When will gingerism go away?

[Anna373]

So im not ginger myself but why are gingers the only demographic which you can openly hate or make fun of and get away with it?

Because the other day At work I heard these women talking about babies and then one said "well what if your baby is ginger" in which she replied "well I wouldnt mind having a daughter who is ginger because they are pretty but ginger men are mingers" which they all laughed.

It seems like ginger men get more abuse or are considered ugly while ginger women are more sexually fetishized

My brother also has a good mate who is ginger but apparently he still gets people shouting names at him and even trying to fight him just because he is ginger.

I've never understood this hate for ginger people, its just a hair color in fact I think it can act like an amplifier and make someone look ever more attractive. Gingers also seem to age pretty well and apprently never go grey

*well beleive

@SummerRemembered omg that sounds terrible I'm sorry this happened to you it makes me so sad

I hope things have changed now I'd hate to think my son would be bullied just for a hair colour

That’s interesting. It’s also prevalent in some Jewish communities and I had read that maybe the origins of gingerism in Europe stemmed from that too. I think its probably a mixture of racism and zenophobia to several different races and nationalities. I have no idea why people can’t see it for what it is. Other forms of racism are not socially accepted!

Yes I think it's awful. I'm not ginger but it runs in my family - my DF, my DSiS and both her children and my DD. I do think boys get the worst of it. Really appalling and widely accepted 'joke' which round never be acceptable for people of colour.

In primary my DD would have done anything to be blond and sone little girls were quite bitchy. She did get quite a bit of abuse at secondary school - routinely told 'gingers have no soul' and other unpleasant jibes mostly from sick head boys showing off to their friends. She had a couple of very close girl friends who were also ginger so they became very outspoken and knocked anyone down verbally who commented negatively. They called themselves 'Ginger Ninjas'. They are still great pals today. I also had the displeasure of a 19 yr old boy describing her as 'the Ginger Bitch' to my face at a barbecue - clearly what their gang routinely called her. I was very angry. I never told DD as the gang included a very old family friend and though all the adults there heard no one called it out.....

However it is also true that DD has had a lot of male attention because of it and at 22 she now enjoys looking different to other people. Though of course it's fading already and turning chestnut/brunette.

Summer remembered, That is terrible .What are these people like? I like the hair colour .I can only think they had massive problems to be this unkind .Teachers/School sound like Dickheads as well .Sorry you had to go through this .

@Ontomatopea

On a previous thread on here about gingerism I compared the discrimination to BAME people and I was told I was being stupid because it's only a hair colour.

It's rampant I tell ye

It crops up frequently when discussing examples of racism, someone posts about being abused because of being ginger isn't what the discussion is about.

Yes, it's discrimination but it's not racism.

Fellow ginger with pale lashes here. Lash tints have been a game changer for me, highly recommend them!

I loooove ginger hair. My younger siblings have beautiful red hair!

Even married a ginger!

I didn’t start getting abuse off strangers until secondary school when (always boys) thought it was funny to shout insults at me in the hall. Had no issues since leaving school either. I absolutely can’t stand that mocking people for a hair colour is still somehow acceptable. It’s so ridiculous

Mine is so different with age and also in different lights
Years of bullying tho

I've never understood it. I didn't have a problem when I was at school ( rural Dorset ) but my daughter, who inherited my uncontrollable mop of red hair ( see Brave ), was bullied mercilessly by the other girls. In the end it got so bad that, on advice from the Police, I sent her to an Independent school. She hasn't suffered since.

Gingers also seem to age pretty well and apprently never go grey

Never go grey? All the redheaded people I know (loads in my family) lost the red from their hair early on and were all salt and peppery quite young.

I f hate the word ‘ginger’ or worse, referring to someone as ‘a ginger’.

There’s loads of stunning ginger women around, I really don’t get the hate either.

So im not ginger myself but why are gingers the only demographic which you can openly hate or make fun of and get away with it?

Have you never heard of short people, vegans or fat people?

On a previous thread on here about gingerism I compared the discrimination to BAME people and I was told I was being stupid because it's only a hair colour.

It is stupid. No society has systematically denied rights to people because they are fat or short or ginger.

It's bad to be mean to people for any reason (yes, even vegans) but some topics require more care becuse those characteristics have been the target of horrific oppression.

I f hate the word ‘ginger’ or worse, referring to someone as ‘a ginger’.

Can't believe no one has said this first but: only a ginger can call another ginger, ginger. YABVU to use that word, OP. Use carrot-top, it's been reclaimed.

Do red haired celebs get hate for their hair colour? I have not really noticed.

Famous redheads:

Damien Lewis
Rupert Grint
Domnhal Gleeson
Brendan Gleesan
Oliver and James Phelps - I realise, I've listed members of the Weasley family from Harry Potter and they are discriminated against by Malfoy ,partly because of their red hair.

Ed Sheeran
Prince Harry - although not popular for other reasons. His hair colour has previously been used for others to poke fun at his paternity.
Jessica Chastain
Amy Adams
Isla Fisher
Bryce Dallas Howard
Emma Stone
Rose Leslie
Lily Cole

I think unless ignorant people all disappear, never. It's not just about being ginger, is it? It's about the people who think it's ok to slag someone off because of their feature. Disgraceful, and ignorant, not the people worth taken seriously, imo.
My dh is one, so is his sister who has most beautiful hair I've ever seen.

I have red hair. Anyone calling me ‘ginger’ (other red haired or not) will be told to piss off. Reclaimed my arse.

I remember being in a lecture about films and the tutor saying that it was very fashionable at one stage for leading ladies in Hollywood (must be 40s/50s) to dye their hair red (looks glam in the posters I suppose).

What I find so weird about it is that it seems so artificial.

I think red hair is beautiful in any shade and I also like pale skin. The idea that this colouring is unattractive is odd and implausible to me (I don’t find any colouring unattractive).

I think the demographic who like abusing gingers would have been abusing poc back in the 70s and 80s. Gingers are the new ‘acceptable’ butt to kick, laugh at, and make feel inferior on the basis of their genetic colouring.

Not forgetting

Julia Roberts
Julianne Moore
Nicole Kidman

But yes, redheads really do take a lot of abuse.

I have red hair. Anyone calling me ‘ginger’ (other red haired or not) will be told to piss off. Reclaimed my arse.

I'm 53 and still pretty vibrant. In the main red hair fades slowest out of all hair colours. There will be exceptions but it's quite common for red hair to remain pigmented king after other colours fade.

I don’t really have red hair - it’s chestnut/auburn (I’ve always wanted it to be redder but never bothered to dye it as it’s a nice colour), but it has gold and red strands in it. I don’t have any grey hair at 51.

I’m more ‘flea bitten fox’ these days but very few grey hairs. My big sis is (Jesus!) pushing 70 and still red(dish).

mum always said that red haired people (oooh look!) 👩‍🦰 🧑‍🦰 don’t go white with age.