Alison Saar draws from her personal identity and experience with racism and sexism in the narratives she tells through her sculptures, drawings, and prints. As a biracial woman with a lighter complexion, Saar sees her hair as an important part of her physical appearance that directly points to her African American heritage. Due to the value she places on her hair, various rituals, expectations, and connotations revolving around hair have occurred as underlying themes throughout much of her work.

Alison Saar began Blonde Dreams several years ago but did not finish the woodblocks for the print until 2021. The print depicts a figure with cascading gold hair representative of white anglicized beauty standards. The dream of long blonde hair has hamstrung the woman. Strung up by her feet, the woman's vulnerable posture and vacant eyes suggest that she is not yet aware of her predicament. She has succumbed to the allure of social ideals to modify her Black hair, leading her to sacrifice her natural self-expression.