Hair Apparent

[AMoveableBeast]

So, my other post, about sexy lines and smooth moves, degenerated--and I use that term as balmy as possible--into a sort of redhead appreciation/depreciation/commiseration thread. I find that odd. Not because the subject changed. That happens. You'd have better luck teaching a methed up squirrel the pledge of allegiance than getting the members here to focus on any one topic for more than five seconds (I'm an offender myself).

What I find fascinating, is the preoccupation with hair color itself. Why do we have it, I wonder, the draw to certain pigments? I've never been overly particular about the shades of the strings I'm pulling from behind or the color of the curtains falling in my face when she's on top. Not that I don't like hair. I do. Hair is nice. It feels nice. Nice hair. Pretty hair. *pets*

What does it mean to you, personally speaking? Furthermore, do you pick the color of your characters' hair for a symbolic or representative purpose? Cindy is kind of ditzy. Better make her a blonde. Or, that Sue, she is one fiery bitch. Redhead!

(Also, in the course of writing this, I've come to the shocking conclusion that I might just prefer brunettes. Profound.)

*Edit: Nope, wait. I was thinking and I really like blondes, too.
*Second edit: Saw a cute redhead walking around outside. They're definitely good, as well.

 

[sr71plt]

I usually pick hair color just to differentiate between characters. But I'll also use it as a shortcut to putting an image in the reader's mind without having to expend a lot of extra description. Folks do think in terms of stereotypes.

 

[MrFoxwood]

I used to make most my female characters brunette simply because I prefer brunettes, if they were going to be kinda slutty I tended towards blonde instead. Now I rarely mention hair colour, I prefer to let the reader fill in their own aesthetic preferences for details like that. Of course if a character cares a lot about their hair I'll make a point of going in to detail.

I think that hair style gives a better idea of personality that colour does.

 

[AMoveableBeast]

I usually pick hair color just to differentiate between characters. But I'll also use it as a shortcut to putting an image in the reader's mind without having to expend a lot of extra description. Folks do think in terms of stereotypes.

Very, very true, but are those tropes that we think in, or are those associations formed by our own experiences? If it is the latter, are we really communicating what we think we are?

And what, if any, is the significance of male hair color? Surely females aren't exclusively defined by such a feature. Men must share some typing as well, right? Right?

The fact that I honestly can't answer that question makes this whole exploration even more fascinating to me.

 

[sr71plt]

Very, very true, but are those tropes that we think in, or are those associations formed by our own experiences? If it is the latter, are we really communicating what we think we are?

And what, if any, is the significance of male hair color? Surely females aren't exclusively defined by such a feature. Men must share some typing as well, right? Right?

The fact that I honestly can't answer that question makes this whole exploration even more fascinating to me.

For me, they're just tropes that work in writing. Readers knew what most of the trope stereotypes meant before I wrote them and I either use them as shorthand to that stereotype or stand them on their head to make the reader think one thing only to be surprised.

And it isn't all hair color. A bald man provides the trope of expecting to be taxed, probably in more ways than one.

I try not to use two blonds/blondes in the same story unless I want them to be confused for each other in some way.

 

[LadyVer]

I've always appreciated men with red hair. There's just something about a guy with red hair.

 

[AMoveableBeast]

I've always appreciated men with red hair. There's just something about a guy with red hair.

I find there to be something of split when it comes to red hair (C'mon, that was funny! Right? Treat me gingerly, you guys. My ego is fragile.) Many women seem to love the look, while others despise it with a disgust typically reserved for Adam Sandler movies and that weird burning smell that lingers in the bathroom after a woman accidentally singes her hair with the curling iron.

Me, I like the day-walkers.

 

[3113]

Pretty much what SR7 said. Hair color, skin color, eye color, height, weight, age, etc. all help in distinguishing characters from each other, especially useful in sex scenes with more than one lady/gent (if you have three women going at it with each other, which "she" is doing what? Hair color helps keep things straight).

That said, that certainly isn't the only reason behind my decisions when it comes to hair color, shape, texture, etc. I think when it comes down to it, I use a combination of (1) what color works for the person's genetic background, (2) what works well for make descriptions more interesting and evocative (hair red as autumn leaves...), as well as to create contrast between characters (the girl with long black hair to contrast the guy with short blond hair, as an obvious example) and (3) given that a lot of hair color is artificial in this day and age....what works to tell us something about the character. How a person dyes or tints their hair, as well as how they wear it says a lot about them.

 

[slyc_willie]

Anything that is uncommon or rare has a tendency to be viewed as exotic. The majority of humans are dark-haired, so real blondes and redheads are different from the norm and are therefore exotic. So that's one aspect of it.

Another is the implied personality assigned to various hair colors. "Blondes have more fun," as the saying goes, while redheads are considered fiery, passionate, hot-tempered, etc. From personal experience, I can say that the stereotypes are by no means universal. I've dated blondes who were as much fun as watching a PBS documentary on penguins, and a redhead who was as demure and docile as could be. But, of course, the stereotypes remain, and as SR and 3 said, a person's hair color can inspire assumptions about their personality.

There's also the contrast effect, which I find the most appealing, especially between a person's hair color and the hue of their skin. Jet black hair on a pale-skinned body. Bright blonde hair over a dark, rich tan. I find such contrasts highly erotic. And then there's the starkness of a naked natural redhead with a thick nest of fire-colored hair between her thighs. Makes me shiver every time (in a good way).

 

[StrangeLife]

I make a little fun of redheads - in real life and in my stories - because my first wife was one and matched every stereotype associated with that color. But I honestly have no preferences as far as hair color is concerned. My present partner is a very dark brunette, but she could have been any color - even another redhead.

Regardless of the color, I do prefer women with long hair though. It seems to be comon for women to cut their hair "short, practical and age-appropriate" when they get older, which to me is the female equivalent of the male beer-belly. So my characters usually have long hair.

 

[Acktion]

Yeah, I did sort of ... ooh, shiney!

In all seriousness though, I think for me there is a certain amount of personality ascribed to a hair color that may or may not actually exist during those first moments when I first see someone before we even speak much less actually have a chance to get to know their personality.

Probably a larger portion of my preconceptions than I fully realize has been colored not by Lady Clairol but by the previous generations of writers. However, I think, too, that I tend to shoebox personalities unknown to me on the basis of hair color, amongst other things, based on my experiences with someone possessing similar attributes from a younger, more impressionable, time in my life.

I was evidently pretty precocious and don't really remember my first six "girlfriends" as Mom called them or the other members of our tricycle street gang as Dad called them. The first one I really recall (I think I was five) was a redhead and proved out the majority of the stereotypes.

But, yes, more as far as personality than general attractiveness, I do tend to initially classify (and thus write) characters as having a specific hair color as a first sign.

Which is not to say that I haven't met some blondes who are geniuses. (Okay, so she was a little... er... socially awkward. But, she was smart.)

And I do remember one brunette (hair the color of a raven's wing) that had she been blonde would have borne out all of the worst of the Ditzy Blonde stereotypes.
("Kelly, do you know why they wanted you to bounce on your toes?" "They said it was to see how strong my calves were." <watches rather obvious attributes bounce inversely> "Never mind, Kelly. Carry on.")

However, I don't think I constrain it to the feminine gender only. For guys, I tend to think of blondes ... well, I guess "surfer dudes" is probably closest. Jet black hair tends to be more "smooth operator". "Brown" is probably either intellectual or socially inept or just average. And "Red", well "chip on the shoulder", I suppose.

Fortunately, my own turned grey ("distinguished") and then started turning loose which may be cool when you're young enough that when you shave it, the skin is smooth but not so much when it's a crinkled chrome dome.

 

[AMoveableBeast]

I've dated blondes who were as much fun as watching a PBS documentary on penguins...

There's also the contrast effect, which I find the most appealing, especially between a person's hair color and the hue of their skin. Jet black hair on a pale-skinned body. Bright blonde hair over a dark, rich tan. I find such contrasts highly erotic. And then there's the starkness of a naked natural redhead with a thick nest of fire-colored hair between her thighs. Makes me shiver every time (in a good way).

First off, that documentary sounds awesome to me. Shut up. Penguins rule, alright? They rule. Can you escape a leopard seal and survive the most inhospitable environment in the world, all whilst looking like a dapper, Danny Devito? I thought not! And with that, I bid you a good day, sir!

Wait. Almost forgot. Contrast is very important, and sexy. I will now think of you like a sexual Mark Rothko. And am now going to go browse your stories for the push-pull effect.

...

I said good day!

 

[slyc_willie]

And you wonder why your threads go off track.

 

[AMoveableBeast]

And you wonder why your threads go off track.

I said I was an offender, didn't I?

 

[Acktion]

On penguins documentaries, I wouldn't know.

We'd been anticipating for a month. Then when "the night" rolled around, I popped the popcorn and brought it to the bedroom where she was propped up still recovering from her hysterectomy. I, very gingerly, sat beside her, careful not to jostle her too much and turned on the television.

We made it to where Morgan Freeman said "Some of them won't make it."

At which point she burst into tears and made me change it.

 

[AMoveableBeast]

Excellent post, Acktion. Funny, isn't it, how we tend to dole out classifications based on such common traits, as if there are only five or six different types of people? I guess it makes it easier for us. Less to think about. Her comes that bitchy redhead. The other one is not bitchy, however. She is the exception; the other is the rule. There are only two kinds of people, the person whom we barely know who is what we expect, and the few we are intimately familiar with, who is not.

The truth is, if you live by stereotypes, you'll be right about most things a great deal of the time, and wrong about some of them all of the time.

 

[soflabbwlvr]

I do not associate personality type with hair color in real life or in my writing. I have never recognized any such correlation as more than a useless stereotype unworthy of repetition. This view is buttressed by the fact that I see women change their hair color all the time without any discernible change in their behavior.

The hair color choices I make in my writing are based more on nationality, genetics, and personal preference than any attempt to shoehorn a personality trait into the physical description. Latin women are mostly some shade of dark brown or black (but not exclusively), African-American women always have black hair, and non-hispanic caucasian women get whatever comes up next on the color wheel. Men are the same, with the addition of bald as an option. I'll sometimes reference the fact that the woman has dyed her hair, since to me the election to change the color of one's hair does say something about that person's choices.

 

[Gunnlaug]

And what, if any, is the significance of male hair color? Surely females aren't exclusively defined by such a feature. Men must share some typing as well, right? Right?

Tall, dark and handsome... speaking as a blond man (but rapidly thinning) I can honestly say that I've hated that stereotype ever since I can remember! Still, at least I've got the tall bit down pat. One out of three ain't bad, is it?

 

[VenusButterflies]

I never actually think about it before I write it most of the time -- for the minor characters, at least, and some of the main characters. I see the character in my head first, then describe. I don't think about what components are coming together to make a certain character have, say, straight light brown hair instead of short black hair. I'm sure somewhere, subconsciously, I'm associating those characters with either people I know, have met, or just seen.

When I associate a character with myself, which is often, I'll give her my hair or some variation of it (usually dark red is the variation; I used to dye it that color). I love my hair.

 

[steve44uk]

I find there to be something of split when it comes to red hair (C'mon, that was funny! Right? Treat me gingerly, you guys. My ego is fragile.) Many women seem to love the look, while others despise it with a disgust typically reserved for Adam Sandler movies and that weird burning smell that lingers in the bathroom after a woman accidentally singes her hair with the curling iron.

Me, I like the day-walkers.

I have a bit of a "thing" for redheads. Just don't ask what thing...

it almost certainly harks back to my first serious girlfriend. The strawberry blonde who stole my virginity in the backstage area of the school hall (although, to be honest, it was hardly TWOCing...). First impressions last...

 

[Acktion]

Excellent post, Acktion. Funny, isn't it, how we tend to dole out classifications based on such common traits, as if there are only five or six different types of people? I guess it makes it easier for us. Less to think about. Her comes that bitchy redhead. The other one is not bitchy, however. She is the exception; the other is the rule. There are only two kinds of people, the person whom we barely know who is what we expect, and the few we are intimately familiar with, who is not.

The truth is, if you live by stereotypes, you'll be right about most things a great deal of the time, and wrong about some of them all of the time.

You should have heard my debate with a female colleague about the proportionality of grade point averages with bra cup size.

Hey, it was 3:30 in the morning on an overnight shift and all sorts of weird things make sense then no matter the inebriation level.

 

[Aynmair]

You should have heard my debate with a female colleague about the proportionality of grade point averages with bra cup size.

Hey, it was 3:30 in the morning on an overnight shift and all sorts of weird things make sense then no matter the inebriation level.

Standard deviation on that? P-value at the 95% confidence interval of about 0.5? Larger?

 

[Acktion]

Standard deviation on that? P-value at the 95% confidence interval of about 0.5? Larger?

*blink* You know, that's almost EXACTLY what she said!

(she was a blonde and A-Cup btw.)

 

[lovecraft68]

I've noticed hair color never means anything in men.

For women, Red heads are hot and fiery, Blonde's are ditzy and slutty, brunette's are portrayed as more serious characters.

But for guys? No meaning whatsoever, Joe has.....brown hair, why? Becaus ewe need to say what color his hair is.

 

[steve44uk]

I've noticed hair color never means anything in men.

For women, Red heads are hot and fiery, Blonde's are ditzy and slutty, brunette's are portrayed as more serious characters.

But for guys? No meaning whatsoever, Joe has.....brown hair, why? Becaus ewe need to say what color his hair is.

Not strictly true. Red hair (detecting the theme yet...?) is often used to denote a man's (or woman's) ethnicity - "her startling red locks betrayed her Celtic ancestry..."

But you're right, it seems to be less of a defining characteristic for male subjects.