Blond

Blond, as an adjective, usually refers to hair of a light color. As a noun referring to a person with light colored hair, one uses "blond" for a male and "blonde" for a female, owing to the word having been borrowed from the French language.

Origin and evolution
Blond hair first made its appearance as a mutation in humans about 11,000 years ago. Given that blondness confers no evolutionary advantage, the most reasonable explanation for the relatively high current incidence of the allele, after such a short period of time, is the sexual selection of women. In other words, there may be some truth to the adage popularized by the movie title Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.

About 2% of the world's people are blond. They are more common in the United States, and in some parts of northern and eastern Europe blonds make up 80% or more of the population.

Dumb blond
Although there is no evidence that blonds are actually less intelligent, the well-known "dumb blond" stereotype may be due to their valuing education less. However, studies do show that blonds tend to make others less intelligent since, by buying into the stereotype, conversations and activities are "dumbed down" when blonds are present.

This negative stereotype of blonds is ironic since they are also perceived to be more desirable partners. Also consider that, since blonds tend to attract smarter and more successful mates, their offspring should be both blond and smart. One recent study found that blonde women are paid 7% more than those with any other hair color.

The stereotype of lower intelligence has led to the proliferation of the "blond joke."

Bottle blond
The perception that blonds have more fun is evidenced by the observation that blond is a very popular choice for hair dye. A person of any hair color can utilize peroxide or bleach to become a "bottle blond." Of course one then needs to worry about what to do with the roots when one's natural color begins to grow back in.

Extinction
Reports of the certain future demise of the blond allele, perhaps due to supplanting by bottle blonds, are greatly exaggerated. One popular hoax attributed to the World Health Organization reported that blonds would become extinct by the year 2202. In reality, in the absence of selective pressure and since blond genes are not an evolutionary disadvantage, ratios of blond alleles to others should remain constant.

Advocacy groups
Blonds and their fans may join the International Association of Blondes.

On May 31, International Blonde Day is celebrated with parades and beauty contests.