It sounds like a joke, but it's actually a
legitimate question: How do you spell “blond"?
‘Blond’ Versus ‘Blonde’
The word originally came into English
from Old French, where it
has masculine and feminine forms. As an English noun, it kept those two forms;
thus, a blond is a fair-haired male, and a blonde is a fair-haired female.
When you're using the word as an adjective,
"blond" is the more common spelling and can be used for men or women,
especially in the United States; however, "blonde" can also be used
to describe a woman with fair hair, as in “Go ask the blonde woman at table 2
if she wants pepper on her salad.”
A blond is a fair-haired male, and a blonde is a
fair-haired female.
Is ‘Blonde’ Sexist?
Some people think it is sexist to use “blonde”
to refer to women, but the AP stylebook currently says to maintain the
distinction between the two gendered forms of the word if you use it, and The
Chicago Manual of Style also seems to uphold the difference. It doesn’t say so
explicitly, but it uses the E-form for women in some
example sentences.
Still, it may be perceived as especially sexist
when you refer to a woman simply as “a blonde” or “the blonde,” as in “The
blonde got in line to check out a book.” Garner’s Modern English Usage says
that for this reason, it’s usually best to avoid using “blonde” (and “blond”)
as a stand-alone noun.
Inanimate Objects
Most of the time, inanimate objects are treated
as male. For example, if you have a blond wooden dresser, “blond” is spelled
without the E. A recent exception though is that Starbucks uses the feminine
form for its blonde roast coffee. Maybe the
marketing people believe we’ll love it more if we think of it as a woman or as female.
How to Use
‘Blond’ and ‘Blonde’
1. Avoid using “blond” as a stand-alone noun for
men or women if you can easily rewrite your sentence or you think it may offend
your readers.
2. If you do use the words as nouns, maintain
the gender difference and use “blonde” for a woman and “blond” for a man.
3. Inanimate objects usually get the masculine
form of the word.
4. When you’re using “blond” as an adjective,
use the masculine spelling, without the E, especially if you’re in the United
States.
‘Blond’ and ‘Blonde’ Examples
Here are four examples of how the different
spellings are commonly used:
- The blonde was delighted when
Squiggly presented her with a dictionary. (feminine noun, sometimes
considered sexist)
- The blond wondered if he should
use hair gel. (masculine noun, sometimes considered sexist)
- The blond man looked horrible in
the orange sweater. (masculine adjective)
- Turn right at the blond brick
pathway. (inanimate object, masculine adjective)
Other Gendered English Nouns
Two that you may have seen before also come from
French: “confidant” (and “confidante”) and “fiance” (and “fiancee”). The AP Stylebook says to uphold the gender difference for both
words, unless you need a gender-neutral option for “fiancee,” and in that case,
it recommends describing couples as engaged or planning to marry. The Chicago
Manual of Style doesn’t address “fiancee” and notes the feminine form of
“confidante” but says it’s fading from the English language.
You may also be familiar with this pair from
Latin: “alumnus” and “alumna.” An "alumnus" is a male graduate, and
an “alumna” is a female graduate. (Read more about “alumni.”)
And of course, English has many pairs of words
we use to describe similar men and women, some of which are still in use, such
as “king” and “queen,” and other pairs where one has fallen out of use, such as
“editor” and “editrix.”
‘Blond’ and
‘Blonde’ Quiz
1. Squiggly fawned over the [blond/blonde] wooden
coffee table.
2. Catch that [blond/blonde] woman
before she gets on the train.
3. Lucy, a [blond/blonde], considered
dyeing her hair blue.
4. Norman prefers [blond/blonde] women
for his starring roles.
5. Erik had always savored being a [blond/blonde].