to those with “golden, lighter, yellow hair, and do some of our black sisters aspire to have this image by dying and straightening their hair?
The question is not asked to offend, but to analyze, synthesize and evaluate our consciousness as we pass on behavior patterns, which may or may not be psychologically detrimental.
What do you think?
Posted By: Dr. Okpara Nosakhere
Sunday, July 25th 2010 at 12:02PM
You can also
click
here to view all posts by this author...
