Althouse: "Going blonde is an old trick, but it’s a good trick. According to my own calculations, it can add as much as a half-point to our scores..."

January 14, 2016

"Going blonde is an old trick, but it’s a good trick. According to my own calculations, it can add as much as a half-point to our scores..."

"Going from a 6 to a 6.5... represents an 8.3 percent increase in attractiveness, while going from a 6.5 to a 7 makes for a still-desirable 7.7 percent leap. Even if one had to spend a corresponding percentage of one’s disposable income, it might make sense. (Of course, results may vary; my own advance up the scale has been less dramatic. The last time I got catcalled, the guy yelled, 'Girl, you look just like a second-grade teacher!' Disconcerting largely because it's true.)"

From "I Spent $11,537 Becoming a Blonde" by Catherine Baab-Muguira in New York Magazine.

24 comments:

Limited blogger said...: Wait. What? Is 'keeping score' still allowed?; 1/14/16, 10:52 AM
Paddy O said...: Of course she regrets nothing. That's a floodgate once opened. So people have to stay in a circular cycle of mutually endorsed self-justification to keep the void at bay.

It's curious they don't show any pictures, though.; 1/14/16, 10:59 AM
Tari said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 1/14/16, 11:01 AM
cubanbob said...: Judging from her images she is an attractive woman, she didn't need to waste the money. But to each his own.; 1/14/16, 11:06 AM
John Althouse Cohen said...: That's about $160 a month. Assuming she makes a good salary and lives in New York City, is that really so shocking?; 1/14/16, 11:17 AM
rehajm said...: Better bang for the buck is a change in geography. A 6 in LA or Miami is a 9.5 in Wichita. But plan to travel far if you're a 6 in Wichita.; 1/14/16, 11:18 AM
Bushman of the Kohlrabi said...: On the bright side, she isn't asking society to pay her 11K in reparations.; 1/14/16, 11:25 AM
walter said...: What say Sandra Fluke?
Surely there's an injustice to be remedied.
I spent 5 minutes reading why we need a woman president...it's an EMERGENCY!; 1/14/16, 11:30 AM
walter said...: “EMERGENCY. I’m getting something really stupid done to my hair.”
My friend Nicole left work and rushed to join me.
--
Her friend who has "healthy self-respect". Uh huh...; 1/14/16, 11:35 AM
traditionalguy said...: Blondes have more fun according to a really smart brunette named M. Monroe, who captured many a man's heart using that combination.; 1/14/16, 11:42 AM
Unknown said...: I guess that beats having it turn grey and then disappear altogether; 1/14/16, 11:49 AM
Jaq said...: "People always want to see the blond turn around." I think Aristotle said that.; 1/14/16, 11:50 AM
Tank said...: The whole thing seems racist. Light better than dark? Blond better than black?

Can you say this stuff in the NY'er?; 1/14/16, 11:52 AM
Sam L. said...: $11.5K? So you DON't have to be a blonde to be dumb.; 1/14/16, 12:14 PM
Ignorance is Bliss said...: My friend Nicole left work and rushed to join me.

I can't wait to read the article about equal pay for equal work and how her friend Nicole got passed over for a promotion because she is a woman.; 1/14/16, 12:44 PM
Laura said...: Save the money, back the husband up against the kitchen counter, and get some good vibes for free. Sheesh.; 1/14/16, 1:39 PM
buwaya said...: Joke heard from a Cuban - re Havana in the good old days -

Tourist - Wow! So many beautiful blondes here! What province of Spain did they come from that's got so many blondes? Galicia ?
Cuban - I think they're from the province of Clairol.

I guess its funnier in the original Spanish.; 1/14/16, 2:01 PM
Char Char Binks, Esq. said...: It's a trick that doesn't work on me. Natural is better.; 1/14/16, 3:15 PM
Anonymous said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 1/14/16, 3:20 PM
n.n said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 1/14/16, 3:30 PM
n.n said...: Whether blonde, brunette, or redhead, the appeal is individual. A woman should strive to improve her natural aesthetics. That's actually good advice for men too.; 1/14/16, 3:31 PM
Unknown said...: When one is going grey, as I am, I have choices: going grey in my 30's, which is fine, but everyone starts assuming your in your 40's; I can color at home - which by experience has led to horrid results; go to the salon and get a root touch up once a month depending on your grey; get highlights which allows the grey to blend in.

Personally, I'd prefer to be a red-head and skip the blonde highlights, but hubby and I have an agreement: he doesn't shave his mustache off and I get the highlights. Marriage is a give and take and mutual agreements.; 1/14/16, 3:51 PM
Jaq said...: I think grey on a woman in her forties and early fifties is sexy, most of the time I have seen in anyway. It denotes confidence, like getting a boob job denotes insecurity.; 1/14/16, 5:16 PM
Rick said...: "Going blonde is an old trick, but it’s a good trick. According to my own calculations, it can add as much as a half-point to our scores..."

If true this suggests people are not perceptive. In fact the percentage of attractive blondes is significantly less than brunettes. This is primarily because 80% of marginally or unattractive non-blondes convert to blond while a much lower percentage of attractive non-blondes convert. The result is a much less diluted pool of attractive brunettes.; 1/14/16, 6:06 PM