English Course. B2 level.

ON BEAUTY AND HAIR

READING

1. Complete the table in note form with opinions from the text on the next page.

Advantages of being a blonde woman Disadvantages of being a blonde woman

2. Read the text again. Who or what:

a ... make their hair lighter in some way?

.
b ... was discovered nearly 200 years ago?
.
c ... says that fair-haired, fair-skinned people are more attractive?
.
d ... found out that being a blonde woman is bad for your job prospects?
.
c ... gets better pay?
.
f ... makes you look younger?
.
g ... said that hair colour had not affected them?
.
h ... gave brunettes more money?
.
i ... thinks brunettes are cleverer and more capable than blondes?

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 English Course. B2 level.

THE NEW BLONDE BOMBSHELL

Do blondes have more fun? Women certainly assume so, for while only one in six is a natural
blonde, almost half of all women lighten their hair in some way or another.
Peroxide was discovered in 1818. Two centuries on, most blondes get a little help from the bottle.
Last year they spent over 100 million on hair dye - and that doesn't include what they pay at the
hairdressers to help to emulate blonde role models such as Britney Spears, Sharon Stone and
Gwyneth Paltrow.
In fact many of these golden-haired icons are not natural blondes either. Even Marilyn Monroe
started out as a freckle-faced brunette with medium skin tone. She wore pale make-up and dyed her
hair platinum. So what is the mystery magnet that draws women to becoming blonde? It must be
strong, because even today across all races - not just white westerners - when people are asked to
rate others for 'attractiveness', they usually opt for those with lighter hair and skin. You only have to
check out the TV commercials around the world to see how important the image of the blonde has
become.
Until recently, being blonde or brunette was reckoned to be merely a matter of fashion. But
something much deeper is driving our reactions to hair colour. In fact, it turns out, being blonde,
whether natural or 'fake', may not do women any good at all.
Recent research conducted by, among others, Diana Kayle at California State University reveals -
amazingly - that while being blonde may boost your social life, it can also damage your career
prospects. Blonde females are rejected for jobs more often than equally-qualified brunettes. And
where blondes and brunettes are given similar jobs, the darker-haired applicants are awarded higher
salaries. It seems hardly credible that such changeable features as hair colour could so influence
recruitment decisions, but the research findings are unequivocal.
So what lies behind this remarkable bias? One theory is that blond hair gives the appearance of
youth. This is because people have lighter hair and skin when they are children than when they get
older. So blonde people are treated (unconsciously - we are not aware we are doing it) as if they
were less intelligent, more native, more vulnerable, less mature and less capable.
Brian Bates did an experiment for a BBC television programme. Business students were given CVs
for six job applicants. There were photos attached. Some of the candidates had brown hair, the
others were blonde.
When they were asked whether the photos had affected their choices, the business students
were convinced that hair colour had not influenced them. 'The picture, for me, didn't play a major
part,' said one. 'I made a studious attempt to ignore the appearance of the applicants,' said another.
'I focused primarily on the CV,' insisted a third.
But the result revealed a different story. While they had appointed the blondes and the brunettes
almost equally to the job, they had awarded the brunettes a higher salary.
Under close questioning, they revealed that the blonde stereotype had indeed affected their
judgement. 'The woman with blonde hair is more of a wannabe - I would think she is probably an
experienced secretary or something,' confessed one. 'She looks like a PA rather than a middle
manager,' said another. 'The brunette does look more like one would imagine a middle manager
would look.'
Men tend to rate blondes as more feminine but less intelligent than brunettes. Studies in Ireland
confirmed that men rated blonde females as of significantly lower intelligence than brunettes and in
America, job applicants were rated as less capable and assigned a lower salary than brunettes. In
other words, blondes are seen as attractive, but dumb.

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 English Course. B2 level.

3. Complete the sentences with the following work-related words from the text on the
previous page.

applicant PA CV
appointed reject
equally qualified salary

a If you apply for a job, you are a job ...................................................

b When you apply for a job, you generally send information about yourself, called a
curriculum vitae or for short ...................................................
c Two people who have studied the same thing are ...................................................
d If the interviewers don't give you the job, they .................................................... you.
e If you are the successful candidate for the job, you are ...................................................
f The amount of money you get paid per month is called your ..................................................
g The manager's chief aide is his / her personal assistant (often a higher-status job than a
secretary). This is often shortened to...................................................

Language in chunks
4. Read the extracts from the text on the previous page. Re-write the sentences, replacing
the phrases in blue with words or phrases which mean almost the same.

a Most blondes get a little help from the bottle.

...............................................................
b While being blonde may boost your social life, it can also damage your career prospects.
...............................................................
c It seems hardly credible that such changeable features as hair colour could so influence
recruitment decisions.
...............................................................
d The picture, for me, didn't play a major part.
...............................................................
e I made a studious attempt to ignore the appearance of the applicants.
...............................................................
f Under close questioning, they revealed that the ... stereotype had ... affected their
judgement.
...............................................................

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