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Original poster

Why the fuck are some English people so nasty about ginger hair?

288 replies

QuentininQuarantino · 02/01/2023 22:16

My beautiful DH is ginger. When we first got together, he was attacked from
behind and had his jaw broken, had a McDonald’s throws at him out of a car window, had a bloke push him into
a pond at university. My own “friends” asked me when I was pregnant what I would do if my baby came out ginger. He tells me heartbreaking stuff about being bullied at school.

We emigrated 10 years ago and people say nothing, or nice things.

We’ve been back in the UK for Xmas for 3 weeks and we’ve already had people (older people) shouting “Oi Ed Sheeran” across the street about four times, one young woman in a pub asking to see his pubes FFS.

Why is it still okay, and common(!) to bully strange men in front of their small children purely based on a psychical characteristic!!??

OP posts:
Leafer · 03/01/2023 05:15

I’m Irish, living in Ireland and it’s a huge problem here too. I’m ginger and from when I was old enough, dyed my hair to try to hide it. Slapped on fake tan to cover up (badly) my pale skin. I’ve stopped in recent years but it took until my mid 30s for me to accept and even like my hair and pale complexion. I was subjected to awful treatment because of my hair colour. Throw away comments from everyone. I put off having children for years and one reason was I was so scared my child would inherit my hair colour. When pregnant I also got the “let’s hope it gets its dad’s colouring” comments.
it has had a lasting, hugely negative impact on my self esteem and how I see myself.
really hope people start to realise soon how hurtful and discriminatory it is. It really did ruin my life for many many years.

MulberryMoon · 03/01/2023 05:37

Leafer · 03/01/2023 05:15

I’m Irish, living in Ireland and it’s a huge problem here too. I’m ginger and from when I was old enough, dyed my hair to try to hide it. Slapped on fake tan to cover up (badly) my pale skin. I’ve stopped in recent years but it took until my mid 30s for me to accept and even like my hair and pale complexion. I was subjected to awful treatment because of my hair colour. Throw away comments from everyone. I put off having children for years and one reason was I was so scared my child would inherit my hair colour. When pregnant I also got the “let’s hope it gets its dad’s colouring” comments.
it has had a lasting, hugely negative impact on my self esteem and how I see myself.
really hope people start to realise soon how hurtful and discriminatory it is. It really did ruin my life for many many years.

Really sorry you experienced that

Oblomov22 · 03/01/2023 06:15

Ds2 gets comments aswell. Makes me so sad.

Lovetocare · 03/01/2023 06:26

I think red/ginger hair is absolutely beautiful and much more unique than any other hair type. I think its really sad that people suffer so much abuse because of it. :-( 😞

C1N1C · 03/01/2023 06:34

I went to an all boys school and I agree, the gingers (pronounced the same as singers) derogatively often, we're horribly bullied. Purely from what I have observed, it seems like the boys get it worse, although a red-headed girlfriend I had did get the odd comment.

Personally, find the ladies with red hair to be by far the most attractive though!

So yes, definitely still a (for some reason) accepted for of racism.

FortSalem86 · 03/01/2023 06:37

I agree with you. However you aren't coming across much better by calling all English racists.

FortSalem86 · 03/01/2023 06:43

Brokendaughter · 03/01/2023 03:32

It's racism, pure & simple.
Red hair is not English enough, it's more likely to be found in families with Irish, Scottish or Welsh blood.

I sometimes wonder when people talk about the 'British' not being racist, then other people come on who disagree & talk about their experiences in the UK, if it's actually the English who are more likely to be racist & the more tolerant people in this country are more likely to be from Irish, Scottish or Welsh families.

I would say England is more diverse than Scotland for example just look at the football team. There are racists everywhere in the UK. It isnt just a English thing.

MiniCooperLover · 03/01/2023 06:52

My 11 year old loves his 'orange hair' (as he calls it). He's been getting a lot of 'Ed Sheerhan' since he started high school and thankfully at the moment laughs it off and takes it as a compliment. I hope he's able to keep doing that, I do hope it never gets worse than that.

Anotherbloomingchristmas · 03/01/2023 08:36

StrictlyAFemaleFemale · 03/01/2023 05:04

Please can we stop using disablist terms such as moron and cretin. It's not even true - I went to a grammar school and had people make comments.

I've only experienced it in the UK. Although an American once told me that they assume I have a fire crotch 😂

I have read that Scotland has the highest concentration of redheads and many more carry the gene. I've also read that it stems from antisemitism although I don't understand the connection there.

Ireland has the most redheads 10%, Scotland 5%.

Original poster
QuentininQuarantino · 03/01/2023 08:37

Thank you for all the comments, and I’m sorry to read of others’ similar experiences 💐

I put “some English” because DH has only ever had comments from English people (we are both English) but it’s depressing that it happens elsewhere. We’ve never been to Ireland or Scotland (on the bucket list though!)

we’ve lived in France and not had a single mention, Spain and Germany, and travelled a lot together. He does have people commenting that it is unusual or that he is handsome.

This may be slightly outing but I joined an english language FB page for a small holiday resort (often do before visiting to get a feel for things to do locally) and when we were there there was a thread on “who has spotted Ed Sheeran?” which creeped me out massively because it was basically a list of where we had been with our children.

OP posts:
DownNative · 03/01/2023 09:22

Eyerollcentral · 03/01/2023 04:15

@DownNative NI, the haven for Irish catholics… The reality is all the places you refer to in your post have been dominated by English supremacism in the past. Those ideas become imbedded in the culture, drifting down through time until children and adults are still using these slurs many decades and centuries later without necessarily a real understanding where they came from.

I am a Northern Irish Catholic and the only source of oppression in my life has been Provisional Sinn Féin and Provisional IRA. Let's not think of Ulster Catholics as a monolith, shall we? 🤦‍♂️

Ah, yes.....there it is, England is the source of all the problems in the British Isles. Rot. People are responsible for their own behaviours just as they are across the world.

Occams Razor - prejudice against gingers is appearance based rather than some kind of Anti-Irish or anti-Catholic thing. There are other prejudices based on physical characteristics and appearances. Ginger hair prejudice is no different.

Unless you have actual evidence support your assertion in the same way we have actual evidence of the basis for racism via the Atlantic Slave Trade?,

Rhetoric will not do.

Additionally, it's LAZY to stereotype the People of the Island of Ireland as being.....ginger. What's the most common hair colour there? 🤷‍♂️

TroysMammy · 03/01/2023 09:31

My mother was auburn (she hates the word ginger). She was bullied as a child because of it but used to reply to the bullies that she'd rather be ginger than mousey. She always said that unless looking in a mirror, she couldn't see it and it was her hair colour that attracted my Dad.

DownNative · 03/01/2023 09:37

Brokendaughter · 03/01/2023 03:32

It's racism, pure & simple.
Red hair is not English enough, it's more likely to be found in families with Irish, Scottish or Welsh blood.

I sometimes wonder when people talk about the 'British' not being racist, then other people come on who disagree & talk about their experiences in the UK, if it's actually the English who are more likely to be racist & the more tolerant people in this country are more likely to be from Irish, Scottish or Welsh families.

England is the most diverse country in the British Isles archipelago. And for good reason.

Karmacat · 03/01/2023 09:39

I have a beautiful curly red headed teenage daughter, she often gets really positive comments about how beautiful her hair is. Only once at high school has one child been really cruel, a teacher over heard and sent them straight to the head of year and they were disciplined for bullying. She has told me that people make the odd comment but she just laughs at them. It is bullying, I hate it and it shouldn't be tolerated. For some reason it's not seen as discrimination but it is.

dreamingbohemian · 03/01/2023 09:46

QuentininQuarantino · 03/01/2023 08:37

Thank you for all the comments, and I’m sorry to read of others’ similar experiences 💐

I put “some English” because DH has only ever had comments from English people (we are both English) but it’s depressing that it happens elsewhere. We’ve never been to Ireland or Scotland (on the bucket list though!)

we’ve lived in France and not had a single mention, Spain and Germany, and travelled a lot together. He does have people commenting that it is unusual or that he is handsome.

This may be slightly outing but I joined an english language FB page for a small holiday resort (often do before visiting to get a feel for things to do locally) and when we were there there was a thread on “who has spotted Ed Sheeran?” which creeped me out massively because it was basically a list of where we had been with our children.

Wow that is really shocking. I would be absolutely creeped out by that, I'm sorry that happened to you. What is wrong with people!

Soproudoflionesses · 03/01/2023 09:47

Bloody hell that is terrible.
I am always a bit envious of people with natural ginger hair l think it is gorgeous x

DownNative · 03/01/2023 09:52

Opine · 03/01/2023 00:06

@mathanxiety Setting that aside it is fact that The vast majority of Irish people don’t have red or ginger hair. Something cannot be anti Irish because some Irish people have red hair.
What about those that have no connection to Ireland? I have four very immediate members of family whom are blazing ginger. They’re fully black.

Correct. The vast majority of people in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland as well as Scotland have brown or black hair. Blonde/Blond hair is also more common than red/ginger hair.

Additionally, red/ginger hair is spread across the British Isles.

It's just a lazy stereotype to attempt to link it with just one place or religious background. Even in terms of religious background, its very clearly NOT linked to Catholicism alone. Protestants and other religious groups have redheads too.

I think we can simply demonstrate that ginger prejudice is taken as an appearance thing and nothing else. Often what is rare is fetishised or derided. Seems to me both occur to those who have red hair.

But there are those who are deep into the MOPE syndrome (most oppressed people ever) so will reject what you're saying on that basis. 🤷‍♂️

purplepencilcase · 03/01/2023 09:54

I'm ginger and this is not my experience at all. Other than a bit of name calling at school I've not experienced any negativity at all. Quite the opposite.

dreamingbohemian · 03/01/2023 10:01

Bagsundermyeyestoday · 03/01/2023 01:24

You've just proved my point saying they're the same. They're all actually different countries, you can have a look on a map. By the reasoning America would also be British. Have a good day 😊 😘

Show quote history

Good lord you're stubborn. I never said they weren't different countries, I said they were former British colonies, which is obviously true.

The US is very different. It won its independence before the British even began colonising Australia and NZ. The British weren't the only colonisers on the American continent, and the US accepted millions of immigrants from all over the world after independence. So there is not a very strong British influence in the US today, obviously we speak English and watch BBC America but that's about it. We don't say ginger, we say redhead and it's a positive thing.

Australia and NZ only became fully independent in the 20th century, they still have the British monarch as head of state, are in the Commonwealth, etc. So it's not a surprise that British cultural influence is much stronger there.

What is more likely, that these two other countries just randomly also decided to slur redheaded people for no reason, or that their ongoing shared cultural heritage with the UK is responsible for this random and stupid prejudice?

OrlandointheWilderness · 03/01/2023 10:06

I'm ginger. School was vile. As an adult I haven't had anything much apart from a twat shouting 'Oi, ginge!' across a petrol station at me last year, which tbh just seemed comical out of the mouth of a 50 year old bloke not a kid. He wasn't best impressed when I laughed at him... 😂

Ladyofthelake53 · 03/01/2023 10:08

I had this at school, was teased mercilessly, ginger minge, duracell, you name it. Hated my hair then but have to say its a feature i get a lot of nice comnents about now, its very thick and elbow length, i get comiments from men and women. Im quite froud of my Celtic roots where it came from.

Nothing wrong with red hair tell your husband to ignore the basards and be proud of it x

mummydoris2006 · 03/01/2023 10:20

Very outing adding a picture but I'm brunette and pay to be ginger. I love the colour

Why the fuck are some English people so nasty about ginger hair?
IrmaGord · 03/01/2023 10:25

I sometimes wonder when people talk about the 'British' not being racist, then other people come on who disagree & talk about their experiences in the UK, if it's actually the English who are more likely to be racist & the more tolerant people in this country are more likely to be from Irish, Scottish or Welsh families

Yeah, try being English in Glasgow. Then you'll find out how tolerant the Scottish are. My friend being spat at and told to 'fuck off you English bitch' when she tried to help a young woman who'd fallen over is just one of the examples. Although having said that, there were plenty of Glaswegians who were lovely, it's just more a case of there are arseholes everywhere, and there aren't any less in any of the other countries in the U.K. (or probably around the world for that matter).

Back on topic, my DH is ginger and grew up in England and never experienced any of the abuse outlined in the OP.

fghj149 · 03/01/2023 10:25

Scottish people are horrible about it too, trust me. It’s one of those things that people think they can insult, like pale skin, weight, height etc. I’m put off going to Italy because of how nasty people were about my pale skin. I can only imagine what your DH has gone through. It’s not funny and pathetically immature. I’m sorry people are so horrible sometimes.

Ladyofthelake53 · 03/01/2023 10:28

Im English but my red hair comes from my grandmothers side, her father was Scottish