POWER IN THE "BLONDE" STYLE

The world around us is packed with stereotypes. We think we know what qualities a real man and a woman, a law-abiding citizen (regardless of gender) and a perfect politician should have and confidently keep in mind the images of a liberal, dictator, homophobe, misanthrope, etc. We know precisely what real democracy, nationalism and patriotism are. Often we have in mind an assessment of this or that event and actors in it, that is to say before the start of the action we prepare its script in mind. Education and personal experience are responsible for the appearance of stereotypes. Often these stereotypes are created by the media, and relatively recently they got a powerful assistant - social networks. Political propaganda also actively uses stereotypes.

Therefore, the stereotypical image of a freethinking person is a person free from stereotypes, because they limit the ability to think clearly. That is to say the process of perceiving the world is operated not by analytical skills, but by some preconceptions. In the subjects that are studied, an object or a situation are recognized by man and mulled over stereotypically, the attitude towards them is determined along the way, and then a certain action or inaction follows. This scheme is easiest to follow in the lives of nationalist ideas, where the specific scheme operates each time: "certain appearance - relevant conclusion on its basis - specific feelings and behaviour." In any case, you cannot escape stereotypes. They shorten the process of perception, and without them, efforts and time to think about each new situation would just drive us mad. A fresh look and lack of narrow-mindedness will come at a price. Also, do not think that stereotypes are always negative.

But not in the case of politics, of course. Politics has always been stereotypically considered a dirty thing, and it is played, like ice hockey, only by real men, whose genes still remember the rigours of mammoth hunting. This cliche is one of the most enduring and unshakable ones. Although scientists say that mammoth hunting is just a stereotype, because driving a huge mammoth into a pit is an almost impracticable process, not least because mammoths were not so stupid to fall into the same trap each time. Never mind the mammoths. But throughout the centuries, men were clearly able to drive women in politics into a pit full of stereotypes. The arguments are based on the fact that femininity and power are incompatible concepts and that men have more time, and politics, like a family, requires full dedication. Representatives of the stronger sex have better developed logic and leadership skills, and in general, purely physiologically women are more unstable and vulnerable than men.

As you know, fight fire with fire. Perhaps one of the most emotive stereotypes is the image of a blonde, the one that is very beautiful, but very stupid, as well as defenceless, naive and vulnerable. From this perspective, there is nothing better for the destruction of gender stereotypes in politics than a blonde in politics.

After all, contrary to the standard view, ambitious blondes are well represented in the political arena. Until now, an unsurpassed example of power in the blonde style is the unforgettable image of the "Iron Lady" Margaret Thatcher, who held the post of UK prime minister for a long time. Actually, she is considered an example of a politician not just for blondes, but also for men. Thatcher had tough "showdowns" with striking miners to her credit, and it was Thatcher who finally took the Falklands away from Argentina and was not afraid to use military force. The first woman chancellor in German history, Angela Merkel, who is also a blonde and has led the most powerful EU country for a long time, has almost caught up with the British premier. Merkel has repeatedly topped the lists of the most influential women in the world according to the authoritative magazine Forbes, as the title of her thesis speaks for itself: "The influence of the spatial correlation on the speed of bimolecular elementary reactions in a dense medium." Israel has its own blonde "Iron Lady" - Tsipi Livni, who served as prime minister, minister of foreign affairs and is a member of the Knesset. In Russia, the most influential blonde in power is Valentina Matviyenko, the ex-governor of St. Petersburg and head of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation. The main political blonde of the United States is, of course, Hillary Clinton. She served as a governor, sits on the Senate, worked as secretary of state, and is going to compete for a place in the White House soon. Thus, a blonde might take the reins of power in the most powerful state on the planet. Among other influential women with fair hair is the IMF managing director and former French minister of economy and finance, Christine Lagarde; the first woman in the post of US secretary of state (1997-2001), Madeleine Albright; the head of EU diplomacy, Federica Mogherini; the former president of Ireland, Mary McAleese; the two-time president of Finland, Tarja Halonen; Chilean President Michelle Bachelet; and Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic. And the list goes on.

However, there are also bad examples like the former official spokesperson for the US State Department, Jen Psaki, the author of expressions about the "Rostov Mountains" and "fleet off the coast of Belarus". However, there are suspicions that these expressions were simply masterfully attributed to Jen by the media, and she could hardly make such a slip of the tongue. Another imperious blonde who cannot but be mentioned is the famous "woman with a plait", in this case, a blond plait, the former prime minister of Ukraine, Yulia Tymoshenko (who is actually a brunette by birth). First, Tymoshenko behaved pretty confidently in business, but in the late 1990s she decided to take up politics, about which quite a few books can be written.

So, many women, especially in politics, rightly celebrated 31 May, which was recently declared International Blondes Day, with their heads held high, especially as we need to enjoy the moment - scientists predict the disappearance of natural blondes in 200 years as "the blond gene" is easily suppressed by the "dark-haired", although blondes will, of course, remain, because there is such a great invention as hair dye. In addition, it is not entirely dependent on the colour of hair - any woman with any hair colour and even a totally bald one can "pretend to be a blonde" when necessary. If the stereotype works, it is necessary to come forward as a blonde and responsibility will decrease instantly. And isn't this the dream of every person, especially a politician? In any case, the story with Timoshenko showed that even stereotypes do not always work, and what to do if women themselves hold you to account?

Of course, hair colour does not say anything about one's intelligence and other human abilities, but only confirms the diversity of our world. In fact, the image of the blonde is just a successful commercial brand and a blonde in politics ... is only a politician with fair hair.