Brown hair
Brown hair (also referred to as chestnut, cinnamon and dark) varies from light brown to almost black hair. It is characterized by by higher levels of the dark pigment eumelanin and lower levels of the pale pigment phaeomelanin. Its strands are thicker than those of fair hair but not as much as those of red hair. People with brown hair are often referred to as Brunettes, the feminine form, and Brunets (silent t), the masculine term. Brown hair is commonly termed “dark” because of its darker characteristics than that of its blonde or red haired counterparts.
Brunet(te)s from European countries often have pale skin and light eye color. Brunet(te)s can also have dark eyes with a relatively dark or olive complexion. Some people use the word brunet(te) to simply refer to people having brown hair. Men or Woman with lighter shades of brown hair may actually be referred to as "light brunet(te)s". Some people suggest that light brown hair may really be blond, because blond is supposed to refer to having light hair, with the idea that light brown hair fits into that range. The usual term brunet(te) describes a person with medium to dark brown hair. Cultural beliefs of brunet(te)s vary from “mysterious and exotic” to “reliable and dependable”.
The term brunette is the feminine of French brunet, which is a diminutive of brun, brune, meaning brown, ultimately from Latin brunus (brown). Brunette literally means “little brown-haired girl", but in English usage it has largely lost the diminutive meaning, and simply refers to any brown haired girl or woman. Although Brunet is the reference to a boy or man with brown hair it can also be used to refer to either sex.
Brown hair is the second most common hair color, the first being Black hair. Outside of Northern Europe, where the blond mutation originated, most humans have black hair.
Biochemistry
The pigment Eumelanin (literally meaning “good” melanin) gives brown hair its brilliant color. Brown hair has more eumelanin than blond hair but also has much less than black. There are two different types of eumelanin, which are distinguished from each other by their pattern of polymer bonds. The two types are black eumelanin and brown eumelanin. Black eumelanin is the darkest, brown eumelanin is lighter than black eumelanin. black eumelanin is in mostly non-Europeans and aged Europeans, while brown eumelanin is in mostly young Europeans. A small amount of black eumelanin in the absence of other pigments causes grey hair. A small amount of brown eumelanin in the absence of other pigments causes yellow (blond) color hair. Brown-haired people have medium-thick strands of hair. Brown haired people can range highly in skin tone, ranging from palest of skin to that of an olive complexion. Brown haired people are thought to produce more skin-protecting eumelanin and are associated with having more even skin tone. People with brown hair can have all possible iris colors.
Culture
Brunettes in Art and Aesthetics
The Mona Lisa, the famous painting by Leonardo da Vinci, also known as "La Gioconda", is the wife of well known Florentine, Francesco del Giocondo. The brunettes famous grin and mysterious quality has inspired poetry, sculpture and fine art. The Mona Lisa is undoubtedly the best known and, therefore, the most famous painting in the western world [1].The Mona Lisa is also widely considered the greatest portrait of all time [2].
All of the marvelous faces by Leonardo, whether that of his Saint Anne or of his Virgin of the Rocks (both painted brunette), have an air of a sort of timeless, almost unreal, ideal beauty that is extraordinary[3].
The brunette has the color of the earth, and of warmth and motherhood. All individuals with brown hair project the image of stability and dependability [4].
It is safe to say that these characheristics were, perhaps, a direct reason why Leonardo Da Vinci painted Brunettes in many of his masterpieces. In the faith, having deities that remind of immutability, a divine characteristic, were of importance.
Although the divine mother was portrayed as a brunette by Renaissance painter Leonardo da Vinci, brunettes have also been culturally viewed, especially in Europe, as exotic. This is because to the Europeans dark hair, like that of brunettes, seemed to correspond greatly to those of other races whom also had dark hair. The brunette could be a person from Central Europe to the Middle East, or from the temperate Middle East to tropical South America. People with brown hair seem to supply a myriad of ethnic possibilities, establishing a well known reputation of exoticism.
Brunettes acquire a dual sense of meaning, one of reliability but the another of mystery.
Modern Fiction
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Anita Loos, who was the author of the novel and play "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes", which was turned into a smash hit film staring Marilyn Monroe, wrote a sequel entitled "But Gentlemen Marry Brunettes", staring Jane Russell and Jeanne Crain, which was also successful. The studio dropped the first word from the title for the film "Gentlemen marry Brunettes".
In the film “My Favorite Brunette”, the actress Dorothy Lamour plays a mysterious brunette in distress[5]. Furthering a correlation between mystery and brunettes.
"...whereas the girl was dark-eyed and dark-haired, that she seemed to receive a deeper and more lustrous colour from the sun when it shone upon her, the boy was so light-eyed and light-haired that the self-same rays appeared to draw out of him what little colour he ever possessed…" an excerpt from Hard Times, a novel by Charles Dickens. [6].
In the [Disney] adaptation of Beauty and the Beast the heroine, Belle, which means Beauty, is featured as a smart and lovely free-thinker. The Brunette heroine likes to read and go on adventures within her own imagination [7], corresponding to the cultural belief that brunettes are independent, intelligent, and self-sufficient [8]. Belle is a nonconformist for her time in many ways, the most pronounced is her love of books and knowledge. Belle also does not care about appearances, whether they pertain to herself or anyone else. This is highly ironic, the fact being that she is no doubt considered the most beautiful woman in her village.
In the 1990 smash hit movie "Pretty Woman" the heroine, as played by Julia Roberts, is a brunette [9].
Brunets (males with "dark" hair) are commonly represented in fairytales as the “dependable” prince who will rescue the fair princess or damsel in distress. This is a rather recurring theme in many fairytales and fairytale adaptations (like those of Disney). There seems to be an underlying reliability many “dark” haired heroes instill in their fair heroines. From bringing true loves first kiss to battling dragons, brunets are always considered reliable. There is reason to believe that "dark" hair in males exhibits a sort of charm, this is evident in names such as prince "Charming", who was the brunet hero in the story of Snow White. The reference charming usually meant that of a handsome man or a man of character.
Brown hair color appears in iconic superheroes, like that of Batman or Spiderman. Even Superman (or Clark Kent), who is supposed to be from another world entirely, has “dark” hair. The hair color provokes, in these iconic figure’s, a sense of seriousness and humbleness which is usually applied to providing justice.
See also
References
- ^ http://www.blurtit.com/q496902.html
- ^ http://www.vat19.com/free/free%2Dvideo%2Dtips%2Dplayer%2Ecfm%2Fhurl%2Ffree%5Fvideo%5Ftip%3D%3Efree%2Dvideo%2Dtips%3Efamous%2Dpaintings%3EMona%2DLisa%2Eflv%2FcategoryID%3D35%2F
- ^ http://www.pbs.org/treasuresoftheworld/mona_lisa/mmain.html
- ^ http://www.hairselect.com/brunette.htm
- ^ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Favorite_Brunette
- ^ http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/hardtime.htm Charles Dickens Hard Times Chapter twp Murdering the Innocents
- ^ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belle_%28Beauty_and_the_Beast%29
- ^ http://www.hairselect.com/brunette.htm
- ^ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pretty_Woman