On the Phrase, ‘Beautiful But Dumb’

Why is it that certain men speculate, “Beautiful but dumb” when they see a strikingly beautiful woman? This paper is concerned with the psychodynamics in men who are prone to make this assumption, for—as with many assumptions—there appears to be an element of wishful thinking on the part of the one who makes it. Since the woman's beauty is obvious, the assumption pertains to her “dumbness.” The speaker consciously means that the woman is stupid—not “dumb.” However, he prefers the term “dumb” because it is closer to the unconscious wish. Children often use the word “dumb” in place of stupid; and their verbalizations are richer in manifest unconscious meaning. The phrase then means, in the language of the unconscious, “I see a beautiful woman and I wish that she be dumb (voiceless).” To be voiceless is to be helpless and ineffectual. The voice can be an aggressive, penetrating instrument which may be a symbol of the phallus.* A dumb person, therefore, would be one without the powerful phallus (ineffective). Theodore Roosevelt might have intuitively known this when he stated, “Speak softly and carry a big stick.” If one had the strength and effectiveness symbolized by phallus (big stick), a loud voice would be unnecessary. It is of interest to note that those of my male patients who use the phrase, “beautiful but dumb,” have a tendency to talk loudly when threatened; they all feel that they do not carry “the big stick.” They all do not feel adequate as men. The image of the beautiful, phallic woman is too overwhelming for them to contemplate. Some of them have expressed this fear by stating that they would feel awkward and ineffectual in the presence of the beautiful and intelligent woman. One patient said he felt “helpless