Is it cos i is Ginger?

The average adult has approximately 120,000 individual hairs on their head. Redheads apparently have fewer (a pitiful 80,000) yet those with the lesser amount receive much more attention: negative attention that is. So why is it so much more of a big deal to be ginger?

In a society so full of discrimination, it is astounding to find that the problem in question is not disappearing, but merely taking a different shape. It is unlawful to discriminate against someone on grounds of race, gender, sexual orientation, religious beliefs or disability, But what about those other forms? Are they less important?

Redheads, for example, receive nothing but unpleasant comments in both the media and the playgrounds, and are amongst the most bullied category of people in the country despite only amounting to 4% of the world’s population.
In fact, the hatred for them has become so extreme that a number of petitions have been created on the internet to “take action to protect non-gingers”; one in particular not-too-subtly named “Put all Ginger-haired people in Concentration Camps” which many thousand people have signed. (No really, it is a genuine petition!)

Of course, it can be argued that there will always be some specific trait that can trigger painful mockery, but is sitting back and shrugging it off really a fair option? Or would taking action just take political correctness further than it has already gone?

Either way, the unpopularity of those with red hair has always been around, and it has never been agreed on where it originated.
In many cultures, redheads are worshipped due to their rareness, and are seen as a symbol of strength, sexual power, and fierce aggression. Perhaps then there is an association with threat that will forever haunt them. Women in the 16th Century with auburn locks were burned at the stake for having “hair the colour of the devil” which would certainly support the threat theory. But then, where did this originate from?
It has never been decided what moment in time those with copper tops were cast aside to join other minority groups as victims, but one thing is certain; Times have definitely not changed.

Last summer, the Chapman family from Newcastle were in the news after being forced out of their home 3 times due to horrendous targeting towards their four redheaded children. If that in itself was not degrading enough, their Council suggested the solution to the problem lay in a bottle of hair dye.
In 2003, an unfortunate 20 year old was stabbed in the back “for being ginger” and similarly, although not as severe, our beloved Prince Harry finally reached out for help last year, for a councillor to help him deal with constantly being called a Carrot-Top by the media and by his colleagues.

The pattern seems to repeat itself scrupulously through generations. And always in England. In America, redheads are supposedly adored and of course the Celtics would never punish their own, (13% of Scots are ginger, the highest percentage in the world) but in England, often with the addition of pale skin and an overload of freckles, redheads are not likely to be adored unanimously any time in the future.

A recent survey of UCLan students reflects this distaste. When asked which hair colour they would choose to have naturally, as predicted, blonde was the most popular choice, and some people oddly chose the colour green. But even more surprising, was that more people said that they would rather have no hair at all than to be ginger. And out of those already with red hair naturally, only 10% would keep it.

Those who are diverse have always received special treatment. And scientifically, redheads stand out not just to the naked eye. Technically, what makes the hair strands the vibrant colour they are, is the result of a genetic mutation (Which no doubt does nothing to help their reputation knowing that the genes are a mishap.) Two copies of the recessive “ginger gene” will unexpectedly become dominant and transform the hair of an innocent child’s head, into “that of the devil”….apparently.

Although some may find it bizarre and outrageously inappropriate to associate hair colour discrimination (any colour at all) with the likes of racial discrimination as an example, what exactly is different between the two when both use cruel gestures in order to make victims out of those that are different? Maybe it’s about time pointing fingers are put to rest and we give the gingers a break for one year.