"I'm not offended by people who think I'm a dumb blonde, because I know two things they don't: I'm not dumb, and I'm not blonde." -- Dolly PartonPeople are just not happy with things as they are. Australopithicus africanus used tools, which means that he willfully andimaginatively altered his environment, and -- even though he was not a truehuman -- probably did the one thing that we humans do best when not makingdecorative cuts in our enemies, which is to make decorative cuts inourselves. People trim, style and color their hair, tattoo their bodies,daub on paint and enhance or minimize sundry parts for the simple reasonthat they can. As soon as a new way of altering the body comes along, wegreet it with glad cries and rejoicing. It's not a fad, it's the humancondition.True blondes -- blondes over the age of six -- are asscarce as hen's teeth. But blonde, as Natalia Ilyin discusses in her witty,poignant book "Blonde Like Me," is a state of mind that disregards exteriorreality in favor of the inner vision. Beginning with the title, itself aclever play on John Howard Griffin's 1959 "Black Like Me," the bookexplores the social condition of people who, because of their coloration,are treated differently by their fellows. In Ilyin's case, better, and inGriffin's case, worse, but the kicker is that neither is what they seem.Natalia Ilyin, 6'2" in her stocking feet, armed cap a pie with blonde hairand high heels has "caused minor traffic accidents,"as well you mightimagine. Blondeness is a metaphor for beauty and allure. Blondeness confersinstant sexual power. What do I mean when I say, in cryptic shorthand,"Tonight I have a date with a blonde"? Natalia knows, and if you read"Blonde Like Me," she'll tell you.
David Lance Goines
Click Here to see more reviews about: Blonde Like Me: The Roots of the Blonde Myth in Our Culture (Paperback)
No comments:
Post a Comment