Joanna Pitman begins her book, On Blondes, (Bloombury, London, 2003), with a story based upon her stay in the Samburu district of northern Kenya. The author, a blonde, whose hair had become bleached by the sun, was approached by a native, whose brother has been bitten by a highly venomous snake. He frantically insisted that Pitman should come and help him, seeing her blonde hair as having some sort of magic power. She did go to the village by car, and took the brother to hospital by car, saving his life, so maybe there was something in the native’s belief in the “magic” of blonde hair, or at least, the head under it.
People have been in awe of blonde hair throughout history, seeing its sexual allure and supposed supernatural powers. Aphrodite, goddess of love and fertility in ancient Greece had golden blonde hair, as did the Norse goddess Sif, wife of Thor. Blonde hair was admired by Homer who depicted Aphrodite as golden haired in all his works. Poets like Alcman (7th century BC) of Sparta praised “lovely yellow hair” and “hair like purest gold” (p. 12)