“Gingerism”: Racism Towards Those with Red Hair
In Britain there have been recent anti-redhead attacks.
The first time I heard discrimination towards people with red hair was in the show “South Park”. The clip of that episode can be found in Youtube. Eric was doing a informative/hate speech entitled “Ginger Kids: Children with Red Hair, Light Skin and Freckles”. He describes children with red hair having a disease called “gingervitis” and that they “have no souls”.
His friend Kyle who happens to have red hair is outraged with Eric’s false accusations and, worst of all, his classmates believe every word of it! I admit that I found Eric’s comments hilarious but that’s the magic of “South Park”, they insult everybody.
Gingerism. A word associated with racism towards people with red hair. It may sound funny but the BBC points out that this is a very real problem resulting in anti-red hair hate crimes in the UK. I really don’t see the difference between gingerism and racism. So one’s about skin color and one’s about hair color.
Less than one percent of the human race has red hair. It occurs mainly with people from northern and western European populations and their descendants – and at low frequencies throughout other parts of Europe, Asia and Africa. It is associated with those in Scotland, Ireland, and Wales, as well as in England, particularly Cornwall. Scotland is the country with the highest proportion of redheads in the world. Thirteen percent of the Scottish population have red hair and approximately 40 percent carry the recessive, so-called “ginger gene”. Typically those with red hair find the term “ginger” an insult.
Historians suggest that contemporary anti-red-head sentiment largely stems from the 19th-century clash between the British and the Irish. In other countries redheads will get teased at school, and it usually stops when they become adults. But in the UK women get stereotyped and red-haired men take much of the worst abuse. Treatment of red-haired children in school ranges from mild taunts to grim persecution. Surprisingly, evidence of gingerism can be found as far back as the Egyptians, who used to sacrifice red-heads. They are also associated with witches and vampires in Europe.
The most extreme case of anti-red-head sentiment was the 2003 stabbing of a red-headed 20-year-old man. In recent news a red haired family was forced to move out of the neighborhood. The Commission for Racial Equality do not claim responsibility on monitoring racial discrimination towards these people.
I wonder what those people think about Prince Harry or Rupert Grint. A few famous examples of people with red hair are Mary Magdalene, Adam, Judas and even Jesus.
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User Comments
Kitty
On September 6, 2007 at 7:49 pm
“A few famous examples of people with red hair are Mary Magdalene, Adam, Judas and even Jesus.”
Wait… what?
Jay
On April 19, 2009 at 2:18 am
Im a proud Red-head. Though, we are prodominatly German and Slovik, Red Hair runs through my family, I have it, Grampa had it, his brother had it and my cousin has it… though right now we are the only ones with it now. I have grown up being called every name in the book that there is for us… But I never heard of being targeted for hate crimes. I have never heard name calling or anything else after I got out of school. I guess its mainly due to my 6′3 height and 260lbs that sorta makes people keep their mouths closed, hehe. Im proud to be a red-head… its the ultimate individuality statement, and people try really hard to fake it, but you can NEVER FAKE RED! RED POWER!!!
Kevin C
On May 1, 2009 at 3:43 pm
Carrot top, pumpkin head ,devil hair , I ve been picked on bullied since I was a little kid. Being a teenage boy with red hair was pure hell . yuk you have red hair I wont go out with a guy with red hair. I had a old polish women that would chase me out of my buddy yard because I had red hair DEVIL BOY DEVIL BOY . Sound like fun growing up. Red hair is cuted when your 6 but not at 16 . Now im 55 and I still hear hes got red hair he looks like a trouble maker . I got bullied by a co worker at age 50 . sound crazy but I had to go to the company manager to get this idiot off my case because I had red hair . any one else have the same thing happen to them .
MeMyself
On August 19, 2009 at 8:22 pm
I get SO sick of the hypocrites who rationalize double-standards saying “it’s not the same as anti-semitism or racism because redheads didn’t have slavery or the holocaust blah blah blah” etc. A hate-crime happens to YOU, not your goddamned ancestors!
Demian
On September 28, 2009 at 12:03 pm
Red haired people are actually in the true seat of human power. This is subconsciously sensed by those less fortunate than us. It is our ability to see through other people with just a glance, which causes others to feel violated by our very existence. They are afraid to admit that it is our brilliant sensitivity which shocks them. They prefer to pretend to themselves that we are freaks. This is the ugly duckling scenario. But the light of truth illuminates for us so much more, in even our darkest moments, than they will ever have the ability to see.
If other people’s hair was the color of blood, they would be able to claim they had good circulation to their brains as well.
Alas. It is only us.
Don’t mistake our kindness for weakness.
Norwegian Redhead
On October 4, 2009 at 3:06 pm
I have been teased while growing up for having red hair yes.
altho always being stronger and with a vicious temper it stopped.
I have never ever been turned down by a woman for being a red head tho and i would laugh at them if they did.
i occasional hear the red heads have no souls thing from south park but i generally just reply with something like and thats why im going to take yours or something
i see you`ve added jesus there as a red head wont comment on that.
but since he is there you should add a God of far greater awsomeness there and that would be Thor the Norse thundergod.
he was said to have red hair and beard.
he was also known as red Thor.
John Forbush
On November 13, 2009 at 3:55 pm
This shit always made me angry. I’ve herd fire croth, (B4 I had one). My hair is now dark red. It has always had some black and brown ones too, but it has gotten darker. It is mistaken as brown from a distance. My skin has freckles everywhere but my face neck and hands. I’ve always noticed black women, and Hispanic women like me. Never been into dating black women never found one that was my type.Dated a few hispanic women. Dated a Persian girl, her brother had red hair and they where pure Persian. They were the lighter ones she had black hair. She classified herself as white not Arab or middle eastern, she was not a Muslim, and she was not a dark Persian. She thought it was sexy. My current girlfriend, I’m getting married to is Sicilian. I love her dear. I’m not racist just interested in studying. I think some cultures are easier for me to get along with. Why the hell do Germans hate redheads? Don’t they know they carried the gene to Ireland. LOL. Back to the fact I’ve never been able to get a white woman. Now I’m marrying a dark hair, dark eyed, dark skinned Italian. Now is it me or is there some racism/gingerism? My friends from Russia aren’t even racist towards redheads. My friend Sargas has read hair and he is 1/4 Armenian. LOL. Both his parents had a c16 gene obviously. There was a red haired african american when I was in HS. He had freckles, black skin and red hair. He got into trouble for dieing his hair. He told the principal it was his real hair color he had been dieing it black for so long. They called his parents and looked like dumb shits for doing this.
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