"The eyes are the window to the soul."
Or at least that's what we say. The eyes are one of the first things we notice about a person, but there is another human feature that we see more prominently than others.
Hair.
We all know the stereotypes. Blondes are dumb and have more fun, brunettes are confident and clever, and redheads (or "gingers") are feisty and take people's souls. But why do we automatically assign these random personalities to hair color? Was it just created by our culture for entertainment purposes or is it genetically accurate?
According to Stanford University, the switching of letters (adenine to guanine) in a single genetic code is the reason behind blonde hair. They say that because the switch only affects cell types in the hair follicles, brain cells are not affected. Therefore, it is not genetically accurate, so it must have been created by our culture. But why?
Blondes have less pigment in their hair, which obviously means it's lighter in color. I think people associate light, perky hair with a light, perky personality. So they see blondes as pretty girls who only care about being pretty and having fun. More and more TV shows and other pop culture programs portray blondes to be the dumb character that always gets taken advantage of, so it becomes easier to believe.
I think the same goes for brunettes as well. People see the darker pigment and associate that with a darker personality. Not dark as in depressed (although unfortunately that may be true for some), but dark as in more mature and confident in who they are.
As for redheads, this one may be a little more obvious. Fire is a red-orange color, right? What do we think of when we think of fire? Bright, destructive, sparky and so on. I think people associate redheads with fire, and that's why they are known as the more fierce and outgoing type of people. There's also a popular rumor going around that they have no souls. This relates to the "fiery" stereotype they already have. Since people associate them with fire, people believe they are also rude and obnoxious people, therefore they "don't have a soul."
These stereotypes are obviously not true, especially the one about redheads not having souls. Everyone has a soul. Maybe it's true that there are some blondes out there that aren't the brightest crayons in the box, but there are also brunettes who share that with them -- as well as redheads. And it's true that there are brunettes who are more confident than others, but there are redheads and blondes who are confident too. There are blondes, brunettes, and redheads who share a mixture of these traits. God created everyone differently, and I don't think it's right to label people who share a specific trait as "dumb," "rude," or even "more confident than others." If we do that, we become unhappy with what God has created us to look like, and we become insecure and want to change ourselves. That's what stereotyping can lead to, even if it's something as small as hair color.
So the reality of how hair affects personality? It doesn't. It's merely skin deep. Let's just love each other for the reality that we are made in God's image, not for what our hair color says about us.
