As I was curling my hair the other day, I got to thinking about different hair colors and decided to blog about it. This subject didn't just pop into my head, mind
you, but to tell you how it got there requires a little back story.
Since I was in my early thirties I have been getting my hair
highlighted. My three sisters are all blondes, and I am the only brunette, so I put a
little blonde in my hair to make me fit in!
Anyway, when I started noticing gray hairs I began to get
highlights and lowlights. (that's some blonde and some brown highlights.)Then the gray went crazy, and I now have to get all my
hair colored brown, followed by highlighting with blond. This has been
working fine until I got a wild hair up my you-know-what and decided I wanted a little touch of red. A few of my friends had gone this
route, and I liked the way it looked on them. So, I had my hairdresser add a touch of red to the brown dye.
The results weren't bad, and I got a lot of compliments on
my hair. Still, when it was time to redo the color, I decided I liked the darker
brown to contrast with my dark brown eyes. I told her to just add a small smidgen
of red this time.
As I leaned back in the shampoo bowl while she rinsed out the color, I
heard the three words you should never hear from your hairdresser.
"Oh my God!"
"What'?" I asked, trying not to get alarmed. I have crappy hair anyway. I didn't need an OH MY GOD moment.
"I'm pretty sure you're gonna want me to redo
this," she said as calmly as she could.
"Are you freakin' kidding me?" I asked when I got my first look. I was now a redhead. And not just a chestnutty redhead. I was a Lucille Ball look-alike without the curls. Needless
to say I freaked out. Even after she redid it, it didn't entirely remove the red. So,
because my hair is so fragile and it had already been dyed twice and still needed
the blonde highlights, I decided I would just have to stay a redhead for a few months
before I dared to redye it.
And you know what? Although I will definitely go back to the
overall brown, the reddish tone does make it look like I have more hair than I
actually have.
Anyway, all this got me thinking about Jordan McAllister, my
heroine in the Clueless Cook series. She's a redhead with bright blue eyes and the fiery temperament of the Irish. See what I just did there? I stereotyped her the way I imagine all redheaded women to be--feisty and independent. Redheaded men aren't so lucky in my mind. I'm guessing they took a lot of teasing in their youth.. You know, "I'd rather be dead
than red on the head." Admit it--you tortured some poor redheaded boy at
least once in your life.
All this made me curious, so I did a little research, and I
found the most interesting study about hair colors and stereotyping.
We've all heard the blonde jokes, and we know that
redheads are seen as competent but cold with a fiery temper. This article addresses
whether stereotypes affect job progression, mobility, and the rise to the
corporate suites. They used 500 members of the London Financial Times Stock Exchange and discovered that blondes, who are viewed historically as less competent but
likable, were under presented in positions of corporate leadership in the UK. Redheads,
while a miniscule number in the UK
population, were over selected to lead some of the United
Kingdom and Europe's
largest wealthiest companies
“This stereotype of incompetence, by definition, affects the
status of blondes in society and in particular in the workplace. One may
conclude if a stereotype operates to label a group as incompetent, it
also restricts
their ability to raise their status in the corporate hierarchy.
Thus, negative stereotyping of hair color does appear to affect placement into
leadership positions, particularly at the CEO level. The dumb blonde myth
then is not a myth. Perception becomes reality and the pattern
perpetuates.By having an awareness of the issue, further investigation into
the stereotyping is important and warranted. While the research
indicated
stereotyping is unconscious, moving such awareness to
instruments including job screening forms could help counter such seemingly
discriminatory actions and possibly minimize the stereotype.”
Who knew that the color of your hair would help you rise to the
top of your company? Read the entire article here.
What's this all have to do with writing? The next time you are
giving your characters certain attributes, remember that hair color can be very
important. I just finished copy edits for MURDER FOR THE HALIBUT, and the copy
editor begged me to add some different eye colors other than dark. We all know that a person's weight and dress affect them in a job interview. I wonder if
there's been a study about eye colors and stereotypes.
Now I want to know your take on all this. Are you conscious of this stereotyping when you're writing in your characters new characters?
While I wait on yout comments , I'll just sit here and try to
figure out how I can get to the UK and a new six-figure corporate CEO position with my new red hair. Someone's got some 'splainin' to do.
14 comments:
I laughed out loud, Liz! I confess to not coloring my hair, but think often about doing it. The gray is moving in. My hairdresser keeps trying to convince me that "just a little here and there" will make a difference. Nope, a tummy tuck might make a difference.
You are right about thinking all of this through for our characters. I have read a number of authors who refuse to describe any physical attributes of their main characters, leaving it up to the reader.
First, I gotta see this redheaded Liz.
Hep, I highlight brown and blonde too. The first time, my sissie said I looked like Cruella. Yikes.
I'm going down fighting all the way. Now, if I could get Cassy's tummy tuck and some other stuff done all in one day and someone would take me, nirvana.
When I write a character I don't pick a hair color to match the personality of that individual. I try to vary the color from book to book, unless of course it's the same one.
I will even give a blonde dark colored eyes: hazel, green, etc. thereby going against the traditional blonde/blue-eyed.
In one story I even had the heroine, an Army medevac pilot a blonde. So much for the dumb blonde myth.
Snort!! This was great, Liz! So, does this mean you are coming to the PP as a redhead? OMG is definitely not something you want your hairdresser to say..lol! I never thought your hair color would affect you in the work place. Very interesting!!! My hair is naturally red and I go back to red in the winter but go blonde in the summer. Maybe I should go back to red for good and I'll get more respect..lol!
Loved your post, Liz! I have been going gray since I was 18. Sucks. I come from a long line of family members going completely gray by 40. So I've been dying my hair for a long, long time. When the gray became too much to cover with dark brown, I went blond and have never looked back. I love it. I was meant to be a blond. And blondes do have more fun.
This summer when I headed fishing, I wanted a little red for the salmon (it makes sense to me) but my hair dresser wouldn't do it because with my hair the red would go pink. Instead, we put in red extensions. I love them. Still sporting them. And for stereotyping, I'm a blond with brown eyes. And I'm smart (more street smart than book smart, but it hey, it keeps me alive in the wilds of Alaska). Therefore, you might think something about my character based on how I describe them, but at some point you will be surprised. I love doing that.
I just have to thank you for this good laugh today. I needed that!
You're so much fun. Thanks for sharing...and you DO look great in your new "do"...Adrienne in MN
Cassy, that's really interesting about your friend not giving her characters specific physical details. As a reader, I always need a picture in my mind, Oh well--different strokes and all.
And boy could I use a tummy tuck, but that will have to wait until I get that six-figure UK job!!
LOL, Vicki. Cruella?? Your hair has a touch of red in it, too, no?
Lindsay, I dispute the blond myth, too, no matter what the study showed. But I have to admit when I write a blonde character, I either think ditz or someone especially beautiful.
Good luck with that new Regency.
Alisha, you have beautiful red hair. And you are definitely feisty and independent. No wonder the stereotype is there.
And yes, you will see me as a red head, but it is toned down a bit now. In the sun, I really glow.
Tiff, I love the way you think. And isn't there something called pink salmon??
Extensions sound like a great way to get some color in. When I gt too much blond, I feel like my skin color fades, too. I have dark brown eyes adn the brown brings them out.
And what's more fun than stereotyping your characters? Tricking the reader with the complete opposite in the end. You go, girl.
Ah, Adrienne, how sweet of you to say that. And do I detect a little red in your hair in the picture? It looks like that nice chestnut color I used to have as a child and hated. Now I'm paying big bucks to get it back---and not being very successful, I might add.
Thanks for commenting.
Love the red!
M
OMG, Liz! This sounds like something from one of your books. If the picture of you is with the red hair, I think it looks good.
I struggle with hair color (my own and my characters).For my characters, it's because I don't care what color their hair is. But I do sometimes put in a stereotype for secondary characters. In my relic series, I have a redhead. And yes, she'd feisty.
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