Swedes – and especially Swedish women – are known worldwide for their good looks. If you asked 100 men anywhere in the world what spontaneously comes to mind when they think of Sweden, I’d assume a significant number of them would reply “good looking blondes” … right after ABBA and IKEA. ;)
Long blonde hair is a stereotypical feature of many Swedish women. While not all Swedish women are naturally blonde – many have given nature a helping hand – it is certainly not uncommon to see such a typical Swedish woman walk past you on the streets of Sweden.
7 Myths & Rumors About Swedish Women
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Swedish men are of course blonder as well – but more rarely use dye to enhance their bright-hair appearance.
Are Swedes really that blonde?
Yes. But of course not all Swedish women are blonde. Compared to Germany, I’d say they are blond-er. In fact most of the blondness you see in Swedish women’s hair is intensified by dye. About 50-80% of the swedish population have, depending on the region, natural bright hair.
I’ve also found that Swedes have a different threshold for dark hair; shades they consider dark often look dark blonde or light brown to me.
“Light hair coloration map” by Dark Tichondrias – w:en:Image:Map of Europe (political).png. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Commons.
Blondes are rare
Only about 2% of the world’s population is blonde – a figure that includes darker blonde shades as well. Not surprisingly, the highest concentration of blonde, blue-eyed, and light-skinned people is found right in northeastern Europe.
The origin of blonde hair
Anthropologists believe that a genetic mutation occurred among originally dark-haired populations between 20,000 and 40,000 years ago. It is suggested that individuals carrying this mutation – which is also responsible for light skin pigmentation – were better able to spread into northern regions with lower levels of solar radiation. Light-skinned people are more sensitive to UV radiation – levels of which increase in more southern latitudes – than those with dark skin. In contrast, blonde, light-skinned individuals have the advantage of producing more vitamin D even in low-light conditions, which provided them with an evolutionary advantage in northern regions.
So, I guess one can call Swedes “efficient vitamin D producers” then. ;)
The claim that blonde hair color is in danger of extinction is also rejected by scientists.
Interesting radio report about Swedish blonde hair, by SR (Sveriges Radio), here.
Inheritance of blonde hair color
By the way, two dark-haired individuals can have a blonde child if one of them carries a corresponding, suppressed “blonde allele.” The myths that two naturally blonde individuals cannot have dark-haired offspring is wrong – a misconception derives from outdated school biology.
Which changes how you look at blonde couples with dark-hair kids, doesn’t it? :D
Fun fact: “rat-colored” hair
The color when Swedes have dark-blonde hair is often called in a not-so-flattering way: råttfärg, rat-color.
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