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Commentary Going blonde in San Diego means looking healthy—and getting a lot of attention By Romina Cleary November 7, 2005 San Diego--According to a piece written for the Radio Netherlands web site, one in three women in the United States and Europe choose to be blonde. Statistically however, less than half are real blondes. So, this must mean that all these blondes in San Diego are either bleaching at hair salons or at home with a box of Miss Clairol. But why? I decided to get to the roots—I mean, root—of the matter. I first stopped at Ecotique an Aveda Salon Spa, in Del Mar. Jackpot! I found at least half dozen shades of blonde worn by women cutting hair and working the registers. When asked about the blonde population of San Diego, Amy, a native of Wisconsin, claimed that “there are significantly more blondes here than in Wisconsin.”
Lottie, a Scottish-born, natural pale blonde with added lowlights (strands of darker colored hair to contrast against and add richness to her very pale natural color) thinks the reason people go blonde is simple: “In a sunny climate it’s popular to be blonde.” The women at Ecotique also think that blonde hair is glamorous; they get a lot of people going to the salon because San Diegans strive to be glamorous. Lottie added, “People here know what’s hot and what’s not hot. Think about Marilyn Monroe and Gwen Stefani.” Jean Harlow, Ginger Rogers, Mae West, Marilyn Monroe, Madonna, and Gwen Stefani are all celebs who found glamour—or greater glamour—once they went blonde. After leaving Ecotique, I ran into a dark haired, attractive 18-year-old woman who works the cash register at a nearby beauty supply store. When asked why she thought San Diegans might bleach their hair blonde, she told me that girls her age do it because the “popular girls have blonde hair.” According to Rose Weitz’s book Rapunzel’s Daughters, the percentage of blonde women featured as centerfolds is greater than the percentage of blonde women in the general population. Aha! So this might be why the blonde girls are popular. In San Diego, image goes a long way. Since hair is easy to change and always grows back, it doesn’t hurt to experiment with going blonde. Many women who have bleached their hair blonde notice a change in the way people respond to them. They get more attention. And what blonde woman dislikes attention? San Diego is a happy place. Stop at VONS and you’ll file past golden blonde cashiers who mysteriously know your name and wish you a happy, sunny, and great day. Blonde hair is bright, happy, and alive. I later ventured to Pizza Port thinking I’d find blonde surfers aplenty. There I found Ron, a man in his early 40s smoking and sporting a funky short ‘do with bleached blond tips. He said he wants to look good, and thinks he does with blonde hair. “I live in SoCal,” he stated. “I don’t want to say it’s the So Cal look… isn’t necessarily the look any more. I don’t know. Going blonde for the summer feels good.” Ron works as a flatbed truck driver for an outfit in Kearny Mesa. He spends most of his time inside the truck with the occasional day on site. He’d rather spend his time on the beach or riding his motorcycle through the desert in Arizona helmet-free. “Beach equals blonde,” he quipped. “You want to look like you’re out there doing it all the time.” So for Ron, having blonde hair means that he is out there either surfing or motorcycling as if he is a pro, doing it all the time. Ok, the active lifestyle of most San Diegans exposes their hair to the sun. Salt water mixed with sunshine will bleach a surfer’s head of hair quickly. Lounging by the pool and playing tennis all day might make a light brunette a blonde or a blonde blonder. Who has the time to surf and play tennis all day? Err, the wealthy leisure class, maybe. Or movie stars, professional surfers and tennis players. By this, blonde hair means wealth, youth, sexiness, glamour, attention, and physical fitness. Natural blondes even bleach their hair blonder for such reasons. Historically, the ruling class in America has been the Northern European fair-skinned and fair-haired crowd. So, in order to look wealthy, why not bleach our hair blonde? According to Joanna Pitman, author of On Blondes, an appreciation for blonde hair reaches back to ancient Greece and Rome when Aphrodite (or Venus to the Romans) maintained an abundance of loosely knotted blonde hair that exemplified an innocent yet sexually magical and fertile manner. Pitman states, “Aphrodite was the world’s original model of sexual fantasy and power.... As the most beautiful of all the great mythical gods of the Mediterranean, she was the crucible of all erotic energy.” Heck, to look more like a Greek goddess, why not just go blonde? -------------------- Romina Cleary is a hair-obsessed 34 year old who was born with wavy blonde hair that turned brown once she made it to Kindergarten. She might dye her hair black this winter, just to see what it feels like. Check out these recent Vyuz articles... Vyuz aviation expert kills time on tarmac, answers questions | By Rob Potochnik McP's shows different side to special ops | By Larry Knowles Who's flagging pet postings on Craigslist? It's a mystery | By Larry Knowles |
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