Dyeing to be blonde: Blazer girls go for the gold

Smiling broadly, the tanned senior flips her golden tresses. "People always compliment me on the color," she says. Her blonde hair glistens in the sun. But this Blazer's no Barbie or California girl—she hails from Vietnam.

Tina Le is Asian and blonde. While those two characteristics once seemed contradictory, the combination is becoming more and more common.

From Marilyn Monroe to Britney Spears, the blonde bombshell has been central to American pop culture. According to the National Post Online, of the 40 percent of American women who are blonde, five-sixths are dyed blondes. Until recently, the blonde craze has generally remained within the Caucasian demographic. Now, however, ethnic women have been reaching for bottles of peroxide in increasing numbers.

Asian fusion

Le, whose originally black hair has been dyed a sunny blonde for the past four years, says she has never received negative feedback from fellow Vietnamese concerning her inclination toward lighter locks, even when she travels to Vietnam. Le insists that her decision to go blonde had nothing to do with the white preference for the color. "I think everybody has a different way of expressing themselves, and whatever you like is cool," she says. "I feel my hair is a way to express my independence."

Dyeing hair has been gaining popularity fast in the Asian world. According to an article in the Korea Times, 80 percent of Koreans in their twenties have dyed their hair lighter, and finding a traditional black-haired head on the street is no easy feat.

Filipina junior Pamela Jabonete, whose naturally black hair has sported both blonde and brown highlights, says Asians dye their hair not to emulate the western world but rather to create their own style. "It's basically a style and fashion statement," she says. "If anything, dyeing your hair makes you more Asian."

Black matters

The Asian sphere is not the only culture to be affected by the desire to go blonde. Lightened locks have become increasingly common among African American women, as evidenced by black celebrities such as Beyonce Knowles, Lil' Kim and Serena Williams, all of whom dye their hair.

Despite this prevalence, lighter hair seems to have more complex social implications in black society. Straight hair and European hairstyles are considered more feminine in the black community, according to a study by St. Lawrence University, and this notion has sent a message about one's standing in the social hierarchy. According to the study, "good hair" has long been associated with the light-skinned middle class and "bad hair" with darker-skinned African Americans who are less wealthy.

Senior Fendy Mesy, who is black and works in Bubbles hair salon in Bethesda, feels that black women should not try to attain something unnatural. "Not everyone can look like Barbie," she says. "On Beyonce, blonde hair doesn't look that bad because of her complexion, but it would look really bad on someone with really dark skin."

However, not all African Americans believe they should limit their haircolor options. A columnist on Nubia, a website dedicated to promoting discussions "concerning life as an African American," recently vented about people's negative reaction to her dyed blonde hair. "Funny, white women can do whatever they please to their hair; they can dye it, bleach it, wear it straight, get a perm and wear it curly . . . but being that we are descendents of Africans, we must wear our hair natural. Does that mean that I should wear a bone in my nose, or perhaps get a lip plate, or maybe I should have my ear lobes stretched down to my chin?" she asks.

Junior Maryam Benganga has a more relaxed attitude about the issue. Benganga has sported blonde hair for the past two summers, and, she says, the change rejuvenated her. "I had had knee surgery, and I was depressed; I needed to dye my hair blonde!"

Benganga says she immediately noticed the benefits of being blonde. "I picked up so many more guys as a blonde," she says. "I think blondes do have more fun."

Benganga dismisses ideas like Mesy's, claiming lightening hair has nothing to do with denying one's roots. "That's stupid, man," she says. "Just do what you want and have fun."