Red Heads On The Decline? Repost

VERY interesting article! It seems around here, that wherever I go I see more and more redheads, and there are several of us who have noticed it!

Hm wonder if there's any truth to this claim? I have no issues with red heads. In fact I'm one... not by nature, though, it comes from the bottle.

(My natural color is a medium brownish)

"Women with red hair have a higher pain tolerance than anyone of any other hair color including men."

I have heard this before & I am seriously impressed by that!

I have to be honest & don't hate me, but I turned a guy down cause he had red hair. I couldn't see past it. But then when I got over the color of his hair I was so turned on by him LOL. Well things didn't work out between us & in ways I am happy about that because I found a guy that treated me much better (my husband). And it has nothing to do with hair color. And I have felt bad for the judging that I did against this red head. :o(

I actually have slightly red hair & VERY fair skin. There is nooooo tanning me LOL! I get freckles & my husband has even told me it doesn't look healthy & he is always putting sunblock on me LOL. When I was little I remember my parents lathering my body in Aloe Vera Jelly & me sticking to the sheets & how uncomfortable it was when I was sunburned.

I have a friend who's parents both have black hair & they had 3 boys with red hair & my friend had blonde hair. How random is that? So you are right the parents do not need to have red hair to have red headed children.

I liked your article & it sucks how people can be so cruel to the red headed people... :o(

Oh & people always called me a ghost in school...as well as when I wore a black bathing suit my friends would sing, "Ebony & Ivory...." LOL

good article

I have red hair- and yeah it's dyed. I get way more compliments on it too! My nature color is sort of auburn-ish and as a child it definitely had a lot of red in it. My best friend is a guy with natural very red hair, brown eyes. He hates it, and I always tell him people would kill for it. It's gorgeous (are guys supposed to have gorgeous hair? So not fair!)
Also- I one of the few people in my family that DOESN'T have blue eyes (mine are hazel)but I always hear the recessive gene theory on that too, and we have native american blood, but mostly blue eyes. So I really don't buy into that.
And to the natural red heads out there- celebrate it, because it truly is beautiful :)

How crazy! I can't believe that red heads are treated so badly in England. I have always felt a bit strange about my hair color. I come from a red headed family, my mother, her sister, and it goes back on their father's side. Yet, when I was born my hair was very, very blonde. As I grew up, in my teenage years my hair began to have tints of red and I became strawberry blonde. Now, my hair has more red in it than ever, but it's still not what I would consider a complete red. It's funny because some people will tell me my hair is blonde and others will tell me it's red, especially if I am with my mom, who has very red hair.

I think it's even crazier yet, when a hair dresser who is cutting my hair asks if I dye my hair. Shouldn't they be able to tell? lol My skin is so fair and always has been that if my hair were completely red, I wouldn't look out of place.

It was neat seeing all of the famous red heads. Great article!

Emma, like your friend I had a hard time accepting my hair color...I didn't like the color of my red, much less how much it makes you stick out, especially, in your teenage years when you just want to blend in and get by unnoticed. I am more accepting of it now.

My mom has green eyes and I have blue, must have gotten them from my dad, and my aunt has brown. It's funny how varied a family of red heads can be. Even my aunt and my mother's hair are different types of reds.

Thank you all for your wonderful comments. I really appreciate that. I had fun putting the article together. The reason I looked into the controversy is because my mom told me about the rumor. She was so upset thinking that red heads would become extinct. By the way, my mom doesn't have red hair but my father did. She must carry the recessive gene. Thanks everyone.

An interesting article, but I'm going to have to take issue with some of it.

Namely:
'In England, they are called "gingers" in a derogatory manner. Gingers are treated rudely and can be the subject of vicious attacks. Prince Harry was bullied at school for having red hair. A family of redheads had to move three times due to the violence inflicted upon them and one man was stabbed in the back for being "Ginger." There is discrimination against redheads and the UK Commission for Racial Equality does nothing to address the hate crimes. Terms such as: "gingerphobia" (fear of redheads) and "gingerism" (prejudice against redheads) are being report by the media.'
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Okay, in England
Redheads are called redheads.
Ginger is a shade of red applied to many things including hair, not a derogatory term.
Never heard the term 'gingers' until I read your post.
Lots of well loved people in the public eye have red hair, some of them are ginger.
Never heard any of these 'prejudicial terms'.
Two English red headed friends, one auburn, one ginger, never mention prejudice or being picked on.
Both are admired in part because of their beautiful hair.
Red has become the new blonde and many women, myself included, have had their hair died some shade of red. Not the action of a fearful minority.
As for Prince Harry being bullied at school because of his red hair, frankly, I find the notion that the son of the heir to the throne, the grandson of the Queen, being bullied for any reason preposterous.
It is possible, even likely, that he took some good natured ribbing about it, and quite likely that it related to his parentage, (no pun intended) most everyone is ribbed about something.
If that's a hate crime, we're all in trouble.

Be careful when applying one country's mores to another. Britain is a very different place from America with a different set of values, a very different sense of humour, and a different sense of political correctness.

Yes, there is prejudice in Britain and the country has its share of problems, but gingerism? Take it from this redhead, it just ain't so.

Anna, you are welcomed to check my sources as they are at the bottom of my article. I did not come up with these terms on my own. If you remember the Spice Girls a singing group in the UK, there was one called Ginger. She is, in fact, still in show business and still goes by Ginger. I was made fun of and at one point wanted to dye my hair another color because I didn't fit in, and that is here in the good ole U. S. of A. Yes, there is prejudice and hate crimes against red heads in the U.K. and I have even seen a report from there myself. In the middle ages they were believed to be witches. There are many other examples that I could go on and on about but please be my guest and check out my sources. I'm sure that you will see the same thing I saw. Better yet, what I have lived.

Got to agree with AnnaB.... I'm a Scot - lots of us are red-heads, including me. 'Ginger' is a specific colour of red hair - and not all redheads are so-called.... in fact, it is often a term of affection - when we are called gingernuts (gingernuts are biscuits(US cookies) made with ginger and spices and are 'ginger' in colour). AnnaB has explained that the 'differences' in humour on both sides of the pond may be an explanation of what YOU see as PC, we see as 'ribbing'.

I have that shade of red hair which is almost blonde - much envied by many of my peers who desperately wanted my long, STRAIGHT red hair..

My husband said it was my hair colour which first attracted him.

Lela
Your reply to AnnaB appeared whilst I was typing my comment above!
Still say that you are wrong - but then, I live here and you live there......!

This information came from very reliable sources. If you have issue with it then maybe you might want to take it us with my sources. I still know how it was growing up and if you didn't experience the same thing than that's great, I do know how it is with teasing and eventually it hurts. Those incidents were from the U. K., not Scotland. That may be the reason for the difference.

By the way, I had almost orange hair growing up and now it is darker but not auburn. People gave me all kinds of compliments for it once it got darker but kids picked on me for having orange hair. I had long straight red hair too and my husband was also drawn to me for the red hair, but that still doesn't take the sting away from growing up knowing that I was so different from all the other kids in school. My mom would not let me dye my hair and now that I am older, I can appreciate that, I didn't at the time. Please don't forget that one persons pain is not the same as yours as you couldn't have experienced the same pain that person suffered.

Here is another website where you can go and read about some discrimination against red heads in the U. K.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/low/special_report/1999/02/99/e-cyclopedia/686977.stm
and here's another one.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/low/uk_news/715863.stm

And yet here is another one.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/6725653.stm

Please feel free to browse these sites and see for yourself just how much prejudice there is in the U.K. Maybe you think lightly of this so called humor because you haven't suffered the same as these people have. You have to walk a mile in their shoes to even try to understand the suffering.

Errrm, Scotland IS in the UK!

Suffering? Get real!!!!!

I've just done a straw poll at work: 5 redheads.... none were discriminated against, many had jokes about 'hot temper', 'burning bush', 'coppertop', 'gingernut'... but the worst teasing seemed to be aimed at those who wore glasses or were short, not readheads!

Interesting article, I must say...never knew red heads were discriminated against in England.

My Grandmothers Mother had red hair so there is a reddish tint in some of our hair. My husband is a blonde but his beard was red. He has two siblings with red hair and a niece that has red hair. Our younger son was born with red blonde hair. My father in law was a redhead. I was hoping to have a red haired child but none of my four have natural red hair.

I don't understand why there is such a problem in England. People are people. I think red hair is a beautiful trait. I know a young couple that are dating that have red hair and I am hoping someday they get married and have red haired children!

I've lived in England and was never discriminated against because of my hair colour. Maybe it's the way that some react to teasing?

My daughter lives in London - she has never had anything but favourable comments made about her hair.

I read about this also

My little brother ended up being the only redhead in the family and I have always envied his hair color. Of course, he is so fair skinned that he will have quarter sized blisters from being in the sun for 15 minutes with good sunscreen on... Nice article!

I love to bring out the red in my hair, since the brown is what shows. If i could afford it, i would do it all the time. Unfortunately, I am not naturally that way, and I can't afford to keep it that way...SIGH. I know a red head. I have nothing against that, and why would anybody, that is just nuts.

My wife is a redhead but our kids seem to be heading toward brown.

interesting, my son has auburn hair, and hubby and I both have blackish/brown

Well thats a shame. I know some really cute redheads.

Ishbel, as I said before,if you have never been discriminated against, then that is great. Yes, some red heads do suffer. As I said in my article, one man was stabbed in the back for being "Ginger". Whether you like to believe it or not that is your problem, but there is a discrimination going on in England. Go to the three websites that I put in my comments and you will see what I am talking about. If you can't see it then, you are blind. You are not the only person in the world. There are others with real problems connected with their red hair just because you poo poo it off doesn't make it go away.

Oh but we are a worthy and noble group indeed. All one has to do is read Still Life With Woodpecker, by Tom Robbins, to understand why this is so.

Lela: Not sure I follow your point about Ginger Spice, don't know her personally, but her name hasn't interfered with her making her millions.

I did check your sorces, but was not impressed with those relevant to this part of your article. I did not see a peer reviewed study but websites with assertions by people who don't seem to have been there either.

"Don't believe everything you read in the newspaper" applies more so to the Internet.

I see your list of 'famous redheads' came from a BBC page that named many more people than you did. People not known in the US but very well know and loved in Britain, red hair and all. And all seemingly happy to be listed there.

So, where we are is that the people who have personal experience of the UK in this thread say 'nay', and the person who read something on the Internet says 'yay'. Hmm!

I understand that you experienced teasing, or prejudice as you call it and you believe you suffered, you made that clear and I'm sorry that happened to you. That happened to you in the US, not the UK, right?

As to 'suffering': I grew up wearing glasses, one of the few in my year, and I was teased. It wasn't 'hateful' it was the world of children. But I grew up, I got over it. I'm not condoning teasing, I didn't like it, it hurt, but children simply pick on whatever is different. And by definition, there is something 'different' about all of us. -- No doubt if someone runs a game listing all the things children ever get teased about, the list will be long.

Now if you want to talk about loss, divorce, depression, death, domestic violence, humiliation...yes, I do know about suffering. But famine, violent rape, ethnic cleansing, murder of my children, war... I know no suffering at all.

The fact that I was teased for wearing glasses makes me able to relate very well to your being teased for having red hair. The fact that I was teased for wearing glasses does not mean I can relate to someone whoes child died in war and came home in pieces a box. Let's use our terms appropriately.

And witches in the middle ages? Now, come on, is that really relevant? And isn't Salem in the US?

Thanks for an interesting discussion.

FYI: The UK (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland) is composed of England, Scotland, Wales and the eight counties of Northern Ireland. For years known as Great Britain but in our new modern world known as the UK. Southern Ireland is a separate country, made up of twenty-eight counties and called the Republic of Ireland, and also Eire.

Well, just thought I'd share this with you Anna and Ishbel.

"Britain's Persecuted Redheads
Larry Miller Enlightens America On Just How Bad "Gingers" Have It In The U.K.
Comments 2
LONDON, July 14, 2007

Britain's Prince Harry speaks on stage during the Concert for Diana at Wembley Stadium in London, July 1, 2007. He may be third in line for the throne, but he's still teased over his hair color. (AP Photo/Stephen Hird, Pool)


(CBS) Letter from London is Larry Miller's weekly look at news from across the pond.

Prince Harry revealed this week that he's been bullied because he has red hair. That takes some nerve — bullying someone whose grandma holds the keys to the Tower of London.

In Britain, redheads don't have it easy, but since you can no longer say nasty things about race, religion, ethnic origin, disability or gender orientation, the only ones left to abuse seem to be redheads. It's being called "gingerism." In Britain, red hair is called ginger, and redheads, gingers.

Cartman picked up the theme in a "South Park" episode, saying "they creep us out. Ginger kids have no souls… and must avoid the sun, not unlike vampires." Classmate Kyle sees it for what it is though, calling it "hate speech."

As if that's not bad enough, there are even spoof websites that make fun of ginger kids, reiterating Cartman's views.

Recently, a waitress in Plymouth, England taunted and sexually harassed at work because of her red hair, took her case to an employment tribunal, which awarded her $36,000 in compensation. Afterwards, she said: "You expect that from kids, not when you're in your forties."

Of course, you might wonder why you would accept that from even kids.

As with many minorities, who turn to song to express their blues, redheads do, too. "Red and Proud" is just one of the offerings in a choral piece celebrating redheads performed at the Royal Festival Hall. The composer, a flaming redhead, recalls that after a performance, a beautiful young strawberry blond woman told her the songs made her cry, recalling how she had been bullied.


On Internet sites, protected by the anonymity of cyberspace, redheads express their pain. One writes, "As a ginger, I was called names and teased mercilessly at school."

And it doesn't end at the school gates. Another says he's nearly 30 and he still crosses the road if there's a group of kids approaching. He's even caught parents egging their kids on to point and laugh at him.

Red hair is due to a recessive gene that's been around for as long as 40,000 years, but scientists at the Oxford Hair Foundation claim natural redheads will disappear by 2100, as carriers tend to mate with people who don't have the gene.

In the meantime, it looks like another home for the Chapman family in Newcastle. The Chapmans have already moved three times in as many years because of the abuse suffered by the six red-haired family members. Kevin Chapman says his 11-year-old son attempted suicide over it.

Oh, by the way, a helpful Newcastle city councilor suggested a solution for the abuse suffered by the Chapmans. He told them to dye their hair.


©MMVII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved."

If you'd like to the webpage address here it is Now you can see it with your own two eyes

Why on earth would Lela want to make something like this up? Yes, she doesn't live in the UK but that doesn't mean that she can't learn news from there. I know that I have seen a news report from the UK that, London to be exact, reported about this very fact of "Gingerism." Now granted, as you pointed out Anna "Don't believe everything you see in newspapers" and I will add "and everything you see on TV." However, for those of us who don't live there, when we read it in the news papers and see it on TV we have a feeling that although it might not be as wide spread as you feel it should be, since it is being talked about, that it just might have some truth to it.

Otherwise, I could potentially say, well, since the only place I hear about the horror in the Sudan is on TV or in the Newspapers, then it just may not be true because I don't have enough evidence. Or because I didn't live the genocide of the holocaust it "must" not be true. One does not need to live something in order to know that it happens. Just because you have not experienced it and your mates haven't doesn't mean that it has never happened.

I will grant you that it is very possible that the media penned the term "Gingerism" but are you seriously going to tell me that there are not people out there who will use it and believe in what it stands for? I'm sorry but I don't think it is a giant leap to think that if someone will become violent due to their prejudice of skin color that the same would happen over hair color. I mean come on...both are just as stupid reason to not like someone!

Now, when you have a differing opinion, why can't we try and be reasonable? Why must we always try and put the other opinion down and blame it on such childish things as "Your not from here, you don't know"? Come on, we are all adults lets act like it. Why would an article like this hit such a nerve for the two of you? I really don't understand. There is no need for what I have witnessed in these comments. You could have simply stated that "I live in the UK and have not witnessed this" and that would have sufficed. There was no need to attack the article.

From the reports I have seen, the main area that this "ribbing" has gotten out of hand is England. Which only makes sense when you taken in to account that "natural" red heads are more a minority there than in the US or Scotland and even Ireland. So, I believe it would be safe to say that not EVERYONE in the UK has experience this kind of "ribbing."

Ohh and just a note on ribbing. Although, it may not have affected you in the way it has others, don't let that jade you against their pain. We are constantly bombarded with reports of children killing themselves and others over ribbing. For kids today it is wayyyy worse than I believe we ever experienced. It is a real problem, it is not "just innocent fun." It hurts and it's real and kids don't know how to deal with it.

Also, just thought I'd clear up some info on witches. They did not originate in Salem although; Salem is a very famous place due to its history and witches. Witchcraft the term itself come from old English and has been evident all over the world, from Europe, Asia, Africa, US, etc. It is not something that started in the US in Salem please do not be confused. It was an old practice even before Salem existed.

Here are some more websites for additional information:

International Ginger Kids Foundation We Are People Too. Even if we don't have souls.

**BBC News Is gingerism as bad as racism?

Style-dash Gingerism: is it racism?

Out-Law.com Red hair bullying cases could end up in court

**BBC News Breakfast on YouTube The Great UK Gingerism Debate

**BBC News on YouTube The Great UK Gingerism Debate 'cont

MSN UK News Gingerism to singletonism: (almost) accepted prejudices


Those with ** I highly recommend everyone who is interested read and view. They are excellent examples from reliable sources that give not only the news commentary but first hand experiences from "gingers" in the UK.

Wow. My mother was a British red-head, and she hated it. Now I know why.

I always thought her hair was beautiful. Mine came out blonde.

I am a chemically enhanced "auburn" red-head!!!

My father is a red-head; my step-mother is a red-head. I read the BBC article about the discrimination that was online. In either the most recent Harry Potter movie or book the Weasleys are called "gingers" in a discriminatory manner. When i visited Scotland, the residents thought that I was a local--definately not from England. I had strewberry blonde hair when I was a baby. Now my hair has red tints that are most prominent when the sun shines through it.

I have never understood why some people dislike redheads. It makes no sense at all, but then other reasons for discrimmination are equally nonsensical. My two brown headed parents produced an auburn haired son, a very blonde haired daughter who turned light brown with auburn hilights(me), a very blonde haired son who turned brown, a strawberry blonde haired daughter, a dark brown haired daughter, and a blonde strawberry haired daughter!

Veronique AKA Zoe: I have just spent way to long searching for evidence of 'abuse' of red haired people that comes from a source more reliable to me than Larry Miller on CBS or one article in the Daily Mirror. The Daily Mirror is not a serious newspaper.

I did read the article on the BBC.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/6725653.stm, for anyone who is interested. more importantly, I read all the comments attached, mostly by people with red hair themselves. Every opinion was expressed from 'rubbish never', through 'yes and it hurt', to 'yes and I'm changed because of it'. So, although my personal observations and the experiences of my friends don't include this, I accept that it happens, that some people have a hard time dealing with it, and that some people use it to be cruel.

I have not found any actual quote from Prince Harry that he was bullied over the color of his hair. I read the Daily Mirror article that reported something he said to a sick child in sympathy. Now, maybe he was baring his soul in front of God and everybody on national and international TV at an occasion he and his brother worked hard to make a celebration, I suppose that's possible.

I stand by my original statements including 'ginger is a shade of red', etc. But I do see there is another side to this and I accept that some people make, and some people get hurt by, comments about red hair, and it seems to be a problem particularly in England at this time. I was questioning Lela's 'facts' and sources, not her truthfulness.

I thought we were having a discussion. i.e. a lively exchange of views. I could have said the few words you suggest but then, that would not have been a discussion.

When I first came to the US many years ago, I was teased mercilessly about the way I spoke, constantly being asked to 'say something' repeat something, mimicked, not actually listened to for what I was saying. It was VERY annoying but I would not say it was abuse or prejudice or bullying. Maybe it's at least partly in the way we deal with it. I learned to deal with it with humour mostly. It still happens but far less often. Most of us get teased about something, learning strategies to deal with it took the sting out of it for me.

Oh! sorry, I don't for a minute think that witchcraft started in Salem Mass. It's that devilish 'different sense of humour thing' again.

Anyway, I appreciate your posts and I agree with a lot of what you had to say. Also you prompted me to delve deeper, and I thank you for it.

I read about half of the comments here...
I have a VERy red headed daughter, and she has always felt different because if it. I have really auburn hair and her father was a blonde with big chunky curls. We made an orange haired child with big fat curls.
When she started her second year of preschool, she was worried she would be the "brightest haired" child there. So I bleached my hair out that night and dyed it the hottest pink I could find. Needless to say, it made her feel much more at ease :)
Now she is 10 and still has those curls, and her hair is kind of a dark red, but still neon orange in bright light or in the sun.

Here is a couple of links to my gorgeous "red headed step child" (which she is, she has a step dad LOL.)

http://www.gather.com/viewImage.jsp?fileId=3096224744203467&memberId=183048

http://www.gather.com/viewImage.jsp?fileId=3096224744242311

Oh, the fluffy haired photo was when she decided to brush her hair when it was dry, I thought it looked hilarious, so I had to photograph it. When it is wet down and fixed nice, it has gorgeous ringlet curls.

Forgot to say, she also has the darkest brown eyes.

The followingredheds are in my family: 2 cousins, 1 SIL, 1 niece, 1 nephew, 1 grandnephew. I am brunette with red or chestnut overtones esp after exposure to sunlight.

Quite interesting. We have no redheads in my family, but ones in a while we have a blond child showing up.

Thank you for posting your article to !!!Today's Top Three Photos and Articles!!!@

http://bestoftoday.gather.com/

Know a couple of red-heads and I like them quite a lot. By the way, the same rumor has circulated that blondes are also going to disappear. Somehow don't think that is going to happen.:-)

Don't know about natural red heads, see a lot of "artificial ones." But the real ones are striking, I can't take my eyes off of them sometimes. There's just something about them.

Unique article and thoughts. Thank you for your work on this!

Interesting my childhood friend has red hair and when she was little people teased her now they wished they had her hair color

Something must be done to preserve them. I enjoy the rarity.

My three step sister are true very true red hot head hair sister, and there the step brother who hair is black, yet his son is as the aunts.. so that is about it,, my bio mom said that I had red hair when I was young, yet it went to ash brown till I color it now to what ever I want,, not gray for sure

sometimes red hair might be a problem as my son discovered in The Buzz Cut
http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.jsp?articleId=281474976967620

I was always a toe head. Always wanted red. People bite, that's why they tease. They have to fell superior. They teased me about being Swedish. Like I care. Their blond had to come from a bottle, mine came from God.

Or Sven

to find out if a redhead is Irish or Scots-Irish, buy him a drink.

If he's Irish he will tell you a joke and want you to sing with him.

If he's Scots-Irish, he will ask "Why'd ya buy me the cheap stuff,"
and then he will want to fight you.

At least two of my cousins have had red headed children...lacking red hair themselves... my hair is naturally brown with bits of red in it...my hubby is mainly brown headed with bits of red in his hair too....we were blessed with a little girl who is currently blonde, but she will more than likely end up brown with red also...her children may end up with red hair. I have red heads on both my paternal and maternal sides. I hated getting teased for freckles and for fair skin when I stayed out of the sun.

Thank you all for all your comments. I really appreciate it. Thank you Zoe for all your input that was great.

Jerri, I understand about the sun. I tell everyone that I'm allergic to it. I hate to be in the sun, even when I put sunscreen on I still worry that I'll get burned. My dermatologist says that my lower are should be as white as my upper arm but it never is. I can't stand to wear long sleeve shirts.

I have a sister with red hair, her son and daughter are both redheads, our father was red head. My aunts and uncles from my father's side of the family are all red heads and the list keep growing. I am glad that I'm from a family of red heads but I did not appreciate it very much when I was much younger. It's like fine wine, it gets better with age.

I have 2 strawberry blond daughters. It was a surprise with my older one since my DH is blond. I figured she would be too. I think they ghave the prettiest color of hair though.

I married one and my daughter hasn't decided fully if she wants to be one - so I say she's a strawberry blonde.

yeaaaaaaah im a natural redhead. Got called ALL the redheaded nicknames in the book and had some new ones made up about me. Hang in there red heads! Oh and that kid in Harry Potter is another famous redhead! ;)

oh and where i live? there are a TON of natural redheaded Kids running around loose. makes me wonder whats'a goin on!

oh and my great grandma had red hair. skipped grandma and my mom then My sister and I came out with RedHair. go figger it skips two generations then ends up two subsequent Generations

interesting facts. i didn't know that!

You redheads need to get together and keep hope alive!

Lela,

Your hair is gorgeous. Thank you for the info on the redhead issue.

(and thanks for the invite to connect!)

I advocate for a breeding program. Redheads will be captured on the street via traquilizer dart and moved to a safe location where they will be introduced to other redheads and just like China's famous panda's. we keep our fingers crossed and let nature take its course.

Once there are sufficient numbers they can be reintroduced to the wild.

LOL! I love Bret's idea! Although, I'm not so sure my hubby would be happy about that :)

Interesting facts, Lela. I love being a red-head...although, people tend to ask what "color" I use because red hair is so rare these days. And I have that rare combination of red hair, brown eyes, very few freckles and a slightly olive tint to my skin so I don't burn AS badly in the sun. I have always been super sensitive to sunlight, though...glad to have that explained.

I did not know about the UK situation and in fact, did not face any of that on my recent trip to London. I think of "ginger" as a nice name for us :) Reminds me of Ginger from Gilligan's Island. So, I suppose even if someone did say that to me, I'd see it as a compliment :) LOL!


Please read and rate my entry:
A Scandalous Overture

Bret, I love your idea, LOL, but for some reason I don't think that you'll get that much participation. Cute idea.

Jerrica, I'm glad that you like the article and did not experience any prejudice in London. I like your attitude though and since we aren't used as much negative experiences as the redheads in England, we could pull off being proud there. Maybe, it would send a different type of signal.
Just also keep in mind that red headed men are targeted harder for the "gingerism" than women.

I agree, very interesting article. And it'd be a fitful shame if a person is denigrated or ostracized because of the color of his pr her hair, for that matter, because of any physical trait. I have no patience for this type of ignorance. Which reminds me:

"Our world is full of many tragedies but the biggest tragedy is the one that is bred from ignorance." Ricky J. Fico

My Quotes

Oh, and more thing: Some of the sexiest, most beautiful women in the world are redheads and you had referred to a few of them in your article. I remember, while in grammar school, I had this huge crush on one of my classmates -- Andrea Speyer, man, was she gorgeous. Yes, she was a redhead....

I am a redhead with brown/green eyes. My parents did not have red hair, my grandparents did not, nor did my great great grandparents. My great great grandfather's sister had red hair. My son has red/brown hair, and my daughter is strawberry blonde.

Funny, I've been called a redhead in the past, but in truth my hair is many different shades of brown, with a few red hairs thrown in. My brother used to like to braid it and told me once it was a bunch of different colors at the same time. Actually getting more and more gray, now.

But I've always loved red hair. I remember seeing a family at mall once; a mother towing her three small daughters, hand in hand and all fair and freckled, with same bright autumn hair, just descending stepwise in height. It was striking (although mom looked pretty tired).

My father-in-law's ambition was to have a red-headed grandchild with pigtails. Neither child fitted the bill but Emma obligingly dyed her hair when she was of age. We now have an adopted grandchild with the most marvellous, vibrant, red hair. Moya

cool article didnt hear that

My high school sweetheart was a redhead. She dumped me to marry another man when I was 19.

They said that in the 60's about blondes.

Here in NH we have lots of fiery red heads.

Beautiful of course!

Interesting! A couple of red heads pop up in most generations of our family.

Lela ~ You don't fit the sterotype of a "red-headed stepchild!" I think your hair is beautiful and having a sister-in-law with lucious red hair, I was envious. It broke my heart to see her cut it. She was a beauty. (I say "was" because she's no longer my sister-in-law, lol.)

Please tell me if this is ture, as it has seemed to run with redheads I've known (myself as well and I adoredthe trait, giving credence there should be more reheads in the world to make it a better place : ): Do redheads tend to have a more reactive temper?

Coming from a redheaded grandpa (whom they called "Red"), recent generations turned more auburn. I wonder if the "decline" isn't from inter-racial marriages, true redheads seeming to be more of pure Irish or German descent? And talk about "predominant genes," the auburn redhead in my grandon superceded what's supposed to be predominant dark Hispanic genes! So much for scientific theory : ) Thank you for sharing this article.

To answer your question Kieran, no, redheads don't seem to have more reactive temper than anyone else. In fact, my husbands temper is much worse than mine and I tend to be more patient than he is. Not to say that I don't have a temper, no one messes with my family, but I am just about like anyone else.

My sister was 5 foot 11 inches in high school and I was 5 foot 9 inches, so people would call her Big Red and me Little Red. Another favorite of mine is Soda Pop and Soda Pop Jr. All in good fun.

About the decline of redheads, some global catastrophe would have to happen just to redheads, their offspring and those carrying the mutant MC1R recessive gene. Just remember that you don't have to a redhead in order to carry the gene for redheads. Isn't life wonderful?

I have always loved redheads. Some of the sexiest women that I have seen have been redheads.

If they die out I hope that I am gone first.

Red hair runs rampant in my family, but unfortunatly I didn't get any, nor did my children. I would have loved it.

Although neither my daughter nor I are redheads, my ex wife is. A funny story about red heads. A few months after we were married I was in the lobby of the apartment building we lived in checking the mail. There was a couple upstairs arguing. I couldn't tell what they were arguing about, just that it was a man and woman yelling at each other. He stepped out through the second floor doorway and I heard her shout, "Go ahead, go, and I don't care if you ever come back. As he came down the stairs he looked at me and said, "Don't ever marry a redhead." "Too late," I said, "I already did.""Bet you really love her?" he said. "Yes, I sure do," I answered. "Me, too." he said, as he went out the door, "Me, too."

Interesting article. I do have redish brown hair and I love red hair. They say mine was bright red when I was born but now has bits of brown in it. My daughter's intended is also a red headed step child, like you. We have a friend from Ireland who is red headed and I know a cute little girl who is also red headed.

Red heads are cool. But I remember when I was a kid, that red headed children were teased ruthlessly here in maine. funny thing is, some of us are highland scots, and alot of the highland scots have light skin, and red hair. When I tell scots and english people today who my family was, way back, in the highlands, I have been called a savage; a sheep theif...lol. Not meanly, but my old country family is still rather roudy I guess. I wonder how much of the red hair prejudice comes from nationality. I have dark hair and eyes. I was glad when I was a kid. This is an incredibly wonderful article. Thanks lyla!

I meant lela, I most certainly did!

I used to be a red head. I was born one. Before I started turning grey, I had turned into a brunette. Now I dye my hair a strawberry blonde color. Back to my original color. It is sad that after 2060 there won't be anymore redheads. So sad.

I have a cousin through marriage who is a redhead.

I feel at home in the is article, I know for a fact that I am treated differently at work because of my red hair, I guess it is just human nature to fear someone who is different from you. I have two brothers with red hair and my eyes are hazel. I have 3 children and none of them have red hair, maybe one on my grandkids will have it someday. I have grow to love being a red head but yes the teasing did hurt.

I know what you mean Keith, I wanted to dye my hair blond so that I could fit in. My mom was wise enough to know that it was not worth it. Making me endure the teasing made me build character and I know that it is harder on guys than it is on gals. Now I appreciate the heritage left to me by my father and his side of the family, although my mom deserves the credit too because she also carries the MC1R gene. My red headed father died before I was two years old. I know that he had to of endured an awful lot of teasing and bulling and maybe he could have helped to deal with it better. You do end up learning to love being a redhead, and maybe it's not so bad when you grow up, although I could tell you a few stories.

Lela, I love the color of your hair. I dated a guy with auburn hair, amber (golden-brown) eyes, and tons of freckles. The combination was gorgeous. Infact, that (and his attitude) is what drew me to him in the first place. I have chestnut colored hair (brown with definite red tones, especially in the sunlight), and I hope my youngest daughter has some form of red hair - right now she doesn't really have hair. My oldest daughter has darker hair, so she has to be in the sun for you to be able to see the red tint.

What a great article! All I can say is that THIS redhead is alive and well!

The actor, David Caruso is a redhead, too.