Redhead discrimination not limited to China

[quamp]

Story here

A red-haired family claims to have been driven from their Newcastle home because of abuse. Why is the harassment of redheads dismissed as just harmless fun?

Why?? Just why should hair color matter? It's like skin color; nobody should be judged based in that either.

Michele Eliot, the American director of British children's charity Kidscape, regularly has significant numbers of red-haired children in courses on coping with bullying.

Now this is just plain wrong.

Growing up, few females would talk to me. The exceptions were the redheads. They were always nice to me. (That's probably where I got my unhealthy fixaton from.)

However, I'd like to hear from our resident redheads - are you being constantly bullied and teased about your hair color?

[Leonhart29]

When I was growing up I was teased more for my weight than my hair color (It ballooned over night and then I lost it just as quickly). I was called carrot top, Pippy Longstockings, Rebecca of Sunny Brook Farms (probably because of my name and not my hair color... and I've never read the book so I don't even know if she was a redhead or not), asked if I could bend over the paper a bit more so it would light, called little Orphan Annie (probably more due to my middle name than the curly red locks though) etc... Kids tend to pick on the one thing that's unique about another kid, be it glasses or red hair... and I had both.

Now that I'm grown up though I get the "Wow! You're hair's so pretty! What color was in the bottle?" I haven't done it in a while, but I used to enjoy proving that I was a natural redhead. People still think I color my hair though.

[EveKnight75]

For me, it was partly based on my ethnicity. Nobody ever believed I was of Indian descent. A lot of Indian people attacked me with "white" slurs. When living in Bangladesh, people constantly stared at me and pointed because I have red hair.

I was suspended from school there because it's against school policy to dye your hair. Of course, they only let me back in after I dyed my hair dark brown because I finally had a "natural" hair color. Please let me know if that makes sense to you, because it doesn't to me.

I have dark red hair, so I don't get "carrot-top" grief. Still, I wish people would leave me alone about being a red-head. I might have U.K. ancestry dating back from the early 1900's but I can't confirm anything so I wish people would stop asking "Are you sure?". I'm not a Gypsy, but I don't mind playing one.

I do have a cousin living in Calcutta who gets a lot more grief about it. He does have an orange tinge to his hair, and his skin is a darker beige than mine. He's been constantly teased for it and has encountered trouble at school and work for it. Even when travelling to Europe and North America, he has to put up with gawking.

LEAVE US ALONE! RED IS BEAUTIFUL!

[DarkCabaret]

I agree with you Eve, red is beautiful. Even though I am a natural brunette I used to dye my hair red all the time, and most people loved it.

But I went back to black hair because it suits my personality, or that's what my sister says.

[Guest Alien Pirate Pixagi]

While I'm not a redhead (at least, the red I had wasn't very strong so I never thought of it as such), I used to get teased all the time for my hair texture. People in my class thought I was just a dark skinned white kid who never combed her hair, when really my hair was a result of the mix between my mom's wavy European hair and my father's African iron wool-texture. Neither of my parents really knew how to deal with it, and it cost $100 on average to have it done professionally (which, because I was getting relaxers, ended up destroying my hair. The woman was apparently not used to dealing with my hair texture...) which led to my getting dreads when I was 12 (which I took out when I was 18, just a year ago).

It fucking SUCKED.

[Leonhart29]

I guess because I grew up where people routinely dyed their hair they didn't think much of mine. I wasn't teased quite as much as y'all... but it was still there. What I don't get is the comment "If you have red hair you must be Irish." Um - well yeah... but I'm also Scottish, Romanian, Welsh, English, Anglo, Greek, Italian, Russian, American Indian, and I have 2 Black slaves in my past (not that I would ever call my Great, Great, Great Grandmom on my mother's side and a Great x's 2 Aunt on my father's side anything other than kin). I'm a Heinze 57 mixed mutt thank you very much and quite proud of it. It was just a twist of fate that I ended up with the witch coloring (red hair and blue eyes). So what if it's a recessive trait - it's beautiful and I'm fucking proud of it. Anyone who says differently doesn't count for much in my book.

Now that I've had a little rant let's see what everyone else has to say about it shall we?

[Guest Alien Pirate Pixagi]

The Irish thing is damn retarded! My red genes came from my mother who's German-British American, And the red came from the German side, not the brit side. Red is something that comes up all throughout Europe, parts of Asia, and in the Middle East AND in Latin America.

[Guest Agaib]

Wow... I didn't know that there was discrimination against redheads.

I'd heard one or two things about discrimination in Asian cultures but its hard to imagine in modern western culture. Thats just really weird to Me. I don't care what other people say, redheads are hot.

[Guest Alien Pirate Pixagi]

Wow... I didn't know that there was discrimination against redheads.

I'd heard one or two things about discrimination in Asian cultures but its hard to imagine in modern western culture. Thats just really weird to Me. I don't care what other people say, redheads are hot.

Red heads, in certain areas, were treated as witches and burned at the stake.

[Guest Agaib]

Thats pretty sick. Damn human superstitions...

The less of them we have the better.

[Guest Alien Pirate Pixagi]

Thats pretty sick. Damn human superstitions...

The less of them we have the better.

Oh, I don't know. I think we need to make "Harm none, and do what thy wilt" the new world law. It's a nice, blanket sentence and still allows room for faith.

[Leonhart29]

I agree with you Pix - the thing is that the Golden Rule (which says almost the same thing) has been around forever it seems and no one pays that much attention to it unless it's broken against them.

[quamp]

The Irish thing is damn retarded! My red genes came from my mother who's German-British American, And the red came from the German side, not the brit side. Red is something that comes up all throughout Europe, parts of Asia, and in the Middle East AND in Latin America.

I have to agree here. I'm actually 1/4th Irish (with Scottish, Czech, and a little German thrown in) and none of my Irish ancestors have naturally red hair.

I was always taught not to discriminate based on a physical characteristic. It's sad that people in this world are still taught that.

[DarkCabaret]

The Irish thing is damn retarded!

It's funny because I'm 1/2 Irish 1/2 German and the only comments made to me are "I'm shocked you stay sober with a heritage like that". Also that's how my whole family is and all of us are only blonde and brunette with the exception of my adorably cute nephew.

[Guest Alien Pirate Pixagi]

It's funny because I'm 1/2 Irish 1/2 German and the only comments made to me are "I'm shocked you stay sober with a heritage like that".

Hehehe... people, after learning of my heritage, are often confused I'm such a light weight (one screwdriver and I'm ) ^__^

[dazzledfirestar]

Well, I was teased constantly while in elementary school and junior high, and I mean TEASED! I always assumed that it was just the easiest thing to pick on, because it's very very obvious. I never considered it discrimination, and teachers (the sensitive souls that they were, for the most part ) just told me to suck it up, so I did. Now that I think of it though, it still happens... that whole South Park thing about how ginger kids have no souls? Can't say that about a black kid, or an asian kid... no, no!... but it's okay for the redheaded kids. In fact I had a complete stranger say that to me while looking at my son... who, btw, seems to have inherited my coloring. When I got angry about he told me he was just kidding and made another joke about a redheads temper. I told him if it wasn't for assholes like him, I wouldn't have to get angry. That shut him up...

Next time this happens should I file a complaint (he was an employee of the grocery store I was shopping in)? I think I might just! Wonder what the manager's reaction might be?

[Guest Alien Pirate Pixagi]

In fact I had a complete stranger say that to me while looking at my son... who, btw, seems to have inherited my coloring. When I got angry about he told me he was just kidding and made another joke about a redheads temper. I told him if it wasn't for assholes like him, I wouldn't have to get angry. That shut him up...

Next time this happens should I file a complaint (he was an employee of the grocery store I was shopping in)? I think I might just! Wonder what the manager's reaction might be?

How about, next time, just stab the fucker? Like, seriously...

...

-slaps own had- Bad Pix, no promoting teh stabbiez...

[dazzledfirestar]

Not to conform to the stereotype of the angry redhead, but the thought did cross my mind Pix!

The thing is, if I did complain, I would be the monster who can't take a joke about her (or her son's) hair.

[EveKnight75]

Ah yes,,, the temper stereotype. Oddly enough, I've never been subjected to it. I'm usually very quiet, and I come off as mild-tempered for some reason. I'm not exactly mild-tempered, but I don't get angry that easily either.

I do get some odd jokes if I'm running a fever because my skin turns bright orange. I also have reddish cheeks during extremely hot/cold weather. That despite my skin tone. Must be a redhead thing.

I don't have freckles either, but my mom does. I get my red hair from her. (Her skin is slightly darker than mine). My sister is a blonde, but her skin tends to freckle AND tan, just like Mom's.

[DarkCabaret]

Not to conform to the stereotype of the angry redhead, but the thought did cross my mind Pix!

The thing is, if I did complain, I would be the monster who can't take a joke about her (or her son's) hair.

Well lots of people can't take a joke. I went through taco bell's drive thru and my debit card was declined, and the guy said "Well I'm not going to cut it up in front of you but it was declined." So I called the manager and the guy said "I was joking" and I told him not all people have that sense of humor. I was happy though got me a free quesadilla!!

Anyways, you shouldn't have to push things aside because other people think it's funny. If you don't like it, complain!

[dazzledfirestar]

The thing is DC, well, you wouldn't make a comment that a child who's skin color was different than yours had no soul, but it's acceptable when it's a different hair color? That doesn't make sense. Why isn't that considered discrimination as well?

[redsliver]

I always tell people they have no soul, hair colour and all the rest is irrelevant.

That said the only stereotype I've encountered about redheads is the women fuck very hard. So far my my observations are "coincidence" (once freak of nature, twice coincidence and three times Science!) that this is true.