slashing senseless stereotypes

Stereotypes. We all hear them. We all (be it purposefully or accidentally) use them. But, if I'm honest, the majority of them are ridiculous. Now, being a white, female, blonde teenager living in the UK, I am subject to plenty of absurd stereotypes. The most common,

1. "All blondes are dumb!"

This is the most common stereotype that I am subject to. Yes I'm blonde. Yes I am a bit dim and ditzy on occasions, but that has nothing to do with my hair colour. I just have limited common sense. Actually, according to another common stereotype, those who have limited common sense are actually more academically intelligent. It has actually gotten to the point that people are surprised at how academic I am, just because of the colour of my hair. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a rocket scientist, but I get by. I passed all of my GCSEs with good grades, and 3 out of 4 AS levels. I'm predicted As and Bs at the end of next year and I want to go to University and study either English Literature or History, or combined.  I hope to become a journalist, or failing that, a secondary school teacher. I'm not the most intelligent girl in the world, but I'm certainly not a "dumb blonde".

Unfortunately, the media doesn't help stop this assumption. I get it, it's funny to laugh at the stupid blonde girl in movies (Karen in Mean Girls springs to mind) and the blonde jokes can be funny, but trust me, us blondes have heard them ALL before.

And no, I don't dye my hair to stop myself being a victim of this stereotype. I ombre my hair because I get bored of hairstyles very quickly and it's less drastic than cutting it all off. I ombre my hair because I like it, not because I think people will believe I'm better educated due to the fact I have slightly less blonde in my hair.

I'm blonde. I'm a ditz. But I'm not a ditz BECAUSE I'm blonde. I just happen to be both!

2. "Wait what? You can't cook?! But you're a GIRL!"

Thank you for clarifying that I am, in fact, a female. But yes, shock horror- I can't cook! I mean, I know the basics. I can make an omelette and spag bol, but that's pretty much it. So no, I don't "belong in the kitchen" and actually, if we're being honest here, most world-class chefs are men! So the next time you boys ask a woman to "go make a sandwich" be prepared to get your stupid ass kicked, because not only is it incredibly sexist, it's also, theoretically, not correct.

3. "So you want a career BEFORE you get married?"

Luckily, this stereotype is fading out because more and more women get jobs and careers before (or instead of) getting married and having children. People are finally starting to realise, thank God, that it is not all women's main priority in life to get married and have children.

 


I do want to get married and have children, but there is no way I am going to depend on a man to get me by in life. I want my own career, my own money so that I can do what I want to with it, save some of it towards a wedding and children and bills... oh God the bills, but splurge out on that handbag or those pair of shoes I want to, without feeling guilty that I am spending someone else's money.

4. "So you don't live in London and you don't all drink tea and eat fish and chips constantly and speak like the Queen?"

This one will only apply to those of you living outside the UK, stereotypically American's.



Unfortunately, there are other places in Britain besides London, and I am not lucky/unlucky (depends on your opinions of London) enough to live there. I live in a small town about 2 hours away from London.

Unfortunately again, I don't have enough money to constantly eat fish and chips, and neither do most other Brits. I have it occasionally, but it's rather expensive, and nothing beats my mum's home made food.

I do, however, drink copious amounts of tea. That is the one stereotypically British thing that I do. I usually drink at least one cup of tea a day. And writing about tea is making me crave a cup of tea. I will have to go and make one.

Those words you think are funny, "splendid" and "cheerio" and the like, most of us Brits also think are funny, because, contrary to popular belief, we don't all use them. Not everyone in England is 'posh'. Not everyone in London is 'posh'! Watch My Fair Lady and you'll understand.

Of course there are thousands more stereotypes out there, but these are the ones that I get on a fairly regular basis.

Are any of you prone to hearing these silly stereotypes? Please mention some other stereotypes you hear regularly in the comments!

Thank you for reading!

Lots of love,

xoxo