I once told a pretty buxom girl I met at the Guinness factory in Dublin that she had beautiful red hair, and although she did express her gratitude, I could tell that she hated it and I couldn't understand why. With her striking personality and Celtic complexion, her curly flowing mane couldn't have been a better shade, and I tried to convince her that red is beautiful, to no avail. As a black woman who occasionally wears ginger extensions I was envious, and for the rest of my holiday I saw many fiery-haired Dubliners who were obviously proud to be red(one of them attempted to steal my make-up bag at St. Stephen's Green, but I still thought he was beautiful). Would they still have that pride if they lived in ginger-phobic England?
For years redheads have been the target of pointless jokes ("What's the difference between a terrorist and a redhead?" You can negotiate with a terrorist"), vicious rants in the school playgrounds ("If you hate Ginger Harry clap your hands!"), and stereotyping ("Join the circus, you freak!"). Who can forget the Geordie family that was kicked out of their own neighbourhood for being flamed-haired? I agree with YouTube user Coppercab who rants in his video that people of all colours and creeds are accepted in society (albeit somewhat), while redheaded people are ostracised simply for being redheaded. In today's day and age, ginger jokes can be shared among Blacks, Jews, Arabs, gays, the disabled... yet the Commission for Racial Equality in the United Kingdom do not monitor these cases of discrimination. This is an organisation that is said to encourage equality, but fail to open their eyes to the fact that redheads are discriminated against by 'minorities'. What a bunch of hypocrites.
COPPERCAB "GINGERS HAVE SOULS"
The Welsh proverb "Os bydd goch, fe fydd gythreulig", means "if he's red haired then he is of the devil... ridiculous. Never mind the pickpocket I encountered in Dublin, some of the nicest people I know have red hair, and even though I'm not one of those nutter spiritualists, I can confirm that they are not Satan's offspring. And yes, they certainly do have souls! I remember when I watched the episode of South Park in which the boys accused their copper-haired schoolmates of being soulless. South Park may have a history of causing controversy, but haven't redheads suffered enough? The creators of that show should bear in mind that what starts as a joke on the box today could remain a playground taunt for years - and yes, ten-year-olds do watch South Park.
As that episode has shown, our bad example of Gingerism has crossed over to the other side of the Atlantic, which is a shame considering years ago I watched an interview with a famous American entertainer who stated that in America all the redheads are taken, but in England he can have flame-headed girl he wants. That was years ago. Today, as Coppercab shows us, being ginger is bad even in God's Own Country, not to mention Down Under - who can forget the character Jonah in Summer Heights High who came under fire from real-life parents after labelling gingers as "Rangas" short for Oran-Otang? Granted, there are countries such as France and Italy that worship copper strands, but for how long? These days people rave about being unique and edgy, which is fine, but if Lady GaGa is allowed to flaunt her weirdness, a trademark that has been imitated by fans worldwide, why is such a rare and wonderful thing as titan locks not, in the very least, accepted?
If all the idiots who bullied redheads were perfect themselves I probably would have understood their jeers and boos, although I don't think that's an excuse. The problem however, is that that no-one is perfect. We all have our imperfections - I know I do...or at least did...oh what the heck, I still do, but who cares? When I was younger I was teased by my peers for being able to look above their heads; that teasing turned into bullying, both in my neighbourhood at at boarding school where the girls would later poke fun at my physique - although I had started boarding school as a skinny girl (and I mean really skinny), my eventual curves soon became the new talking point. One Christmas when I was running across the school yard to catch up with someone, a few of the girls who were standing nearby began to sing loudly "Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way..." (I was unaware of a certain bounce my speed had created). Towards the end of my Secondary education, some really nasty girls yelled continuous references to the size of my bust, to the amusement of some roadside mechanics outside the school gates (Don't laugh, it's not funny). Today, I'm 5'11''1/2 with a size 34HH bust - not really big for a girl of my height, but they are so prominent people actually think I've had surgery - and guess what? I'm proud, because fashion models would kill for my height, and glamour models would kill for my boobs!
Remember when Jennifer Lopez brought enormous backsides back into fashion? Prior to that she did not have the shape women were 'supposed' to have in Hollywood, but today loads of women, including the tragic Solange Magnano, pay heaps of money to achieve that 'rear-ly' round appearance. As far as red hair goes, there as several role models out there, including Winston Churchill, Lily Cole, and Rupert Grint, and to all the gingers reading this, do whatever you want to do, because you are beautiful and you are capable. Even if red hair does not become tomorrow's latest fashion, make you beautiful mane work for you. Our imperfections sometimes make us unique. Better yet, our imperfections make us special. One day all those idiots who treat you like dirt will be old and grey, but at least you'll always be ginger, and they'll be envious. God gave you that hair for a reason, and I'm not just saying this because I love the colour. If a dark-skinned black person tried bleaching their skin to appear more 'acceptable', they wouldn't be fooling anyone because their true ethnicity would still be obvious, and the same goes for all redheads who dye their hair for the same reason - you might as well stop dying your hair, and be ginger and proud. If anybody makes fun of you, tell them to drop their pants in front of the whole school, and you'll find that at least 40% of them will forever live with the shame that their Fanta pubes secret has finally been exposed...duh! If they start that 'Kick a Ginger' rubbish, use your brain to kick them back, and kick them where it hurts the most - kick their fire crotches! And yes, there are girls out there who love redheaded guys ...and vice versa. The future's bright. The future's ginger.
Please respond to this article if you liked it - or if you didn't - because I would really love to hear from you all!
2 comments:
I have a suspicion that the dislike of ginger people may originate from the fighting that went on between the English and the Celts.
As Celts have a large percentage of red-heads it was easy to identify this feature with being a Celt and by demonising it helped forge hatred of the Celtic races. Over the years the reasons behind the hatred have been forgotten but the hatred remains. (Celts were often classified as witches and warlocks so the South Park episode does actually have a historical accuracy to it, as strange as it may seem).
Of course that could be complete rubbish. It could just be that it's something that you can pick on and so people do, it's unfortunate but some people are just ignorant and no matter what you legislate against, they'll always find something to pick on. It's a shame that the only way they can feel better in themselves is to make others feel smaller. (Or in some situations, it's because they're jealous of what you've got and they'll never have.)
I must admit even though I live on a Scottish island I've not seen many redheads. Perhaps that's because we're always wearing hats due to the weather. That could be the solution, make everyone wear hats!
BTW If you like brewery tours and ever get up to Scotland try the distillery tours, you can make an entire holiday out of visiting them all. They're supposedly very educational but for some reason I can never remember much about the visit.
Ruadh gu brath!
Redheads/Ginger do have soul, just like other people in this world. I think those people who hate them got no feelings at all. So, for the redhead/ginger people just be proud to yourself because you are unique and you worth it
Post a Comment