Apparently there's a sizable subset of the population, particularly here in the UK, who are strongly antipathetic towards "ginger" people, meaning those with red hair, light skin, and freckles.
I've seen hints in TV shows before, and today I looked it up after viewing the South Park episode about it (in season nine). And it's real. I talked to the local shop clerk, and he says his daughter is like that. Where she works she will let another employee take the till if a ginger customer comes in. If too many ginger people are on TV, she will change the channel.
Even one of the South Park creators admits to being freaked out by them.
Isn't it bizarre? It's just a color, like blue eyes. And for me, I find real red hair to be just gorgeous, particularly on girls.
I have to say it again: isn't it bizarre? Isn't there a limit to how irrational you'll allow yourself to be?
scuba steve adds:
I've heard about it, and it's bizarre. It doesn't seem to really exist outside of the UK, though. A red haired kid in the U.S. might get teased a bit, simply because it's rare, but that's about it.
The kind of prejudice that appears to exist in the UK is definitely very weird.
I, too, find red-haired women very attractive.
BBC article
2nd BBC article
Of course, one problem is that you can't suppress things like that. The more attention you put on it, the worse it's likely to get.
I've heard about it, and it's bizarre. It doesn't seem to really exist outside of the UK, though. A red haired kid in the U.S. might get teased a bit, simply because it's rare, but that's about it.
ReplyDeleteThe kind of prejudice that appears to exist in the UK is definitely very weird.
I, too, find red-haired women very attractive.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/6725653.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/tyne/6714735.stm
The human race is very bizarre, indeed.
ReplyDeleteOne of my customers' daughter is ginger, she could be a top model, with her fantastic and attractive look.
Yes, bizarre, frighteningly bizarre, not only in this respect, but generally bizarre.
You can find loads of examples in the daily news.
It's not a medieval mentality, it's a medieval inheritage. In these times, there was a heavy superstition associated with gingers, as with anything red, "the color of blood".
ReplyDeleteRed-heads were considered bad luck, similarly to black cats, Friday and the number 13.
It was also believed that one would be blonde if conceived in the first part of the mother's cycle, dark-haired in the second half, and ginger if conceived during the menstruation period. (A condition associated with "sin", naturally. The blood taboo is as old as the Old Testament itself.)
If this were true, then there's somebody I know closely who should definitely have red hair and freckles. But who doesn't. :-P
It's thought that in the UK it has to do with some English-Irish thing dating back to the 19th century. However, the prejudice exists much further back than that.
ReplyDeleteIt's also interesting to note that JK Rowling used this in the Harry Potter books with the Weasleys - who are all redheads. It shows they're good people but it gives other people more of a reason to hate them.
ReplyDeleteI think red haired people look the same as everybody else - and the picture you posted, Eolake, is absolutely gorgeous.
I think people are not so 'open-minded.' Whenever, I advice my friend to be more open-minded for good, they call me to be extremely open-minded dude and call me to be prepostorus, crazy, and stupid.
ReplyDelete"and the picture you posted, Eolake, is absolutely gorgeous."
ReplyDeleteIsn't it? If you couldn't see from her skin that she's a real redhead, I wouldn't have believed it.
Why not? You can have that color hair with a few different skin types. It's stunning, admittedly, and you don't see it very often...
ReplyDeleteI don't know about that, but the opposite is true - not everyone with fair skin and freckles is a redhead.
ReplyDeleteWell I've said it before, and I'll gladly say it again (and again), I think redheads are gorgeous! And the redder, the better. It really is my favourite hair colour, no idea why, just my preference.
ReplyDeleteI have to concur that's a beautiful redhead in the photo Eolake has published on this post. Just what I needed to cheer me up!
"Not everyone with fair skin and freckles is a redhead."
ReplyDeleteTrue. They can be blonde too.
Freckles are rather uncommon in native Africans ;-) but, interestingly, this is only true in humans. In bright light, one can notice that black panthers do have spots, faintly visible. Quite curious.
Anuway, all those distinctions are only skin deep. A beautiful redhead is, first and foremost, a beautiful woman. There are no ugly or bad colors.
Except maybe that horrid slime-green itchy sweater my great-aunt Euphrasia gave me for my 7th christmas, not THAT was nasty! I still have nightmares in that color.
OK, let's see ...
ReplyDeleteRed-headed women are phenomenally attractive to me; and ...
In certain locations some of these phenomenally attractive women are actually assumed to be LESS rather than more desirable by a segment of the population who, otherwise, might compete against me for these women's attentions; and ...
Presuming that my likelihood of getting in good with an attractive woman has at least some relation to the level of competition, and the level of the woman's relief at finding a tolerant male who doesn't mistreat her because of her coloration; then ...
I should be moving to England quite soon. Long live the yobs who make my job so much easier!
Well, if I'm the only competition you have, there should be plenty enough for the two of us. ;-)
ReplyDeletefor hollywood and modeling, red is out. it never was considered a beautiful color. personally i think it is unattractive but this is only my opinion. some like it but not me.
ReplyDeletegive me the blondes and blue eyes.
"Red is out in Hollywood"?
ReplyDeleteYou haven't seen "300", have you? Red all over. :-)
Granted, "some like it blonde".
People in the Middle East seem to particularly fantasize on redhead women. Probably because it's uncommon, and visually striking.
One of the superstitions associated to gingers is that they're considered overly sensual, and therefore immoral at times. "The book judged by its cover" again... It's considered they'd more readily paint the town red, if you will.
Amusingly, red hair is very frequent in drawn heroes, precisely because the visual effect makes the character stick out, feel different, special, more unique.
Go figure!
Final, I hate to tell you this but redhaired women don't like fugly either, so you're up shit creek on that one.
ReplyDeleteDiscriminating against the red-haired (ginger-haired) people is something unthinkable in Slovakia, unlike Great Britain. Although red-haired kids can be laughed at by their peers, nevertheless with the adults the situation is not taht bad as in Britain...
ReplyDeleteAs a Northerner I just have to say that Brits are bigoted to an extent you would not believe. I hope it is dying out, but the popular press seems to bring up new "Emanuel Goldstein" every day.
ReplyDeleteLiving in the North we had a natural tendency to mistrust anyone from South of Watford Gap, then the most Northern extent of London and the Home Counties.
Living in the NW we had a healthy mistrust of the NE. This leaves on ly about 1/4 of England, or 1/6th of Britian where we are "comfortable". Now being nearer Merseyside it was natural to be down on Manchester and Mancunians. This left about 50Mile Sq roaming ground. Add to that Chesters disregard to the thieving Scousers from Liverpool (a sentiment shared by Mancunians) you had backed yourself into a corner. Regarding the Welsh as Woolybacks (amorously involved wit sheep) and the local villagers as bumpkins. (Both were Liverpools opinion of Cestrians from Chester). So all in Chester love each other right? Nope, there were two large council estates, The Lache and Blacon, each regarded each other with healthy mistrust. The rest of us in the middle class areas were loyal to our side of town.
Thankfully there were no people of colour to mention, otherwise they would have taken some of that hatred too.
So to harp on about Brits being bigoted against redheads is like saying Americans drive automobiles. It's just life. A sad and sorry life, but there you go, Britain in the 80's.
alex said:
ReplyDelete"So to harp on about Brits being bigoted against redheads is like saying Americans drive automobiles. It's just life. A sad and sorry life, but there you go, Britain in the 80's."
I guess the difference, though, is that it doesn't appear to matter where they're from, they're discriminated against. A Mancunian might hate a fellow Mancunian if they've got red hair.
Yeah but "Mancunian" is such a cool word to say ...
ReplyDeleteAnd just how much do these Mancunians hate Paul Scholes when he plays for England but is still "the Ginger Prince"? Eh?
The ginger bigotism is hard to believe. Redheads may be somewhat out in Hollywood, but not elsewhere. Reba McIntire is an example in the music world and TV.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was young, I heard of a semi-truck rig which had a sign reading, "CAUTION! This truck stops for railroads, stop signs, blonds and brunettes. For a redhead it will back up 50 feet."
For a redhead it will back up 50 feet."
ReplyDeleteMust be a desperate trucker.
Or extremely polite when he saw that gorgeous color!
ReplyDelete:-)
Some people are afraid of spiders as well. And for no good reason.
ReplyDeleteVery true. I'm one of them.
ReplyDeleteWell, at least they're not the same species as I. :)
Mr Stobblehouse, I think you are just prejudiced.
ReplyDeleteI'm not ginger-haired, but I'm rather spider-ey, and I resent your attitude.
Imcidentally, my GF, Mary-Jane Watson, is a red-head. And a professional model. Lucky me. :-)
Most people (racists) tend to argue that we who respect all skin colours are to liberal are lose and thus have no choice in life.
ReplyDelete