You know those T-shirts that say “Blondes Have More Fun”? They make me sort of wistful. For a hefty portion of my life, being blonde was a significant part of my identity, one that was hard to give up. I was born blonde and remained naturally so until junior high, when my hair started to darken with puberty. That’s when I took to the bottle — the bottle of peroxide that is. I associated being blonde with being pretty, feminine, and fun. In junior high I did not feel particularly pretty, feminine, OR fun, but I really wanted to be, so dying my hair — lighter … and lighter … and lighter — was my way of grasping for those qualities. Keep reading »
