Redhead/Ginger?

[Foofoogal]

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Story?id=3378972&page=1

I saw the most interesting story on TV last night about discrimination of redheads in Britain. I was floored. Did anyone else see it?
I adore redheads. :arated: I find them like rare orchids or something. I live in Texas and hardly see any of them. Did anyone else see this story. I couldn't believe it.

 

[J. M. Stovall]

We saw that too, we almost thought it was a joke. Can some of our British members clarify this for us?

 

[thebadmamajama]

Rushton said when redheads see one another, there often is a sense of camaraderie.

"Redheads walk along the street and we nod or wink or smile at each other," she said.

That article is crazy! Who knew? But this particular quote is so true--it's amazing what an unspoken camaraderie we have with each other. Heck, I've even had a stare-down with redheaded babies!

 

[BeBopBaby]

We saw that too, we almost thought it was a joke. Can some of our British members clarify this for us?

They were making fun of how ridiculous this is on the Graham Norton show one night. lol

 

[BegintheBeguine]

I saw it last week and was too upset to post it here. Some of the Guy Smileys thought it was a big yuk-fest. Har har. I've had my hair set on fire, been pushed many times, been asked disgusting questions about if it's real, screamed at, been offered disgusting theories as how my hair turned red when I was born, and of course called names pertaining to the color and being the devil's spawn, been discriminated against when applying for jobs. Ho ho, what fun. Well, people will always be icky to those who are born looking different. My dad, grandfather, great-grandfather, uncle, brother, son, one of two nephews and sister were born with red hair but mine was the brightest. I really don't know why this should be so surprising. Or funny, for that matter.

 

[Starius]

That just dumbfounds me. I just can't wrap my mind around it.

When I was little, a red headed girl used to play with me on the school bus and I've had a thing for red headed women ever since.

But to be treated that way? Thats just crazy. Well, no less crazy than any other kind of racism or bigotry I suppose.

 

[ohairas]

WOW. I had no idea!

"It's a glorious color," she said. "It's amazing. Nature produced this color."

It IS a glorious color and we CANNOT get it out of a box. I can come close but it's really never the same as a natural. And I like Nicole Kidman's much better red than blonde.

Redheads also turn the most beautiful shade of grey as they age!
Nikki

 

[RedHotRidinHood]

That's really amazing. I can't believe that anyone in the world doesn't have better things to do than make fun of people that happen to have melanocortin-1 in their DNA makeup....I love my red hair. I am proud of it! I inherited it from both sides of my family and I guess I was lucky that I wasn't teased too much as a kid. Oh, I got called carrot top sometimes but I was proud of being different. Nobody was too mean.

Even though I have to "help" my hair stay red now that I have gotten older, I still love it. Now that it isn't as faded anymore, I get appreciative looks, and my beau loves it. And if anyone would ever call me carrot top again, I have a great comeback-"The tops of carrots are green, dumbass".

Here is a neat site: www.realmofredheads.com

 

[BeBopBaby]

How many redheads out there are actually married to another redhead? *raises hand*

I'm the only red in my family, but my husband's entire family is red-headed. My husband's family is Scottish and they're all curly-haired redheads with ruddy complexions. I'd be willing to bet that when we have kids, they'll end up looking the same because the genetic traits are so strong in his family.

None of us have ever had problems. No one has ever bothered me about the color of my hair (at least to my face), in fact I usually only get positive comments. The only time it gets annoying is around St. Patricks Day when everyone suddenly turns Irish and feels the need to stop my husband and I at the supermarket and on the streets. It happens every year like clockwork, but it's never nasty. It's more annoying than anything.

 

[J. M. Stovall]

That's just nuts, my mom has red hair, I've had many red haired friends, my mother-in-law (always) and wife (right now) both have red hair. I've never heard of such a thing!

 

[BeBopBaby]

Redheads also turn the most beautiful shade of grey as they age!
Nikki

Yeah, it's called stark white! There is no grey with redheads, it turns straight to white. My hubby's sideburns and temples are turning white and I have a white streak in my bangs that I've had to start dying and we're both in our early 30s. Why is men look distinguished when they turn white, but I look like a crazy cat lady when I turn white? lol

 

[Edward]

Any kid that looks different at school will get teased by a certain mentality. If it's not because they have red hair, it's because they wear glasses, are short, are tall, have big boobs, are fat, thin..... whatever. It's nothing new. It does go on, though I've never seen it to the degree that that somewhat sensationalist article would paint it. One thing that is certainly true is that it is men who bear the brunt. The ladies are by an large admired (I've got a dreadful weakness myself for a lady with red hair and pale, pale skin), even fetishised by many men - in fact, in my experience I've met far fewer genetic red headed ladies than I have those who dye their hair that colour because it is such a classy look. AFAIK, most of the bullying of those girls at school is other girls - typically jealous of their attractiveness! Men are more likely to be perceived as geeky, pathetic, and yes, while many men will confess an attraction to red headed ladies, there are very, very few women I've ever met who would consider a red headed man to be "ideal."

FWIW, I was born ginger but quickly went dark. right up until I started to shave my head completely, my hair would develop natural red streaks in the summer.

 

[Foofoogal]

I had never heard the term Ginger but now when I think about it I wonder if this is why Ginger was Ginger on Gilligans Island?
I have never heard of anyone in the USA ever being flatly treated horrible for hair that color like in that news story. I couldn't believe it. Are people in the UK that superstitious?
Pass the word that if one is redhead they just may be celebrated in the USA. lol
I need to know if this is really truly so bad as the story showed or if it is like everyone thinking in Texas everyone wears hats and rides horses everywhere.
I have a fairly new son-in-law who has the most gorgeous dark red hair that has beautiful waves. I keep telling him it is his most redeeming value with me. I have wanted redheaded grandbabies forever.
Just in case I need to bop some brit in the future..........

 

[Doctor Strange]

South Park (a reliable source on the latest fads and trends) did an episode about this last year:

http://www.southparkstudios.com/show/display_episode.php?season=9&id1=911&id2=140

 

[$ally]

Yeah, it's called stark white! There is no grey with redheads, it turns straight to white. My hubby's sideburns and temples are turning white and I have a white streak in my bangs

That's right, we call it getting snow on the roof.
There is an instant bond between reds. We look at each other and think, yeah, I know what you've been through. Anyone who laughs about this is obviously NOT a redhead. It is a very real problem. It's like a mild form of stereo-typing. We've all heard people hum the Irish Washerwoman song, imitate the Lucky Charms leprechaun, quote ads for Irish Spring soap, Scotch tape, Scotch guard, etc. Every single St Patrick's Day I get the "Why aren't you wearing green, you're Irish". Then do I explain that I'm of Scottish decent, not Irish? That I was born in the USA and I'm not Catholic so I really don't care about St Pat who is more fiction than fact anyway? That on the Irish flag; green represents Catholic, Orange represents Protestant, white unity between the two, therefore I'd wear white if I gave a flying pig about it? No, I usually just tell them I was too drunk to find my green leprechaun suit. That's what they want to hear anyway.
I've had men ask me if my carpet matches my drapes, if it's true that reds are wild, if it's true that reds are more distinguished, if I have herbal cures for things, if I developed a figure early, if ever wear a kilt (like the Tilted Kilt girls ala Hooters), and so on.
I was once told that I would be hired to model for a casino TV commercial only if I dyed my hair. They claimed the red would "moray" on camera. Like auburn hair would cause a strobe effect? So I dyed it brunette, pretended to win at poker for an hour, took the $360 and went to a watch a movie with the rest of the cast, never to agree to work for that production company again. I was placed between a Native American man, an African man, and an Asian woman for the filming because they wanted to show the "diversity" of their casino. I did several other regional commercials for another company with my natural color and it didn't cause any camera troubles. I was hired because of my figure and coloring, so it's still superficial stuff.
I've occasionaly been told by co-workers (and others) that I should get a fake tan, have my freckles lasered off, dye my hair, etc. I just accused them of being racist and they shut it. Hey, this is my hair color, deal with it. My skin is fair and rosy, deal with that too. Some men tell me it's gorgeous, some (jealous) women imply that it's ugly. Their closed-minded rudeness is ugly.

 

[RedPop4]

Men are more likely to be perceived as geeky, pathetic, and yes, while many men will confess an attraction to red headed ladies, there are very, very few women I've ever met who would consider a red headed man to be "ideal."

And here I thought it was just me.

 

[Starius]

Every single St Patrick's Day I get the "Why aren't you wearing green, you're Irish". Then do I explain that I'm of Scottish decent, not Irish? That I was born in the USA and I'm not Catholic so I really don't care about St Pat who is more fiction than fact anyway? That on the Irish flag; green represents Catholic, Orange represents Protestant, white unity between the two, therefore I'd wear white if I gave a flying pig about it? No, I usually just tell them I was too drunk to find my green leprechaun suit. That's what they want to hear anyway.

fftopic:

I apologize for being a bit off topic but this reminded me of a childhood incident.
My mother, who is originally from England, always found the US St. Patrick's Day holiday rather... dumb, I guess. So one year when I was in elementary she made me wear protestant orange instead of green for St. Patrick's day. Of course, being a clueless Iowa farm boy, I had no clue what any of it meant. But I sure did learn what it meant not to wear green, I got a lot of pinches that year.

 

[$ally]

The ladies are by an large admired (I've got a dreadful weakness myself for a lady with red hair and pale, pale skin), even fetishised by many men ... Men are more likely to be perceived as geeky, pathetic, and yes, while many men will confess an attraction to red headed ladies, there are very, very few women I've ever met who would consider a red headed man to be "ideal."

I do! Sent those hotties my way!
My older brothers are all redheads and were quite popular with the ladies. They were also 6'2", buff, athletic, musical, so I suppose that helped. The two eldest were very red and curly, one went snow white and wavy, the other lost a bit (gained face) but there's still some red in there. The youngest had the same hair type as mine, light auburn and wavy, now snow white. My Mom is also snow white and wavy now.
My neice (my age) is strawberry blonde. The reddish from my brother, the blonde from her blonde Mom. Her husband is honey brown, his Mother has very red. Their sons both have very red wavy hair. Some people have actually had the nerve to ask her how her kids got such red hair, implying she had affairs I guess. She has some sharp replies! My fav being "Well, if your Mother didn't explain to you what goes on between a husband and wife, I'm sure not going to"

 

[$ally]

I apologize for being a bit off topic but this reminded me of a childhood incident.My mother, who is originally from England, always found the US St. Patrick's Day holiday rather... dumb, I guess. So one year when I was in elementary she made me wear protestant orange instead of green for St. Patrick's day. Of course, being a clueless Iowa farm boy, I had no clue what any of it meant. But I sure did learn what it meant not to wear green, I got a lot of pinches that year.

lol It is dumb, I'm with her on that. Green beer? I like the Conan O'Brien episode with the skit "Honor your ancestors with the green plastic hat"
Sorry she got you pinched though.
I hate when men ask when when kissing time starts when I'm not wearing a pin or a T-shirt that says "kiss me I'm Irish". I tend to hide at home on Amateur Drinking Day.

 

[Amy Jeanne]

I can't relate to some of my fellow redheads stories on here. Maybe I've just been lucky, but I've NEVER come across any teasing, pervertedness, or hatred because of my red hair -- in either the UK or USA (my husband is from London.)

I've gotten nothing but praise for it in the USA. In the UK I got more praise for my haircut.

But then again, I'm now a traitor because I recently died it black!!