- Share This Post
- submit
- 1
-
Sparkle (0)
University of California, Santa Barbara, lead researcher Dr. Aaron Sell provoked ire in women of all hair colors after the New Zealand Herald, the BBC and The Sunday Times misquoted him as saying blonds are more warlike than their nonblond peers.
In a mind-bogglingly botched interview, John Harlow at The Sunday Times misquoted Sell on the subject of hair color, writing:
Sell suspects that blonds exist in a “bubble” where they have been treated better than other people for so long they do not realize that men, in particular, are more deferential towards them than other women. “They may not even realize they are treated like a princess,” Sell said.
Some journalists and bloggers questioned the research enough to dig in, even though countless others didn't.
Sell responded in a ticked-off e-mail to questions from True Slant's blogger Ryan Sagar, explaining he'd never said anything about blonds being more warlike than other women.
It was too late: Media outlets across the globe immediately picked up this shining kernel of newsworthiness and ran with it without question or the simplest vetting. From the New Zealand Herald:
The researchers also discovered they were less likely than brunettes or redheads to get in a physical fight, perhaps to ensure their looks were preserved.
(I know I always step delicately to the side when a fistfight breaks out to allow my less fair-haired counterparts to get their looks ruined.)
Is this a case of "blond bites dog"? First off, the study didn't discuss hair color at all. But that's not even the story. Despite the fact this study was conducted on men and women, no news outlet I could find discussed the warlike tendencies of strong men, which was presented first in the findings. Every media outlet -- from Gawker to the BBC -- framed the story around only warlike women, even specifically blond women.
Also: The research correlated actual physical upper body strength in men with self-perceived physical attractiveness in women. I'm fairly certain physical upper body strength is quantifiable and perceived physical beauty (especially your own beauty) is, um, not. So seriously -- what kind of research is that in the first place? The researchers did measure physical strength in women and self-perceived attractiveness in men, but you wouldn’t be able to tell that from the press release:
As predicted, the study showed that men with greater upper body strength feel entitled to better treatment, anger more easily and frequently, and prevail more often in conflicts of interest. Attractive women should also have social leverage, by virtue of their ability to confer benefits. The study found that women who see themselves as more attractive behave as stronger men do: They also feel entitled to better treatment, anger more easily, and have more success resolving conflicts in their favor.
Poof! There goes my blond head. It just blew off. And why did so many news outlets pick it up without question even if you don't bring the heinous misquotation into the picture? I know the publishing industry has suffered a lot of cuts, but come on, people.
At first, I as a blond was annoyed with the whole "warlike blond" thing, but the more I discussed it with BlogHer Managing Editor Julie Ross Godar, I agreed that it was a truly legitimate WTF. Why is the woman's part of the study the only part worth discussing, with or without the blond? Why was a researcher given money to compare actual physical strength and perceived beauty in relation to anger? And why did dozens of legitimate mainstream news organizations in Europe, the United States, Australia and India all pick up this story without so much as a click-through to the actual research?
Sell was clearly misquoted. The official study press release says this of the research methodology:
As predicted, the study showed that men with greater upper body strength feel entitled to better treatment, anger more easily and frequently, and prevail more often in conflicts of interest. Attractive women should also have social leverage, by virtue of their ability to confer benefits. The study found that women who see themselves as more attractive behave as stronger men do: They also feel entitled to better treatment, anger more easily, and have more success resolving conflicts in
