Prejudice Against Redheads

[Shadow Wolf]

Though we live in a day where people pride themselves on diversity, inclusiveness, and being sensitive to differences, I contend that probably most forms of prejudice go without much awareness of being talked about. One of these forms that gets very little discussion (probably even less than violence and prejudice against those with mental illnesses) is prejudice against those with red hair. We are targeted, picked on, bullied, harassed, stereotyped, assaulted, and have even been killed for our red hair, and it's a very long established tradition in Europe, dating back to at least the ancient Egypt, where we viewed as witches and evil. Michelangelo gave Eve redhair on the Sistine Chapel. Today redheaded kids are widely bullied. As adults we're assumed to be stubborn and very tempermental. Even South Park was the inspiration of some idiots who decided to start a "kick a ginger day." And it is not unusual for people do downplay and dismiss there is a problem at all. It's even accepted to casual stereotype us and even air prejudices with impunity.
It gets bad enough some argue we should be a protected class.
"Being Ginger" and the Stereotypes of Red-Heads | The Takeaway | WNYC Studios

Growing up, red-heads often bear the brunt of ridicule and teasing. Red-headed women are often perceived as fiery, but their male counterparts are associated with different stereotypes—they're clownish, weak and maybe a bit hefty.
...
Historians say the basis of these stereotypes might lie in history. In Ancient Egypt, red-heads were viewed as witches and evil. And even in the Sistine Chapel, Michelangelo depicted a sinful Eve with red hair. Such representations go a long way, researchers say, toward defining the negative impressions of red-heads, which may lead to the teasing and bullying that they face.

Redheads 'easy targets for bullies', claims researcher

The study by a University College Cork student claims "people with ginger hair are easy targets for bullies".

Psychology undergraduate Kevin O'Regan recorded that more than 90% of men with red hair had been victimised simply because of their hair colour.

He concluded "bullying of gingers" is "one of the last socially accepted forms of prejudice against people for a trait they were born with".
...
The results showed 60.6% of males and 47.3% of females with red hair said that they had suffered "some kind of discrimination in the past due to their hair colour".

Some of those who took part in the study gave examples of the abuse they suffered: "I had a teacher look right at me the first day of class and say 'I don't like redheads, so don't expect things to be easy in this class for you' in front of the whole class."
...
Another comment said: "I had a beer bottle thrown at my head for being a redhead. The guy was drunk, but he said the bathroom wasn't for gingers, a bottle broke on the wall next to my head a moment later."

One contributor claimed to have left their job because of bullying in the workplace.

In response to the question "would you date someone with red/ginger hair?" only 9.2% of the overall sample said that red hair would definitely deter them from having a relationship with someone.

Red haired men in particular felt that "it was a detriment to them in their romantic lives".
...
Mr O'Regan said on one occasion he himself had been rejected when the lights came on in a nightclub after dancing with a girl who thought he had blonde locks.

Singer Janet Devlin said she experienced "horrible comments" when she dyed her hair from blonde to red after she rose to fame on talent programme The X Factor.
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Founder and event organiser of the Irish Redhead Convention, Joleen Cronin, said young people who attended the event in previous years revealed they were self-conscious about having ginger hair.

"There are so many stories of young kids with insecurities coming away feeling positive from the vibe of the festival," she said.

"You can see a change in attitudes at the festival, within people who had negative feelings about themselves and others beginning to embrace a change in perceptions.

Discrimination against redheads very real, says author | IrishCentral.com

"Unfortunately bullying of children with red hair is still common and people with red hair are often seen as acceptable targets because they're not one group and not a race. It's one of the last great social prejudices."

A University College Cork-based study last year found that as many as nine out of ten ginger-haired men worldwide have been the victims of bullying.

And Colliss Harvey, a University of Cambridge graduate, agreed that the experience for redheaded males tends to be far more negative than female counterparts, whose hair color is often regarded as far more attractive.

Gingerism in Utah: The Most Obscure Discrimination

One reason that is often over looked is being a ginger; a person with red hair, light skin and freckles. In 2005 the TV show South Park came out with the episode "Ginger Kids" that said, among other things, that gingers were sick, evil, and had no souls. "You have no soul!" has become a common accusation directed towards redheads that is often viewed as acceptable in normal society, even at schools and work. This discrimination against redheads is often overlooked, ignored, or discounted because most redheads are white and part of a racial majority in the areas where they are persecuted. Even if it is acknowledged it is treated as a joke.

Should the Law Protect Redheads From Prejudice? - The Gryphon

For instance, the parents of Helena Farrell, a fifteen-year-old girl from Ireland who killed herself in 2013, attributed her daughter’s death to be, in part, from the bullying she faced by her school peers due to her red hair. Similarly, former equalities minister Harriet Harman was forced to apologise after calling MP ...
Danny Alexander a “ginger rodent”, declaring that she was unaware of the offence that this would cause.
Sometimes this abuse has gone further into examples of physical assault and threat to life by others. For instance, in 2013 a man was attacked in Birmingham while celebrating his 23rd birthday, leaving his jaw broken in two places. The reason for the attack was his ginger hair. Additionally, in 2007, a family from Newcastle claimed that they were forced to leave their town after being targeted by a group over their ginger hair
....

https://theweek.com/articles/451866/science-behind-antiredhead-prejudice

Are people with red hair — gingers, redheads, individuals of unusual rufosity, whatever you want to call them — less attractive than people with other hair colors? That is certainly what received wisdom tells us. Alongside the impression that they have fiery tempers, unquenchable libidos, and cold, clammy hands (OK, I made that last one up), one of the most common bits of folk wisdom about redheads is that they are just not that cute.

What lies beneath the stigmatisation of redheads in the UK?

Given the suicides of bullied redhead children, there have been calls from rights groups to identify verbal abuse of red hair as a hate crime.
“I was just standing outside a pub having a smoke with a pal and then out of nowhere I get punched in the face by a random stranger and called a ‘ginger *******’”.

Tom Healy is a 26 year old shop assistant who lives near Glasgow, Scotland. He is describing an unprovoked attack last month that left him with a bleeding nose. It is not the first such attack he’s experienced.

Lily Cole says bullying for red hair is 'not dissimilar' to racial abuse

The Star Wars actor claimed that teachers often turn a blind eye to such prejudice because it is not considered to be as bad as other forms of discrimination and revealed that she was left with low self-esteem after years of being victimised at school.
..
The 32-year-old continued: “It's not a racial slur but it's also not dissimilar because it's something a child can't change about themselves, short of dyeing their hair.

“My mum said it was jealousy but I didn't really believe that. It can be really damaging.”

Cole is not the only celebrity to speak out about being bullied for their red hair.

Gingerism | Documenting red head prejudice
(this site is a collection of incidents)

 

[metis]

Yep, as my wife is a redhead, and she told me that in school some taunted her with saying "Red, Red, who sh*t on your head?!".

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

That's really bad. Honestly, I have never witnessed such things, myself, aside from jokes and such.

 

[MatthewA]

This all I got to offer.

 

[Estro Felino]

Well...I guess prince Harry, a ginger is liked by so many girls worldwide.
Redhead men are really interesting...especially if they are curly-haired too...

 

[Shadow Wolf]

That's really bad. Honestly, I have never witnessed such things, myself, aside from jokes and such.

I was bullied for it in school.
When I worked at Arbys, one of the managers eventually disclosed to me that they all thought I was going to be a temperamental hothead. And I've heard that belief elsewhere.
My hair also gets touched--a lot--without any asking, permission, warning, or heads up.
Some assume I'm Irish. I am, but not all redheads are.
I've been told I don't have a soul.
We're also prone to pain sensitivity issues and needing more anesthetics to be numbed up for something. Lots of providers (particularly dentists) have not believed me so I have to endure more pain than most (including for electrolysis, with my pain response being so severe I have pain in my joints).

 

[SigurdReginson]

This all I got to offer.

I forgot about this guy!

 

[Shadow Wolf]

Well...I guess prince Harry, a ginger is liked by so many girls worldwide.
Redhead men are really interesting...especially if they are curly too...

He doesn't change the fact redheaded men are often believed to have bad tempers that are prone to exploding.
A few of my links account examples of both redheaded men and women being rejected because of their hair color (including one guy who was rejected after the lights came on and she say his hair is red, not blond).

 

[MatthewA]

People can be very mean, bitter, and hateful.

Sucks you had to go through all that trouble; @Shadow Wolf

Are you still having problems like this today ? Where people pick on you and bully you or have those days kind of got quieter since growing up and getting out of school?

 

[MatthewA]

I forgot about this guy!

Gingers do have souls; and God made them that way; according to him in that video haha. 2012... what a year, SR.

 

[Estro Felino]

He doesn't change the fact redheaded men are often believed to have bad tempers that are prone to exploding.

It would be interesting to understand when and why this urban legend, this myth originated.
I think it is just irrational...I mean...I know no readhead men IRL ...I recall there was a readhead guy in middle-school, that I liked. He was so sweet...calm.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

People can be very mean, bitter, and hateful.

Sucks you had to go through all that trouble; @Shadow Wolf

Are you still having problems like this today ? Where people pick on you and bully you or have those days kind of got quieter since growing up and getting out of school?

The main issue I have today is people not keeping their hands to themselves.
And when it comes to healthcare. At the dentist, for example, anything more than a routine cleaning and checkup and I'm curled up from the neck down trying to control my flinches and get through the pain because they don't believe me that I can still feel stuff.
And it has happened that people assume I have a nasty temper.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

It would be interesting to understand when and why this urban legend, this myth originated.
I think it is just irrational...I mean...I know no readhead men IRL ...I recall there was a readhead guy in middle-school, that I liked. He was so sweet...calm.

The links I provided discuss that. it goes back at least to ancient Egypt and Greece, and still seems very alive in the English.

 

[ChristineM]

It's a sad state when any predudice exists, the human race should be above such behaviour.

 

[Vinayaka]

Though we live in a day where people pride themselves on diversity, inclusiveness, and being sensitive to differences, I contend that probably most forms of prejudice go without much awareness of being talked about.

I just wanted to tell you that I have two red-headed adult daughters, and your avatar pic always reminds me of them. Needless to say, I like red hair. Of 25 cousins on my paternal side, 8 had beautiful red hair.

 

[Twilight Hue]

Maybe in today's 'woke' culture, one would see bald people with red beards as discriminated even more!

For their bald heads!

 

[Twilight Hue]

I just wanted to tell you that I have two red-headed adult daughters, and your avatar pic always reminds me of them. Needless to say, I like red hair. Of 25 cousins on my paternal side, 8 had beautiful red hair.

I knew a ginger girl as a teen and let me tell you that she was immensely popular with that red hair temper as well.

I miss her. Great friend.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

that red hair temper as well.

That's a part of this thread. It's not a "red hair temper." It's a temper. And when people assume you have a temper just because of your hair color it's a problem. In way similar to how blonde women are stereotyped as dumb because of the color of her hair (yes, that's a real thing as well).
And of those who told me I'm the "first" or "only" redhead they've met who doesn't have a fiery temper, I'm willing to bet most of the time it's confirmation bias and counting the hits while ignoring the misses.

 

[Brickjectivity]

This all I got to offer.

Southpark exists primarily to make fun of Southern US culture and to make the writers money. The writers guild forces them to write about ethics and morality though. Maybe. Maybe that's how it works.

 

[Vinayaka]

That's a part of this thread. It's not a "red hair temper." It's a temper. And when people assume you have a temper just because of your hair color it's a problem. In way similar to how blonde women are stereotyped as dumb because of the color of her hair (yes, that's a real thing as well).
And of those who told me I'm the "first" or "only" redhead they've met who doesn't have a fiery temper, I'm willing to bet most of the time it's confirmation bias and counting the hits while ignoring the misses.

I concur. Of my 2 siblings, and 6 cousins, none of them has a fiery temper. Amazing how ingrained some myths are. My Dad, and an Uncle also had red hair, and were calm guys. 10 is a small sample size, but googling it busts the myths.

Nice thread.