Anecdata time:
About 20 years ago, corporate America started experimenting with video-conferencing to cut down on its huge bills for travel. Face to face contact builds more camaraderie than phone contact, so why not have workers in remote offices communicate face to face via telescreen?
The problem was that, 20 years ago, the people we were used to seeing on television were people who had been hired because they would look good on TV, and then they were costumed, made up, lit, and rehearsed to look even better on TV. Nature and nurture conspiring together, as usual.
In comparison, my fellow marketing researchers on early video-conferences tended to look pretty ghastly. My reaction: My coworkers on this project look like a gang of zombies? We're doomed. (Politely, their opinions of how I looked on video-conferencing screens were never articulated in so many words.)
In comparison, my fellow marketing researchers on early video-conferences tended to look pretty ghastly. My reaction: My coworkers on this project look like a gang of zombies? We're doomed. (Politely, their opinions of how I looked on video-conferencing screens were never articulated in so many words.)
Similarly, women athletes on TV aren't typically as good looking as the high-heel-wearing spokesmodels on TV. But that doesn't mean they aren't good looking on average. To understand this, it helps to see them in person in civilian clothes.
For example, the last Saturday night of the 1984 L.A. Olympics, I was in a frozen yogurt shop in Westwood Village, next to the athlete's dorms, and in walked three couples from the Swedish Olympic team out on a date.
The three girls were probably swimmers, high jumpers, something like that: tall and blonde. Plus, for a night on the town, they were wearing high heels (all about 6'1" in heels), make-up, had their hair done, and had on stylish clothes chosen to flatter their best features (e.g., legs) and understate their features that might be a little too much (no need for those 1980s-style shoulder pads on those young ladies).
There were always a lot of beautiful young women in Westwood in the early 1980s, and while these three athletes might not have been above the 90th percentile in exquisiteness of features, they radiated so much sheer health that they were stunning.
On the other hand, these three were not recognizable stars, nobody was mobbing them for autographs, they were also-rans who didn't give the impression that they Would Do Whatever It Takes for Gold, which often leads to some scary looks. So, that's probably the sweet spot -- Olympic qualifier but non-contender.
On the other hand, these three were not recognizable stars, nobody was mobbing them for autographs, they were also-rans who didn't give the impression that they Would Do Whatever It Takes for Gold, which often leads to some scary looks. So, that's probably the sweet spot -- Olympic qualifier but non-contender.
Best looking Olympic women athletes: tie between the Australian women's hockey team (the Hockeyroos) and the Netherlands women's hockey team. Very cute, shapely blondes. It doesn't hurt that their sports uniforms are very tight close fitting sleeveless shirts and tightly bound mini-skirts.
ReplyDeleteOlympic women's handball, dominated by northern European countries, have lots of good looking blondes too, but their uniforms, like football uniforms, are rather loose, oversized shirts and shorts that don't tightly fit and emphasize and show of their physique like the women's hockey uniforms do.
Hope Solo and Heather Mitts on the USA women's football team are fairly easy on the eyes, too.
Sports like football, handball, and hockey select for women with average height and weight and normal, healthy proportions, whereas sports like volleyball, beach volleyball and basketball tend to select for taller, more freakish women - even if good looking they still come off as a bit odd and less than ideal female body types.
Of course nothing beats the freakishness of the women shot putters, women discus throwers and women hammer throwers. Woof!
So we've internalized Hollywood's beauty standards, where Mila Kunis is the "plain-looking friend"?
ReplyDelete--Discordiax
I am Lugash.
ReplyDeletethey radiated so much sheer health that they were stunning.
The health factor sums it up. With the percentage of overweight/obese/morbidly obese people soaring, anyone who has a normal BF percentage looks good.
Going to extreme lows in BF such as distance runners, usually doesn't look good.
Hair and skin tone are important. Indoor athletes usually have better hair and skin, outdoor ones are sun damaged or have bird's nest. Indoor versus beach volleyball is the most extreme example.
Swimmers have to cover their hair, so that signal is diminished.
Gymnasts don't look healthy to me. They've got thin hair, too little bodyfat and odd proportions.
Swimmers have odd proportions with their larger shoulders as well, which is why they aren't as attractive as say indoor volleyball players, even though they're both 'strapping'.
I am Lugash.
Why are Americans obsessed with blondes?
ReplyDeleteNatural blondes often have skins and facial features that are harsh. Are Americans masochists at heart? Do they want to be hen-pecked?
"Why are Americans obsessed with blondes?"
ReplyDeleteYou mean, why is the entire planet obsessed with blondes?
On the other hand, these three were not recognizable stars, nobody was mobbing them for autographs, they were also-rans who didn't give the impression that they Would Do Whatever It Takes for Gold...
ReplyDeleteHeh. Anna Kournikova comes to mind. She had all those endorsements without ever winning a big tournament.
"Why is the entire planet obsessed with blondes?"
ReplyDeleteThey are shinier.
Literally. Women who want to catch the eye tend to dye their hair blonde for the same reason that they choose gold, silver, and diamond jewelry rather than rubies, emeralds, or amethysts.
they are definitely above average in looks in general. there's no doubt about that. probably similar to how african NFL players are not only awesome athletes, but above average in intelligence for their group too.
ReplyDeletethey are not models, but the typical woman in most olympic sports is at least 1 point more attractive on a 10 point scale than the average woman of her race. in track & field they seem to be 2 points better looking and in tennis 3 points.
they're getting better looking too. they're better looking than they were 30 years ago. even some of the african women in track look good now.
worst looking by far are the strength sports athletes. the women throwers and olympic lifters are hideous beasts. just wretched. 3 points worse looking on average.
african women basketball players in the US are staggeringly ugly on average, but the US olympic team mostly has decent looking african women. that's one of the biggest intragroup gaps. the looks differential between african women in track and african women in basketball.
biggest differential then naturally would be between european tennis players and european throwers and weight lifters. you have sharapova up there at a 10, then the women's shotput winner nadzeya astapchuk who's down there at a 2 at best.
plenty of good looking asian women from japan and south korea as usual, with the chinese women being dogs mostly.
Lots of black lady runners marry black male track or field athletes. Never heard of that with basketball players, and is very rare among white golfers. Gardener and Judy Dickinson the only PGA-LPGA couple I can think of off the top of my head.
ReplyDeleteSwedish people are some of the most beautiful people in the world, could be that.
ReplyDeleteYes, I am swedish myself... ;)
A little support for your observation. They're not super hot by media standards, but they'd certainly stand out I'm my circles.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.vancouversun.com/sports/sports/6814079/story.html?tab=PHOT
Dissapointment: Some of the U.S. women swimmers are scary. Allison Schmitt sounds like Barry White. Kate Ledecky (whose 15) also has a voice that's way too deep, and a very pronounced receding hairline. In general, swimming has a few attractive ones like Pelligrini, and Rice, but the majority of them are quite manly.
ReplyDeletePleasant Surprise: Some of the women sprinters were ripped with muscles and not exactly my cup of tea. But in interviews they had normal voices, and actually acted feminine which was a refreshing change.
Also I agree with Sailer's original point. The (now notorious) women that Usain Bolt was spotted with were mediocre athletes in a less competitive sport. They train some, but not freakishly so. They're also (other than being a few inches taller than average) probably quite normal in proportions and not selected for some freak factor like massive quads (bicyclists) or giant feet and shoulders (swimmers).
ReplyDeleteDearieme,
ReplyDeleteThe most deified American blonds are usually natural brunettes (like Marilyn Monroe) who don't have that rather unattractive blond skin. And yes, Americans are more into the bleached blond look than some other countries for the same reason we invented TV dinners and cheese whiz. Americans persistently love articiality.
Still, Arnold Schwartzenegger's look is about as realistic as Marilyn's, so we can't blame the men too much.
Gloria
Bubba Watson, winner of this year's Masters golf tournament, is married to a basketball player he met in college.
ReplyDeleteI just checked her height on Wiki: she's 6'4" and her height is the result of a pituitary disorder.
I first saw the two of them interviewed on David Feherty's show on the Golf Channel. Nice couple.
Ивет Лалова, "World's Fastest White Woman", classy girl with a well developed form!
ReplyDeleteIn my youth I went with a Jewish guy who was obsessed with soft skin, which he said I had. I have reddish brown hair. He disliked brunette mediterranean types because he said they had rough skin. Actually, looking at them, and their tendency to get dark moles, I'd say that's true, but it tends to take the sun better naturally. This guy was, indeed, into blondes in a big way. I'd never thought about "soft" vs. "rough" skin in relation to hair. I doubt very much blonde skin is any "rougher" than any other hair color, if the brunettes you are thinking of are European, or perhaps middle eastern. I also am not getting the "coarse" features. There's no features "coarser" than certain med types.
ReplyDeleteIn fact, I'd say the "coarse" types and the fine featured types appear about equally in northern and southern European, among both blonds and brunettes. The blond may stand out more in ugliness as well as beauty. For my part, I refused to dye my hair blond, which the Jewish guy wanted me to do. I don't identify with blond at all, but the idea of their skin being coarser is very strange. It isn't.
Kind of like the discussion about negroid hair. It is not hard. It's actually rather soft and spongy. Sammy Davis' daughter (mother was Swedish and the daughter's hair was straight) was surprised at the feel of her black friend's hair. She claimed she'd never felt black hair before. A little hard to believe, but it's in her autobiography.
Anyway, back to skin. It is highly dubious that blondes have rougher skin. I've read quite a bit on the subject of race and ethnic characteristics, and the only person with any genetics background (I'll take his word for it) to claim that blonds are "coarse" (almost a oxymoron to some) is Dienekes, a Greek-o-phile who seems to think Greeks really look like all those statues, and all have black hair, brown eyes and olive skin. He's a scream. There is little difference between the Europeans of southern and northern clime. The medi-cists and the nordi-cists make a hilarous fantasy out of that Continents white diversity.
"I was in a frozen yogurt shop in Westwood Village"
ReplyDeleteHot spot?
Hot spot?
ReplyDeleteIn 1984.
Another vote for field hockey players here. I grew up in Pennsylvania and field hockey is by the far most popular in my home state. Most of the women's national team is from PA. Love those toned legs in skirts.
ReplyDeleteMany soccer and tennis players are also well above average in looks. Basically, the only unattractive ones are the obvious lesbians.
Female olympic high jumpers are frequently well above average in looks.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteWhat do you guys think of Jessica Ennis? I say she's the cutest little heptathelete I've ever seen, six-pack abs and all.
ReplyDeleteOf course, once you hear her speak, it's all over, but nobody's perfect.
To clarify, I don't think that natural blondes' skin is rougher to the touch. My sister is a natural blond (very pretty) and her skin is milky white, and tends to freckle and redden unevenly in the sun. I am brunette, and have a light olive complexion that tans evenly and well. However, both of our skin is equally soft to the touch. Although some white women's hair lightens in the sun, the California ideal of a natural blond who gets a perfectly even tan is rarely realistic.
ReplyDeleteI don't think natural blonds are inherently more or less "coarse" than brunettes in terms of features, complexions. But, sometimes as early as their mid-20s if they are big into sun, booze, and cigarettes, their skin can start to look "rough". Milk maiden complexions can be stunning but they are often very fragile. For a prime example see Lindsay Lohan.
Gloria
"In 1984."
ReplyDeleteI couldn't resist.
Just taking a break between chapters?- was it Megatrends or In Search of Excellence?
It depends on the sport and the weight class.
ReplyDeleteWomen in lower weight class of Judo can be cute. But the big mamas be fat and ugly.
And weightlifting are not very feminine and at the upper weight class, they are downright gross.
And women who do stuff like hammer throw be so fat.
So, who be the purtiest Olympians this time around?
ReplyDeleteIIRC, there is at least one WNBA and NBA couple, there is also IIRC a fairly attractive ex WNBA player (White) who worked for a while as a sportscaster who is married to some athlete.
ReplyDeleteThe Greek runner is beautiful but she got booted by anti-racist aholes.
ReplyDeleteThe Australian 100 hurdler is okay but the ho has a tongue ring. Ewwww.
ReplyDeletePS. I think she won cuz she lost some weight. Last time, she was a bit chunky and got the silver.
Don't ignore the Lolo Controversy. Paper bag test failures with medals, bash tragic mulatto. Oh the humanity!
ReplyDeleteShe is hot...and a virgin. Her Muslim fans say, "she's to die for."
http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/05082012/5/photo/05082012183712.html
ReplyDeleteShe looks she might actually eat the thing.
So, that's probably the sweet spot -- Olympic qualifier but non-contender.
ReplyDeleteTotally. Seattle hosted the Goodwill Games back in 1990, and my dad got me some tickets to some events.
My buddy and I went to watch the diving competition, and the girls on the French diving team were really, really hot, but they were far from the top contenders.
They were about my age, too -- around 16. My friend and I should have asked them out, but all we did was flirt a bit with them poolside.
Sigh...
http://news.yale.edu/sites/default/files/US-Rowing1.jpg
ReplyDeleteOkay, these girls are pretty.
http://media.sbs.com.au/news/thm/articlemain/2012-07-29T175613Z_1_CBRE86S1DTR00_RTROPTP_2_OLY-ARCH-ARWTEA-MEDALS-DAY2.JPG
ReplyDeleteOne in the middle is kinda pretty. But the other two... are they are like identical twins of different heights? Their faces are almost exactly alike but their heights are wildly off.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/08/02/article-2182410-1455E636000005DC-696_636x383.jpg
ReplyDeleteShe's actually pretty but the stupid ho is also biting on the damn gold.
That seems about right, the conclusion. i used to watch a lot of tennis in the 90's, US Open qualifying as well as some early rounds. The girls in the qualifying (world rankings 300-100) were often babes, the top women players not so much. I figured that if you're a good nationally ranked tennis player and pretty, it's more tempting to marry well than to continue with the grind of the tour in order to make it to the top 40 or whatever. So looks distinguishes those who stop playing in their early twenties from those who don't. The top stars exempted from this analysis.
ReplyDeleteWomen's hockey players seem remarkably good looking on average - I'm biased but look up Harrison from New Zealand. The synchronised swimmers are also great.
ReplyDeletethis<good looking
ReplyDelete"Swedish people are some of the most beautiful people in the world, could be that."
ReplyDeleteMen go for blondes/fair skin, women go for darker hair and skin that's not too light nor too dark.
So, while men find Swedish women very attractive, women find Swedish men on the fem-looking side.
dearime:"Why are Americans obsessed with blondes?
ReplyDeleteNatural blondes often have skins and facial features that are harsh. Are Americans masochists at heart? Do they want to be hen-pecked?"
Perfect content-free post.It allows everyone to revel in his sexual preferences:Blondes are better! No, redheads are the best!Brunettes rule!Dusky-skinned Southern Europeans are tops!Fair-skinned Northern Europeans are the most beautiful!etc, etc, etc...
And, of course, every response is correct.One is never in error about one's desires.
Syon
Anonymous:""Swedish people are some of the most beautiful people in the world, could be that."
ReplyDeleteMen go for blondes/fair skin, women go for darker hair and skin that's not too light nor too dark.
So, while men find Swedish women very attractive, women find Swedish men on the fem-looking side."
...and that explains why women are turned off by blond studs like Brad Pitt,Matthew McConaughey, Chris Hemsworth,Alexander Skarsgard, etc. Poor guys. Their careers just went nowhere; just imagine how successful they would be if they were brunettes!
"Swedish people are some of the most beautiful people in the world, could be that."
ReplyDeleteThey are attractive but bland/blonde. They got no character. Ever see Ingmar Bergman movies? Attractive people but not extraordinary. And Ingrid Bergman was pretty but not beautiful. Okay, Garbo was truly astonishing.
The real beauties are in Central Europe, especially Hungary. They got character.
Is whim trying to be a gentleman or what? Let's have the nasty stuff about the ugly ho's.
ReplyDeleteWhy are athletes above average in looks? To succeed as an athlete in a lot of sports tends to require a father with money. A father with money often acquires a wife of above average attractiveness.
ReplyDeleteWomen are also attracted to good athletes, and usually great athletes are sired by athletic parents. If the father is a good and successful athlete, he will generally be able to get and choose an attractive wife. How many great athletes have average looking wives? Not many. Even studs on a local level tend to sport attractive wives.
Both these factors tend to result in attractiveness and athletic genes being found in the one person.
Purtiest? Try this one: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1274180-darya-klishina-meet-the-russian-long-jumper-whos-turning-heads
ReplyDeleteYowza.
"...and that explains why women are turned off by blond studs like Brad Pitt,Matthew McConaughey, Chris Hemsworth,Alexander Skarsgard, etc. Poor guys. Their careers just went nowhere; just imagine how successful they would be if they were brunette"
ReplyDeleteThere hasn't been a true blonde moviestar since Robert Redford 40 years ago. Casting directors don't cast them as sexual icons like batman or James Bond. Even casting a guy with dirty blonde hair, like Daniel Craig, as Bond, caused and uproar.
Before blacks got the opportunities, Italians and Jews were cast as symbols of virility, that leads me to believe that women, in general, just don't want to see them on the big screen.
Two track and field athletes (though non-Olympian) that went viral with the Millennial generation are:
ReplyDeleteAllison Stokke (pole vault girl):
http://imgur.com/DHr2H
and just recently, Michelle Jenneke:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xm7oX1yCFU0&feature=related
Jenneke performs some very sensual dance moves to excise her pre-race jitters. Highly recommended!
"Why are Americans obsessed with blondes?
ReplyDeleteNatural blondes often have skins and facial features that are harsh. Are Americans masochists at heart? Do they want to be hen-pecked?"
No offense dearieme, but that was a cr@p post. Not up to your usual standards. You must be one of those dark female types one always meets on obscure discussion forums who is constantly tearing down nordic looking females. Oh the cattiness of the dark female jealous of all the attention blondes get from the men.
"Natural blondes often have skins and facial features that are harsh."
This is patent nonsense and 180 degrees opposite the truth. Natural blondes usually have the softest skin and pleasant facial features. That's a generalization of course but I think it tends to be true because blondness and paleness would tend to select for those features - darkness of features tends to cover up flaws whereas paleness reveals them allowing them to be selected against over time. Thus natural blondes would tend to have better skin and facial features.
It's your artificial blondes who most often possess "harsh" features. They are pretending to an ancestry their ancestors didn't possess.
Here's another video of Ivet Lalova, from the back.
ReplyDeleteLogan Tom is attractive, but the accent is confusing.
Willowy blonde Russian Darya Klishina.
Booted Greek jumper Voula Papachristou.
And, finally, a brunette: Sexy Australian Hurdler Michelle Jenneke does a dance.
I think the average attractiveness of women athletes went downhill with Title 9. It created more slots for amazons in sports that are traditionally male. As for the region with the best-looking girls, I have generally considered that the beach communities of Orange County, California.
ReplyDeletethat leads me to believe that women, in general, just don't want to see them on the big screen.
ReplyDeleteI guess that means everybody wants to watch holocaust movies. And that there's no market for explicitly Christian movies since there's only really been one made in recent memory, The Passion, which made hundreds of millions.
How good looking would YOU be if you had your picture taken under fluorescent lights after physically exerting yourself 100% for a few minutes? I also think that there is a cognitive dissonance watching scantily-clad women who are *not* acting sexy, like all the runners in bare-midriffs, etc.
ReplyDeleteFor an example of how well even a tough athlete can clean up (with make-up, hair, lighting, pro-photographer, photoshop, see: http://mmajunkie.com/news/29610/strikeforces-ronda-rousey-nude-on-cover-of-espn-the-mags-body-issue.mma
None of the comments telling us which athletes are attractive should be permitted unless they contain links to pictures - or better, Google images. Why should we have to do all the jerk-work?
ReplyDelete"Why is the entire planet obsessed with blondes?"
Blonde hair also suggests youth. White children are often born blonde/blondish but get darker as they age.
"The Greek runner is beautiful but she got booted by anti-racist aholes."
The aholes weren't "anti-racists" -they were totalitarians.
Steve, could you address that "best looking race of women" question by comparing side-by-side the Olympic teams of the same sport. Like Lithuania vs. Nigeria basketball or Korea vs. Turkey volleyball?
ReplyDeleteFrom Olympic Q&A to Olympic T&A.
ReplyDeleteTruth:"There hasn't been a true blonde moviestar since Robert Redford 40 years ago."
ReplyDeleteGood to know that you are the official arbiter of who counts as a "true blonde moviestar."Of course, that allows you to simply dismiss blond male movie stars as not being "true blonds." Isn't it easy to win an argument when you can arbitrarily define the evidence in your favor?
"Casting directors don't cast them as sexual icons like batman or James Bond."
Batman is a "sexual icon?" Maybe to homosexuals...
"Even casting a guy with dirty blonde hair, like Daniel Craig, as Bond, caused and uproar."
"dirty blonde hair":God, I love it when you get all hair salon! As for the uproar regarding Craig, that had rather more to do with James Bond, like Bruce Wayne, being a brunette character. Craig was cast against type (for a parallel situation, imagine if they had cast Clive Owen as Thor).Still, once the "uproar" died down, audiences certainly seemed to get used to a blond Bond;indeed, I don't recall reading any complaints about Craig not being rugged enough.
Truth:"Before blacks got the opportunities, Italians and Jews were cast as symbols of virility, that leads me to believe that women, in general, just don't want to see them on the big screen."
ReplyDeleteNick Nolte, Leonardo DiCaprio,Daniel Craig, Steve McQueen, Robert Redford, Jimmy Cagney, Chris Hemsworth, Alexander Skarsgard, Jeremy Renner,Matthew McConaughey, Ryan Gosling, etc, etc, etc...Yep, women just can't stand looking at blond men. I suppose that all of these guys are just not "true blonds"....
Supermodels aside, most natural blondes looks like some kind of rodent (squirrels, voles, shrews, rats, pick your favorite). Most of those who don't, look like piggies. I don't mean their bodies, I mean their faces. Think of the original Cabbage Patch dolls.
ReplyDeleteI think very much the same thing goes for feminine beauty among movie performers. We say "movie star" as if it were a synonym for beauty. But female movie stars are hardly the best looking performers on screen.
ReplyDeleteHolly Hunter is a legitimate movie star but is even less attractive than Bette Davis was. It's that acting thingy. Producers just won't risk a hundred million dollars on a girl no matter how pretty if she can't act. The obvious exception is Megan Fox who only appears in films that don't require acting.
Porn stars usually are better looking than movie stars - but not much. Girls in hard core porn often look a little worn. Their faces are not the main attraction.
The real beauties are in soft core porn. The beauties who can't act are still employable. And there isn't that much stigma attached to soft core anymore. It used to be that any kind of skin exposure film repelled women who wanted normal choices after their time in the spotlight. They shunned being labeled a porn star. A soft core star is a seductress. A hard core star is a piece of meat.
Movie stars can be flat chested. Porn stars wear silicone balloons on their chests. Soft core stars look like perfect specimens of the female form.
Actually as I write this I'm watching Shannon Bream substituting for Megyn Kelly interviewing Kirsten Powers. Fox gives you real eye candy with your news coverage. Each is gorgeous. Greta Van Susteren looks like a movie star while these three could be soft core stars.
Albertosaurus
Over 6 feet tall blonde attractive, sounds about like every swede I saw in Stockholm. Except for the brunettes with stunning blue eye, quite a combination. A very good looking people.
ReplyDelete"Nick Nolte, Leonardo DiCaprio,Daniel Craig, Steve McQueen, Robert Redford, Jimmy Cagney, Chris Hemsworth, Alexander Skarsgard, Jeremy Renner,Matthew McConaughey, Ryan Gosling, etc, etc, etc...Yep, women just can't stand looking at blond men. I suppose that all of these guys are just not "true blonds"....
ReplyDeleteName one of these guys who is:
1) really blonde
and
2) a true movie star
and
3) post dates Robert Redford as I said
OK, that about settles it.
"Greta Van Susteren looks like a movie star..."
ReplyDeleteWhat movies are you watching?
The aholes weren't "anti-racists" -they were totalitarians.
ReplyDeleteFor every group that is "anti" something, and bases its whole existence on it, you need to find out the shocking truth - what it is "pro".
Anti-racist = anti-white-racist
= anti-white or pro-black/brown supremacist
Anti-fascist = communist or reverse fascist
Anti-communist = fascist (this is rarer though)
Truth:
ReplyDelete"Name one of these guys who is:
1) really blonde"
What is "really blond?" Compared to, say, Clive Owen, Brad Pitt seems really blond.What is your definition of "really blond?"
"and
2) a true movie star"
What is a "true movie star?" DiCaprio, and Brad Pitt sure look like "true movie stars" to me.
"and
3) post dates Robert Redford as I said"
Well, since Robert Redford is both still alive and still active in cinema (cf THE CONSPIRATOR, LIONS FOR LAMBS, THE COMPANY YOU KEEP, THE LAST CASTLE,etc), does anyone currently "post date" him?
"OK, that about settles it."
Yes, it does: DiCaprio, Nolte, Gosling, Brad Pitt, McQueen, Skarsgard, Hemsworth, Daniel Craig-blond guys seem to do pretty well as Hollywood heartthrobs.
Truth:"1) really blonde"
ReplyDeleteSince we are in the presence of a hair color expert (cf your careful distinction between Daniel Craig's "dirty blond" hair and genuine blondness), how about honoring us with a treatise on what distinguishes light brown hair from "dirty blond" hair, and then what separates the "dirty blond" from that rarest of all hues, the "really blond." As near as I can tell, Robert Redford must be the only "real blond" man on the planet.
Yeah, Sicilian DiCaprio, Jewish Gosling and McQueen, and Daniel Craig are "blonde". I guess I need to hyperlink a picture here.
ReplyDeleteThen of course 71 year old Nick Nolte "postdates" Robert De Niro, and then You mention a nobody who played a BLONDE superhero, and some other nobody who plays a vampire on cable TV as "true movie stars."
I know, you scored 1500+ on your SAT though.
Truth:"Yeah, Sicilian DiCaprio,"
ReplyDeleteMight need to do a little googling, there, dear boy.Here is the relevant WIKIPEDIA info:"DiCaprio, an only child, was born in Los Angeles, California. His mother, Irmelin (née Indenbirken), is a former legal secretary; born in Germany; she came to the US as a child with her parents. His father, George DiCaprio, is an underground comic artist and producer/distributor of comic books.[4] DiCaprio's mother moved from Oer-Erkenschwick in the Ruhr, Germany, to the U.S. during the 1950s with her parents. A fourth-generation American, DiCaprio's father is of half Italian (from the Naples area) and half German descent (from Bavaria).[1][5][6] DiCaprio's maternal grandmother, Helene Indenbirken (1915–2008),[7] was born Yelena Smirnova in Russia.[8] In a 2010 conversation with the Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, DiCaprio said that two of his grandparents were Russian.[9]"
"Jewish Gosling and McQueen,"
you must read STORMFRONT, dear boy. Neither Gosling nor McQueen is Jewish.For Gosling, Via WIKIPEDIA:" His parents were Mormons,[7] and Gosling has said that the religion influenced every aspect of their lives."
As for McQueen, his WIKIPEDIA page lists him as being raised Roman Catholic.
"and Daniel Craig are "blonde"."
Well, Craig is blond enough that angry Bond fans dubbed him the "blond Bond" and "James Blond." Guess they lack your hair color acumen.
DiCaprio is 3/4ths German. His mother is German and his dad is half-German half-Italian.
ReplyDeleteGosling isn't Jewish. He's descended from Mormons.
"Since we are in the presence..."
ReplyDeleteWell I'll help you; Fabio is blonde. This Guy isn't.
Neither is Steve McQueen, or DeCaprio, Nick Nolte and Daniel Craig are "kind of, sort of blonde" but in Norway, they'd be considered "dark haired."
Now to the movie star question:
Skargard and Hemsworth are blonde, they are Nordic. They are not movie stars, Will Smith is a movie star. Dolph Lundgen was also blonde, but he is not a movie star either, Robert De Niro is a movie star. I'm sorry bro (or bra, I'm not sure) but as I've said numerous times here, I don't make the rules, I only opine on them. I hope this helps.
Truth:"Then of course 71 year old Nick Nolte "postdates" Robert De Niro,"
ReplyDeleteActually, dear boy, both De Niro and Nolte emerged as stars at about the same time in the 1970s, Nolte achieving his big breakthrough with the 1976 miniseries RICH MAN, POOR MAN. Indeed, one could make a strong case for Nolte "postdating" De Niro, as De Niro first gained widespread attention with BANG THE DRUM SLOWLY and MEAN STREETS ( both 1973).Try checking old gossip mags from the 70s. Nolte was definitely seen as being hunkier than scrawny De Niro.
"and then You mention a nobody who played a BLONDE superhero,"
MMM. Guess you don't hang out with enough teenage girls.Hemsworth is most definitely not a "nobody" with that demographic.
"and some other nobody who plays a vampire on cable TV as "true movie stars.""
Man, you need to actually talk to some women. Skarsgard has the girls on campus in a trance. You should have heard their ecstatic moans whenever he wears a very particular blue sweater.
Truth:"Well I'll help you; Fabio is blonde. This Guy isn't."
ReplyDeleteMMM. Guess you need to take a gander at blond Brad Pitt as Achilles in TROY, as the seducer in THELMA AND LOUISE, as the romantic lead in LEGENDS OF THE FALL, etc.
Truth:"Neither is Steve McQueen,"
Man, guess blonds need to hit the platinum level for your expert eye, eh!Guess that SCREEN JUNKIES was wrong when they listed him as one of the 10 Best Blonde Male actors.
"or DeCaprio,": Guess those hits I get when I type "DiCaprio blonde" are the product of mass delusion.
"Nick Nolte and Daniel Craig are "kind of, sort of blonde" but in Norway, they'd be considered "dark haired.""
Craig and Nolte are "dark haired" in Norway?Think that you need to travel some in the Scando countries, dear boy. They're definitely not regarded as dark-haired in Norway (assuming, of course, that we are talking about the real country and not a STORMFRONT fantasy).
"Skargard and Hemsworth are blonde,":
Wait, Hemsworth is blond but Pitt and McQueen are not?Man, you need to get a job working for CLAIROL.
"they are Nordic":
It's so cute when you start dishing out the STORMFRONT Nazi rhetoric.By the by, you might want to read some actual biology books some time. Blondness is not exclusive to "Nordic" populations. Take a look at blondness amongst Australian Aborigines, for example.
Truth:"Yeah, Sicilian DiCaprio, Jewish Gosling and McQueen,"
ReplyDeleteSay, Truth, how about some details on how Gosling and McQueen are Jewish and DiCaprio is Sicilian?I'm eager to find out where you found those two gems. Was it out of your own ass or on STORMFRONT?
Truth: FEAR OF A BLOND PLANET.
ReplyDelete" Anonymous said...
ReplyDeleteSupermodels aside, most natural blondes looks like some kind of rodent (squirrels, voles, shrews, rats, pick your favorite). Most of those who don't, look like piggies. I don't mean their bodies, I mean their faces. Think of the original Cabbage Patch dolls
"
I might die laughing.
No, Dienekes (whoever that is), they don't. They look like their brown haired siblings, as you might expect. Eyebrows might need some darkening, but otherwise, not much difference.
Please, I think you need to spend some time in Holland or Denmark. In spite of the 3rd worlders you might encounter there, there are sill plenty of blonds and very few strike me as "piggy." In fact, one of the attributes of northern Europeans I didn't expect was the strikingly sculpted look to their faces. Features were, if anything, more often too sharp than blunt.
A piggy look is getting scary common in THIS country however, with the epidemic of obesity. It's sad how it obscures the features and bone structure.
What is your hair color, btw?
Truth:
ReplyDeleteSince you are big exponent of "Italian virility," how about this info on Robert De Niro:
"Robert De Niro was born in Greenwich Village,[2] New York City, New York, the son of Virginia Holton Admiral, a painter and poet, and Robert De Niro, Sr., an abstract expressionist painter and sculptor.[3] His father was of Italian and Irish descent, and his mother was of English, German, French, and Dutch ancestry." (WIKIPEDIA)
Funny, guess that means that De Niro isn't very Italian in terms of ancestry.
in my experience (and that of my male friends'), blondes do have more peach fuzz on their cheeks. it didn't detract much from their overall looks, but it did lend a rougher quality to their skin. anyhow, from a distance, blondes really are more striking than brunettes. up close, it's more of a wash. soft skin like you feel in southern euro girls gives an underrated boost to a woman's tactile attractiveness.
ReplyDelete"you must read STORMFRONT, dear boy. Neither Gosling nor McQueen is Jewish."
ReplyDeleteNeo-Nazis should like Gosling. He sounds like Quisling.
Truth;"Well I'll help you; Fabio is blonde. This Guy isn't"
ReplyDeleteWait, I though that your whole point was that women don't like blond men? How does blond Fabio (defined as blond by your very own words)get to be the number one male model for romance novel covers in the 80s and 90s?Guess that women were just ignoring the guy on the cover.
"you must read STORMFRONT, dear boy. Neither Gosling nor McQueen is Jewish."
ReplyDeleteAnonymous:"Neo-Nazis should like Gosling. He sounds like Quisling."
Neo-Nazis hate Gosling because of his excellent performance as a Jewish skinhead in TRUE BELIEVER. That's probably where Truth got the idea that Gosling is Jewish. He was probably reading some STORMFRONT article on Jews in Hollywood.
heartiste:"in my experience (and that of my male friends'), blondes do have more peach fuzz on their cheeks. it didn't detract much from their overall looks, but it did lend a rougher quality to their skin. anyhow, from a distance, blondes really are more striking than brunettes. up close, it's more of a wash. soft skin like you feel in southern euro girls gives an underrated boost to a woman's tactile attractiveness."
ReplyDeleteRE: Blonde women naturally having more peach fuzz than brunettes,
I'm not certain about that. In my experience, brunettes have just as much peach fuzz; however, since their peach fuzz is darker, they tend to remove it. The same thing holds true for arm hair on girls. Blondes, with their very light-colored arm hair, tend to leave it untouched, while brunettes are more likely to wax their arms.
Syon
Yeah, we all know what a HUGE proponent of Stormfront I am.
ReplyDeleteA lot of you folks are just so stuck on arguing that water is not wet, that it is ridiculous.
Men who color their hair generally choose to DARKEN it.
Women who color their hair generally choose to LIGHTEN IT.
There is a reason for that.
It really isn't as complicated as you make it. Now we've been having an argument as to who is blonde and who isn't. It's pretty simple, actually; where are the male, movie star, versions of Heather Thomas, Heather Locklear, etc. that everyone can agree upon is BLONDE? There are none? Great, case closed.
"Features were, if anything, more often too sharp than blunt."
ReplyDeleteYeah, that what I call rodent. To be fair, the round-faced piggy look is more of a Eastern European, Slavic thing.
"What is your hair color, btw?"
What does it matter? Anyway, I had flaxen hair until the age of 7, then light brown until 21 or so. Then over the years I darkened to a regular brown. I also grew up in a place with lots of natural blondes. They ain't anything special.
Truth:"Neither is Steve McQueen, or DeCaprio, Nick Nolte and Daniel Craig are "kind of, sort of blonde" but in Norway, they'd be considered "dark haired.""
ReplyDeleteAh, Eurocentrism at work....why should Northern Europeans get to decide who counts as blond? wouldn't it make more sense to see whom the Egyptians , Mexicans, Japanese, Nigerians, etc, count as blond. I have a feeling that Nolte and Craig are seen as rather more than "kind of blond" in those countries.
And Ingrid Bergman was pretty but not beautiful.
ReplyDeleteUhh, WTF?
I mean, seriously, WTF?
Ingrid Bergman was NOT beautiful?!?
What planet are you from?
PS: "Truth" actually spelled out all four letters of the "F" word the other day and it made it past Komment Kontrol.
Just sayin'.
Truth:"Yeah, we all know what a HUGE proponent of Stormfront I am."
ReplyDeleteI don't know; you certainly seem to sling the lingo pretty easily. After all, you were pretty quick to say that Gosling's (non-existent) Jewishness and DiCaprio's (marginal) Italian background somehow prevent them from being blond.Incidentally, you still haven't said where you got those ideas.
"Men who color their hair generally choose to DARKEN it.
Women who color their hair generally choose to LIGHTEN IT."
Wait, I thought that we were talking about celebrities, not the hoi polloi?Wouldn't it be more instructive to see how many male actors go for raven-black dye jobs?For that matter, women go in for more extreme dye jobs in both directions. I.e., when women go dark, they go really dark (check out mama Kardashian), and when they go light they go really light.
"There is a reason for that.": There is a reason for everything, dear boy.
"It really isn't as complicated as you make it. Now we've been having an argument as to who is blonde and who isn't. It's pretty simple, actually; where are the male, movie star, versions of Heather Thomas, Heather Locklear, etc."
Wow, Heather Thomas and Heather Locklear-talk about big time movie stars!Memories from your youth, I take it?
"that everyone can agree upon is BLONDE?":
Gosh, using those two as the,ahem, gold standard, even Robert Redford (the only blond man in the history of Hollywood, according to Truth) doesn't quite make it.
Of course, the rest of the world does not follow the dictates of Truth's High Church of Peroxide, so that still leaves us with blond actors like Craig, Pitt, DiCaprio, Nolte,McQueen, etc.
"There are none? Great, case closed."
So manly and forceful. I do love it when you go all butch.Sadly, saying "case closed" doesn't make it so. that's a lesson that most of us learned in kindergarten.
A few more blond male celebrities off the top of my head:
Josh Lucas
Paul Walker
Jude Law
There are none? Great, case closed.
ReplyDeleteIt's because Hollywood is run by dark-haired men.
There are no Asian leading men in Hollywood, but in Asia, where the movie industries are run by Asian men, the leading men are Asian.
"I'm not certain about that. In my experience, brunettes have just as much peach fuzz; however, since their peach fuzz is darker, they tend to remove it. The same thing holds true for arm hair on girls. Blondes, with their very light-colored arm hair, tend to leave it untouched, while brunettes are more likely to wax their arms."
ReplyDeletearms and legs, yes. i don't know about face fuzz. regularly waxing off peach fuzz from the face will leave tell-tale marks of which women are acutely aware. facial skin is more sensitive than arm or leg skin. that's why girls have separate rejuvenating and moisturizing lotions and potions for their faces.
regardless, the facial peach fuzz that i notice on blondes comes included with a more sandpapery skin texture, as well as larger pores. it's not universal by any means, but it is a general difference one picks up between blondes and brunettes. some of this might be ethnicity specific rather than hair color specific, but gets confused because blondeness and ethnicity correlate to a degree among european women.
Some Olypimic women are pretty but a lot look like men and that's horrifying. Seems that skating selects for less androgynous or masculinized women, compared to say, running, weight-lifting, cycling (manly legs) or even gymnastics (which require upper-body strength). The Russian gymanistics female team was femme but the American female one? They all had male mannerisms.
ReplyDeleteheartiste:"arms and legs, yes. i don't know about face fuzz. regularly waxing off peach fuzz from the face will leave tell-tale marks of which women are acutely aware. facial skin is more sensitive than arm or leg skin. that's why girls have separate rejuvenating and moisturizing lotions and potions for their faces."
ReplyDeleteThe brunettes that I know who remove their facial peach fuzz don't use waxing. As you say, waxing is a bit harsh for the delicate skin of the face.They use products that are specially designed for the face, like Nair face cream.
Syon
"Ingrid Bergman was NOT beautiful?!?
ReplyDeleteWhat planet are you from?"
She had a milk and bread prettiness. Dull, dull, dull.
Hitchcock had to make her like liver sausage sandwich in SPELLBOUND to make her interesting.
And she was a good actress but a boring one. She only came alive in European films like STROMBOLI, VOYAGE IN ITALY, and AUTUMN SONATA. Never much liked her in Hollywood movies.
PS: "Truth" actually spelled out all four letters of the "F" word the other day and it made it past Komment Kontrol.
ReplyDeleteJust sayin'.
---------------
Aint you heard? Whim just be following Obama administration's policy to go easy on misbehaving black dudes.
Cuz if whim done punish Truth for talking shit, it be racis'.
"PS: "Truth" actually spelled out all four letters of the "F" word the other day and it made it past Komment Kontrol."
ReplyDeleteWhich "F" word? You mean "fuck?"
"Josh Lucas
Paul Walker
Jude Law"
All leads in $110m blockbusters as we speak!
When light-skinned blonds were super-common in America, dark, ethnic-looking guys seemed exotic and sexy. Now that the country's become darker (from southern- European immigration as much as nonwhites), you get Aryan supermen like Hemworth and Skarsgard the younger seeming cool and exotic and sexy. Probably not a coincidence that they both play characters who are variations on the Viking warrior archetype.
ReplyDelete"Seems that skating selects for less androgynous or masculinized women, compared to say, running, weight-lifting, cycling (manly legs) or even gymnastics"
ReplyDeleteWhy does this keep coming up? Gymnastics "women" are fine. Had a crush on more than a few of them in my high school days. My high school gymnastics team had several hotties. And the Olympians? Oy. I have never, ever heard of a female Olympic gymnast coming out as a lesbian.
Wow, you guys are still arguing over blondness.
ReplyDeleteIn real life blond Ryan Gosling is dating brunette Eva Mendes.
Blond Matthew McConoughey married brunette Camila Alves
Blond Matt Damon married his brunette wife.
Blond Brad Pitt is paired with brunette Angelina Jolie.
But of course many blond actresses like Kathryn Heigle have dark haired partners and husbands. Not to mention Michael Phelps and his blond girlfriend
Just saying that real relationships are more complex and varied than Hollywood stereotypes. Regardless of hair color most white people of both sexes prefer white mates.
Gloria
I wouldn't consider Eva Mendez or Camila Alves white, and I'm not sure they would either, but hey, to each his own.
ReplyDeleteBlonde male celebrity:
ReplyDeleteOwen Wilson.
"Owen Wilson."
ReplyDeleteHey, now there's an icon of masculinity!
David Soul
ReplyDeletethe original Hutch.
Us gals that were teenagers then thought he was *hot,* and he's more recent than Redford.
Also,
Dirk Benedict a/k/a Face on A-team.
The guy who played the young adult
ReplyDeleteAnakin Skywalker, Hayden Christensen, was pretty darned blond.
Of course, like Brad Pitt and all the other Hollywood men who were hot when they were still young and blond, he's gotten darker-haired as he's gotten older.
Which is what Truth uses to weasel out of all our examples of hot blond leading men.
White and Hispanic often bleed into each other, but I take your point.
ReplyDeleteRyan Gosling also dated brunette Olivia Wilde.
Matthew McConaughey also dated brunettes Sandra Bullock and Ashley Judd.
Blond Prince William married brunette Kate Middleton.
Blond Macauley Culkin dated brunette Mila Kunis.
Penelope Cruz could be either white or Hispanic but she dated Matt Damon and Matthew McConaughey
Gloria
"Us gals that were teenagers then thought he was *hot,* and he's more recent than Redford."
ReplyDeleteYup Sheila, and he was in his prime only 35 years ago.
"Dirk Benedict a/k/a Face on A-team."
Oh, hey, the 4th lead on an '80s TV show.
"The guy who played the young adult
Anakin Skywalker, Hayden Christensen, was pretty darned blond."
You're really making me eat my words here.
"Which is what Truth uses to weasel out of all our examples of hot blond leading men."
Hey homie, don't hate the playa, hate the game!
Olivia Wilde (originally Olivia Jane Cockburn) is a natural blonde who sometimes dyes her hair so she'll be taken more seriously.
ReplyDeleteIf we can get over the debate about blond actors for a moment...I think the general good looks of the average Olympian suggests that all it would take to make this country a whole lot prettier (or improve even Whiskey's chances of getting laid) would be a substantial increase in physical activity and good nutrition.
ReplyDeleteBefore I got married one thing I noticed was how many more women found me attractive after I had been going to the gym regularly (both weights and cardio) for only about two months. My personal experience is that even subtle changes in appearance as a result of exercise can make a person significantly more attractive.
Truth:"I wouldn't consider Eva Mendez or Camila Alves white, and I'm not sure they would either, but hey, to each his own."
ReplyDeleteWell, no one ever claimed that you were a close observer...Seriously, never noticing that Steve McQueen is blond
Truth:'Hey homie, don't hate the playa, hate the game!"
ReplyDeleteExcept, of course, that in this instance, the player is attempting to define the game.
Of course, your attempt to define Fabio as blond but not Steve McQueen or Daniel Craig was pretty funny, though not quite as hysterically rib-splitting as your comment that Daniel Craig is "dark haired" in Norway.
For a given ethnic group, males are subtly darker than the females. Blonds also get darker with age. The best girls aren't with blacks. Certain people are misguided, shall we say.
ReplyDeleteGloria:"Penelope Cruz could be either white or Hispanic but she dated Matt Damon and Matthew McConaughey"
ReplyDeletePenelope Cruz is from Spain;she is White.
Syon
Truth:"Josh Lucas
ReplyDeletePaul Walker
Jude Law"
All leads in $110m blockbusters as we speak!"
..and here I was looking forward to another piece of hair-splitting analysis as to the difference between blond and dirty blond from our resident hair expert. Come on Truth, don't abandon your true calling as a spokesman for Clairol!
Nearly forgot to mention blond Bradley Cooper, the 2011 PEOPLE sexiest man alive.
Damn, how could we overlook blond Kiefer Sutherland!
ReplyDelete....and also the dearly departed Heath Ledger, a blond guy who was so sexy that he even had girls swooning as the Joker.
ReplyDeleteJon Voight is blonde.
ReplyDelete"Blonde hair also suggests youth. White children are often born blonde/blondish but get darker as they age."
ReplyDeleteInteresting. My hair was dirty blonde when I was a toddler; it became medium and then dark brown as I got older.
Nevertheless, while in Spain I was referred to more than once as a "rubio" (blonde), since they are so used to jet-black hair there.
"Fox gives you real eye candy with your news coverage."
Speaking of which, I'm currently looking at the gorgeous Portuguese-American Diane Macedo.
"Seriously, never noticing that Steve McQueen is blond"
ReplyDeleteWas (kind of) blond.
Seriously, why can you people not find ONE instance of a Malibu surfer type who has led a few major motion pictures in the last 40 years?
Jon Voit is not blond, Bradley Cooper is not blond, Heath Ledger is not blond, Keifer Sutherland...I'll grant you, but he was NEVER a movie star, he went from brat-pack movies with three other guys, to TV.
ReplyDelete"Hey, now there's an icon of masculinity!"
ReplyDeleteOh. So, Truth, who is "not gay,"
is schooling me, a heterosexual woman, which Hollywood men are heartthrobs and which aren't.
Oooooookaaayyyyyy.
"also the dearly departed Heath Ledger"
Agreed. How'd we forget him? (Forehead slap.) Heath's swagger in A Knight's Tale had my teenage nieces veritably drooling.
This guy "Truth" is not to be trusted. He thinks Dolph Lundgren isn't a movie star.
ReplyDeleteLundgren is an incredibly successfull movie star. It is true of course that most of his movies are terrible, but so what?
Almost everyone in Hollywood movies is a fine actor but few get to play the lead. Lundgren has played almost nothing but the starring part from the very beginning of his career. Robert Mitchum played supporting roles in a dozen movies before he graduated to leads. He called this being "the third man through the door". Lundgren went to the top immediately.
Furthermore Lundgren's name on the marquee has real power. It broadcasts "Stay away, this is a real stinker". Lundgren has made more lousy movies than even Wings Hauser or Michael Paré. His name above the title carries real information. It guarantees that the film is trash.
No other male movie star's name today is so reliable as an indicator of badness. But Ryan Gosling looks promising.
Albertosaurus
" My personal experience is that even subtle changes in appearance as a result of exercise can make a person significantly more attractive."
ReplyDeleteDefinitely. A dear friend has struggled with obesity for decades and has recently lost 30 lbs due to increased exercise. Just saw a pic of her from last night and she looks so much better, I was thrilled. She's so overweight that the 30 lb loss is just a start but even so, the improvement in her appearance is instantly noticeable.
I'm a regular here but I'll post this anonymously for reasons which should be obvious.
"Lundgren has played almost nothing but the starring part from the very beginning of his career."
ReplyDeleteWhat movie was Lundgren the star in again? Oh, "The Punisher" and "He Man", how could I forget?!?!?
"Lundgren is an incredibly successfull movie star. It is true of course that most of his movies are terrible, but so what?"
ReplyDeleteSo everything. Lunkhead isn't a movie star because he wasn't in anything good. Bronson was in a lot of shit but he was in a handful of memorable movies. But Lunkhead wasn't in anything good.
"I'm a regular here but I'll post this anonymously for reasons which should be obvious."
ReplyDeleteThe pentagon applauds your protection of our national security.
"Truth" says this isn't blond:
ReplyDeletehttp://images2.fanpop.com/images/photos/7900000/A-knight-s-Tale-heath-ledger-7976940-800-600.jpg
Hey, you found a picture of a dark-brown eyed guy with a little bleach in his hair for a role, good job, Sheila.
ReplyDelete"Seriously, why can you people not find ONE instance of a Malibu surfer type who has led a few major motion pictures in the last 40 years?"
ReplyDeleteHow the HELL can you say Heath Ledger was not blond when he LED A Knight's Tale and played The Joker in Batman? (And he was also cast as the son of Mel Gibson in The Patriot, cast in the role to provide eye candy for the young gals. -- His hair was so blond it was white on the ends:
http://www.google.com/imgres?q=heath+ledger+the+patriot&num=10&hl=en&biw=853&bih=562&tbm=isch&tbnid=XS84SWPn1GnT6M:&imgrefurl=http://opiefidyah.blogspot.com/2012/06/review-movie-patriot.html&docid=WX_lz98K2V275M&imgurl=http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ci5fKmS2_wE/T-wGbbXp9GI/AAAAAAAAAJg/emeDKTPE0wI/s1600/headh-ledger_16.jpg&w=1024&h=768&ei=YmklUJirJYKUywH8xoHgBA&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=356&vpy=184&dur=40&hovh=194&hovw=259&tx=147&ty=113&sig=107217119075546555414&page=2&tbnh=153&tbnw=205&start=9&ndsp=11&ved=1t:429,r:1,s:9,i:136 )
So, we have. Multiples of them.
You just discard them as "not blond."
Blonds get darker-haired as they get older. Even Robert Redford is darker-headed now.
ALL these guys were blond in their young 20s when they were Hollywood hot property.
Ex:
Jon Voight The Champ
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HB7qAhAa8iI/TX9h0hF2tSI/AAAAAAAAAMI/V-hSQ0k557c/s1600/el%2BCampeon%2B%2528The%2BChamp%2529.jpg
Truth is onto something here.
ReplyDeleteEither:
A) The Scots-Irish in Hollyweird really really really don't want to promote the Aryan look, or else
B) Women really really really prefer tall, dark and handsome [and vote at the ticketbooth with their pocketbooks], or else
C) Some combination of A) and B) above.
Clearly, there are fewer blond leading men than blonde leading ladies, but I don't have a great sense of what percentage of white men are blond at age 35 or whatever, so I can't tell whether there is a bias against blonde leading men.
ReplyDeleteWhat you need to do is to find some list of top box office leading men and compare it to some other list of white men of similar age, such as the 100 top money winners on the PGA Tour.
Mostly with you on this, Truth, but:
ReplyDelete"Seriously, why can you people not find ONE instance of a Malibu surfer type who has led a few major motion pictures in the last 40 years?"
The Swayze?
"Jon Voit is not blond"
He's gray now, but in his youth, Voight was blond. See this ad for "Conrack", where he played a young Pat Conroy: http://s.ecrater.com/stores/174902/4efcb4b32e41d_174902n.jpg
In general, though, I'm surprised at the push back you're getting here, since Steve has made the same argument before. Blond men generally play bad guys, not hero leads.
Yeah, how can this guy be not blond?
ReplyDelete" Mario Bergkreutzer said...
ReplyDeleteИвет Лалова, "World's Fastest White Woman", classy girl with a well developed form!"
This has gotten a great reception from everyone I've sent it to. She is so hot I'm willing to ignore the belly tatoo. She could have Rosie O'Donnell's face tatooed on that body and she'd still be hot.
Here is a Norwegian list called Cream Girls
ReplyDeleteEight of the top ten are athletes, as are two of the three challengers.
Eight of the athletes are Olympians, and a ninth is pretty sure to become one.
Norwegians tend to prefer the neighbourgirl / sporty look over the glamorous.
Steve; whenever they cast a beach movie, they have no problem finding 50 blonde guys in their 30s to walk around with surfboards in the background.
ReplyDeleteJon Voit probably "qualifies" as blond, but he's from the same era as McQueen and Redford.
ReplyDeletedearieme
ReplyDelete"Why are Americans obsessed with blondes?"
The American media is obsessed with female blondes.
.
Truth seems to be chanelling Whiskey.
"There hasn't been a true blonde moviestar since Robert Redford 40 years ago. Casting directors don't cast them as sexual icons"
There are an awful lot of blond male villains though so perhaps there is another explanation?
What you need to do is to find some list of top box office leading men and compare it to some other list of white men of similar age, such as the 100 top money winners on the PGA Tour.
ReplyDeleteAnother big problem is that color [in either still photos or in motion pictures] didn't really make big inroads until circa the 1950s, and so you kinda have to guess what the leading men's hair looked like before that.
The obvious ones - Gary Cooper, Jimmy Stewart, Cary Grant - seemed to have had dark hair.
But what Errol Flynn looked like in his youth - or John Wayne or even William Holden - I know not.
More recently, though, the Scots-Irish seem to have really clamped down hard - since I became an adult, the Scots-Irish have only allowed blond men to play villains, and even those roles are becoming increasingly rare. In fact, the Scots-Irish don't even allow all that many blond actresses to have choice roles anymore.
BTW, a little off-topic, but Sesame Street [and its spinoffs, like the Sprout Channel] is becoming such an appalling ghetto of Scots-Irish propaganda and disinformation that it's simply gut-wrenching to try to watch it with a child.
First, Truth said:
ReplyDelete"There hasn't been a true blonde moviestar since Robert Redford 40 years ago. Casting directors don't cast them as sexual icons like batman or James Bond. Even casting a guy with dirty blonde hair, like Daniel Craig, as Bond, caused and uproar."
Here "Truth" is saying that casting directors don't cast blond men as leads because they're not sexy.
So we provided PLENTY of examples of sexy blond leading men, Heath Ledger being the blondest and sexiest of all; playing the lead in A Knight's tale as a knight -- how much sexier can you get -- with hair so blond it's blinding.
Did "Truth" acknowledge the truth, that there ARE blond movie stars, even now, 40 years after Redford's heyday?
No.
He attempted to throw this as distraction, just to avoid conceding the point:
"Hey, you found a picture of a dark-brown eyed guy with a little bleach in his hair for a role, good job, Sheila."
Uh, IF Ledger is not a natural blond (although the light eyebrows and beard would certainly testify he is) then the director's instruction to him to bleach his hair blindingly blond would FURTHER make my point: Blond men are sexy.
If blond men aren't sexy, a director wouldn't bother to tell a supposed dark-headed man to bleach his hair in order to play a sexy knight. Duh. What? He wanted to lose money? No.
so...
What's your point "Truth"? Or do you even have one?
A Knight's Tale PERFECTLY covers all your supposed qualifications:
The blond's the lead, he's sexy like a California surfer dude, and the actor who played him went on to have starring roles AS A BLOND in other movies. A true blond movie star.
"In general, though, I'm surprised at the push back you're getting here, since Steve has made the same argument before. Blond men generally play bad guys, not hero leads."
ReplyDeleteDave, I can't speak for anyone else, but my reason for arguing here is that, contra Truth, sexy blond men do exist. That few blond studs get to be protagonist leads in movies, and are really only frequently cast to play the bad guy, suggests to me that Hollywood fails to cast them as the Hunky Hero not because they'd lose money for the studio, but for another reason entirely.
A political reason.
Speculation on that reason? Mustn't let the hoi polloi get the idea that the Aryan Superman is a real entity.
Shelia, you need to go on a Truthian internship; Kylie are you available for a few months?
ReplyDeleteThe reason Truth is getting push back is because, for the purpose of saying that women don't like blond men, he is trying to redefine the meaning of the term "blond" to exclude most handsome, masculine blond actors. Anyway, Truth himself probably just doesn't believe 70% of what he says here and is just trying to disrupt and hi-jack the conversation.
ReplyDeleteGloria
"'I'm a regular here but I'll post this anonymously for reasons which should be obvious.'
ReplyDeleteThe pentagon applauds your protection of our national security."
This is why I said "reasons which should be obvious" and not "obvious reasons".
P.S. I quit caring about our national security once your boy became POTUS.
"Kylie are you available for a few months?"
ReplyDeleteOh, no, not that Mandingo thing again.
I thought we'd got past that. But you just won't let it go.
Jon Voight was as good looking as any "dark" leading man in "Midnight Cowboy". That was also one of the greatest movies ever made, goin to watch it right now on youtube after thinking about it.
ReplyDeleteTruth, I will concede that blonde men aren´t as desired as their swarthy brothers, but they definitely have done well for themselves in a biased(hollywood) market. And I think in, non Northern European, tv markets they do even better. I´m not blonde so I couldn´t care either way.(I might even be considered swarthy by most american´s standards, but I still route for the nordics;...)
Blonde men can be good looking, but they are so far and few between that they are statistically insignificant, at least in the States. That could also be a reason there aren´t that many in Hollywood.
ReplyDelete"Oh, no, not that Mandingo thing again."
ReplyDeleteNah, that would take the weekend, tops.
OK, I'm going to let you in on one more of Hollywood's basically untenable rules:
ReplyDeleteWhen a man and a woman are cast, the man is, I would estimate in 90% of cases, significantly darker in hair color and complexion, then the woman. This is one of the reasons, blonde men are not cast.
The darker partner looks more powerful. If you do not believe it, think of the last actress who was routinely cast with men who were lighter than she was; I would say Ali McGraw (I've talked to her, she lives in Santa Fe, nice kid.)
This is also the reason there are, really, no dark-haired/complected/eyed white female sex symbols in Hollywood. This is also the reason why every James Bond movie features the most beautiful woman in Italy as a Bond Vixen...and you never hear from them again. Seriously, what white woman is hotter than Maria Gracia Cucinotta, or Caterina Murino?
"Jon Voight was as good looking as any 'dark' leading man in 'Midnight Cowboy'. That was also one of the greatest movies ever made, goin to watch it right now on youtube after thinking about it."
ReplyDeleteYes, Voight played a character who thought he could trade on his good looks but whose naivete prevented that.
And for me, his performance is tied with Dustin Hoffman's as the finest ever by any actor in a movie. Voight's acting was very naturalistic, Hoffman's very "Method" but they meshed beautifully. An amazing movie, haunting and unforgettable.
"On August 4, 2012 Jones came under heavy criticism from the New York Times which maintained that "her success was based not on achievement but on her exotic beauty and on a sad and cynical marketing campaign". Janice Forsyth, director at the University of Western Ontario, compared her as athletics’ equivalent to tennis’ Anna Kournikova" Wikipedia
ReplyDeleteWhy did the Times not notice that Barry O's success was based on the same kinds of things? Lolo is actually more genuine - there is no AA in track and field. Hell, I bet Barry was a virgin at 30 too.
"A dear friend has struggled with obesity for decades and has recently lost 30 lbs due to increased exercise. Just saw a pic of her from last night and she looks so much better, I was thrilled."
ReplyDeleteTrue, but I was ignoring the obese because their reason for not being attractive is obvious (though I have known one or two cute girls who were actually less cute after losing weight).
I'm referring to the differences between non-obese people who engage in regular physical activity and those who don't. Before I got into the habit of regular cardio and strength training I was only mildly overweight, and I've only lost about 10 pounds over the last three years. But that activity and the loss of those handful of pounds made a huge difference in the number of women who found me attractive (including my eventual wife).
Good genes might contribute to both athleticism and attractiveness, but a big part of the reason female athletes are more attractive than other women of the same build is simply that they are physically active - subtle differences in skin tone and muscle tone that anyone could have if they bothered to spend a few hours per week in the gym.
We can now return to Truth's regularly scheduled trolling. IMHO, of course women find blond men attractive. Directors probably just find them less "serious," along with possible ethnic reasons for not wanting to cast them. But blond men are certainly a larger share of leading men than they are of the US population. I live in one of the blond(e) capitols of America and yet they still aren't as common on the streets of my city as they are on the big screen.
Add to the list: Jeff Daniels, Anthony Michael HAll, Woody Harrleson, and the guy who played Peeta in The Hunger Games. Is Emilio Estevez considered blond?
Monica Bellucci is pretty dark, and has done moderately well in Hollywood.
ReplyDeleteWhen you mentioned dark Bond vixens, the first thing that popped into my head was Alotta Fagina, from Austin Powers. Now she was HOT...
Truth, I would hope you're using the term "Sheila" in your comments the way the Australians do, to refer to a generic woman.
ReplyDeleteFWIW, I post under my own name, always. Whoever you are arguing with anonymously, it is not I.
"'Oh, no, not that Mandingo thing again.'
ReplyDeleteNah, that would take the weekend, tops."
Oh lord, if you think I'd spend the rest of the time playing Mavis to your David, think again.
The chicks in some of the events (100M sprint, weightlifting, etc) may look like men with longer hair, but I was pleasantly surprised by a number of the rhythmic gymnastics ladies.
ReplyDelete"Oh lord, if you think I'd spend the rest of the time playing Mavis to your David, think again."
ReplyDeleteLMAO, that was one a little obscure, I had to look it up.
"Monica Bellucci is pretty dark, and has done moderately well in Hollywood."
Yeah, she was the 8th lead in the Matrix sequel, how could I forget; meanwhile the uber-talented Jennifer Aniston gets 3 movies a year.
"Truth said...
ReplyDeleteOK, I'm going to let you in on one more of Hollywood's basically untenable rules:
When a man and a woman are cast, the man is, I would estimate in 90% of cases, significantly darker in hair color and complexion, then the woman. This is one of the reasons, blonde men are not cast.
The darker partner looks more powerful. If you do not believe it, think of the last actress who was routinely cast with men who were lighter than she was; I would say Ali McGraw (I've talked to her, she lives in Santa Fe, nice kid.)"
Hardly 'letting us in' on a secret there- Steve wrote about this stuff about a decade ago. Nice to see you've been a long time reader, but you'd think by now, some of your leftwingnut views would have been cast by the wayside.
"This is also the reason there are, really, no dark-haired/complected/eyed white female sex symbols in Hollywood. This is also the reason why every James Bond movie features the most beautiful woman in Italy as a Bond Vixen...and you never hear from them again. Seriously, what white woman is hotter than Maria Gracia Cucinotta, or Caterina Murino?"
If that were true, why the fascination with latina hotties?
"some of your leftwingnut views would have been cast by the wayside."
ReplyDeleteFor example?
"If that were true, why the fascination with latina hotties?"
Because they don't star in movies. They are an attempt to cash in on the world's largest minority, but they do not star. You can't do that with an Italian.
Truth might be on to something, because, if effin Monica Bellucci doesn´t stack up when it comes to Hollywood, I don´t know what to say. They don´t get any hotter than her,...
ReplyDelete"...because they are so used to jet-black hair there [Spain]..."
ReplyDeleteAre they? Certainly brunettes are in the majority, but jet black their hair is usually not. A hairdresser once told me that the only people with true black hair (which is what "jet black" means to me) are the Asians and American Indians. Even blacks actually have what anthropologists call "black-brown" hair. The great majority of European would fall into this category, though some Euro hair looks black. A couple Irish I know (actually one was my mom) have what most people would call black hair, yet which they themselves vociferously refute, and call "dark brown."
Anyway, the Spanish are heavily in the "brown-black" hair category, but I am always surprised how many are "rubio" when I go there. You don't see flaxen-heads, but you see plenty of brownish blond, light brown, and reddish hair. In northern Spain, you get a lot of bright, clear blue or green or gray eyes, with very dark hair, a type you also see among the Irish a lot. Also Ukrainians according to a Urkainien I know.
Directors probably just find them less "serious," along with possible ethnic reasons for not wanting to cast them.
ReplyDeleteIf the "serious" thing is legitimate, why are blond males so much more successful at being cast as villains? I'd think being taken seriously is definitely a forte there.
Seriously, what white woman is hotter than Maria Gracia Cucinotta, or Caterina Murino?
ReplyDeleteSeriously, how much time you got? Cucinotta is a serious contender though.
In other news, tastes vary.
I'd also like to know what it is about this Hollywood rule that's untenable, seeing how it's been increasingly in effect over many years.
ReplyDeleteThe idea that H-wood PTB don't think of blond men as "serious" gets funnier the more I think about it. These are the guys who cast waifs as butt-kicking babes and blacks as scientists and moral paragons.
I meant to write "intractable."
ReplyDelete"'Oh lord, if you think I'd spend the rest of the time playing Mavis to your David, think again.'
ReplyDeleteLMAO, that was one a little obscure, I had to look it up."
Yeah, I knew you'd have to.
And I knew you would.
Life is a lot more fun when you can make obscure film references to amuse yourself. The trouble is, once they get too obscure, you find you're amusing only yourself and getting strange looks as you burst into laughter for no apparent reason. But what the hell--it beats being bored.
Japan's womens table tennis team has some real cuties on it.
ReplyDelete