
8 Non-Blonde Rapunzels
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Nine times out of 10, Rapunzel is shown as a blonde. I’m not sure why the princess known for her hair must still always be blonde. I know that we still have a problem with overemphasizing “Aryan” beauty. Kind of like why Helen of Troy is shown as blonde. She was a Greek woman in about 1200 B.C.E., so the likelihood of her being a butter blonde adult seems small. Also, Tangled, brown hair isn’t magical? Come on!
All of this leads to a very specific idea about what a princess with beautiful hair looks like. A friend told me once when her daughter saw a ginger-haired Rapunzel, she said, “Rapunzel doesn’t look like that!”
Luckily, there are so many Rapunzel retellings these days that even 1 out of 10 gives us a nice little list of books. I’m here to knock down the idea that Rapunzel must be blonde and to say that Rapunzel looks like any girl. Celebrating lustrous locks and tower exiles with all shades of tresses, here are picture books showing Rapunzel rocking different hues than the usual. (Helen of Troy, I’m coming for your hair next!)