I'm also blonde.
But one thing i'm not is dumb.
I HATE blonde jokes. I mean really HATE them. And what i hate the most about them is that people tell Blonde jokes in front of me and they think it's ok. They think it's ok because it's only a joke, it's only a bit of fun and it's not 'personal'.
It's like the phenomenon of saying 'no offence' before an insult to make it less hurtful- since when did that work? if anything it just alerts the victim to the fact that they could take offence if they wished.
What i wonder is if we, as a society, are ok with people making jokes about hair colour because it's only a joke, can we allow people to make jokes about skin colour? Or sexuality? Or gender? Where do you draw the line? If you can target blondes and hide beneath the mask of humour who else are you capable of targeting?
There are people who do make jokes about gender, sexuality and race. Those people disgust me. And, if we're honest, they're just an extreme form of the blonde joke makers. Blondes are not sub-human or dumb. Neither are women. And to be honest neither is anyone- except possibly some of the jokers themselves..
Blondes are not sluts. There are blondes who are slutty but there are also brunettes who could be considered to be a bit "fur coat and no knickers". I think all forms of stereotyping are wrong. People are individuals and should not be labelled as being either blonde or clever- why can't they be both? either a careers woman or a home maker- why are those incompatible? I don't understand why society has to box people up and file them away under a series of traits and characteristics. Why can't we just all accept that we are all human? That we all deserve equal rights and opportunities and that none of us should be made fun of because of something we can't change? I could dye my hair but i will always be blonde underneath. I won't dye my hair because i love seeing the shock on people's faces when i make a valid, intelligent point and they realise that my hair colour doesn't affect my brain function.
We shouldn't make any kind of prejudice or stereotyping into a joke. By doing so we normalise it, make it ok, make it funny. We turn it from something to be ashamed of into something that doesn't matter. But it does matter.
I have a sense of humour.
It just doesn't rely on making other people feel bad about themselves.
I don't have a sense of humour at the expense of other people.
Because, really, what is the point of making someone laugh if you are making someone else cry?
So... my tip for today is: Think about the jokes you make. Maybe you haven't realised that you say "no offence" too much. Maybe you haven't realised that you often laugh at women or blondes or people from another race? Maybe you haven't realised that actually you stereotype people a lot? Think about it. If you are someone who jokes about people's hair colour then maybe you should stop. It's really annoying.
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