Definitions
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun anthropology The presence of
blond hair .
Etymologies
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blond + -ism
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nuxiy commented on the word blondism
"The result of significant depigmentation of the skin, hair and eyes. It has been suggested that this feature, which is possibly the expression of a mutation at the gene known as MC1R, arose in early (Paleolithic) northern European populations as a selective response to relatively low levels of ultraviolet radiation, resulting in insufficient synthesis of Vitamin D in the human body (Vitamin D is essential to the strength of the bone structure). Lighter-pigmented skin supposedly allows more ultraviolet radiation to enter, enabling an adequate production of Vitamin D. Sexual selection of novel, distinctive characters such as blond hair and light eyes (probably non-selected "side effects" of the general reduction in melanin) may have contributed greatly to the propagation of the phenotype. Contrary to popular belief, blondism is not in essence a distinctive or intrinsically Nordid feature, but is shared by most Europid (mostly Cro-Magnid) populations within a certain geographical range centered on the Baltic Sea (Dalo-Falids, Borrebys, Baltids, etc.). The lack of similar selection in Eskimids and other arctic peoples probably results from adequate levels of Vitamin D in their diets."
- SNPA
March 21, 2009