In Defense of (Real) Blondes: An Open Letter to Men’s Health and Men Everywhere
Sent August 23, 2004

 
I occasionally pick up Men’s Health and one or two other men’s magazines (GQ, Esquire) just to check out what they’re telling men about women — and to see whether or not I think what they’re saying is true (as I’m still dating, forewarned is forearmed). Imagine my severe annoyance when I discovered that Men’s Health is still parroting — and reinforcing — the same old anti-blonde stereotypes (“Head-to-Head: Blonde vs. Brunette,” September 2004 issue). Nothing but blonde jokes could be more offensive, and being a lifelong blonde (yes, I have baby and grade-school pictures to prove it) I’m particularly pissed that they used so-called experts to justify their prejudices, without ever citing or questioning the actual sources (how do we know they’re experts? Who sez??). Whatever happened to proper attribution? I felt like giving the entire editorial management and most of the quoted sources a thump in the head.

As a journalist and policy analyst, I’m frequently in the position of being a debunker of popular myth. Clearly, I have to do it again if I ever want American men to take blondes (and me) seriously. Here in Chicago, we journalists have a saying: If your mother says she loves you, check it out – and Men’s Health should have been much more conscientious about checking out and questioning its sources. Let’s get specific.