to be rather hurt by the anti-ginger sentiment in my office

[SarfEasticated]

One of our departmental secretaries has just found out she is having a boy, and in the process of her coming round to tell everyone said that her partner had said 'if he's a ginger he's going back in'. Then quite a few of my colleagues who I have always liked, waded in with comments of agreement and general revulsion at the very idea of a red-headed child.
Made me feel awful as I do have red-hair, and any of my future children could have it too. So basically they all think I and other red-headed people are freaks that should never have been born. :(

People who blather on about fearing their child will be born 'ginger' just sound so thick, I just cringe for them when I hear it.

Seriously, can you imagine anyone properly intelligent saying something like that?

what she said ^

I am not thick and if I had a child with red hair I would be proud. But there would be a fleeting thought because of the things I have been through of "I hope they don't have the same problems" and yes, for a second I would probably want them to not have red hair

Well there's two sides to the 'blathering' here

Those who blather on about hoping their child isn't born with ginger hair

And those who blather on about how bitterly disappointed they are that they weren't.

It's all a bit mad considering when our children are born, we tend to love them exactly the way they are.

Well I think it's just ignorant racism to be worried about red or ginger hair. Some is beautiful some is not just like some blonde hair brown hair all the rest! Ridiculous. I don't worry about my children being different anyway why would I ... Everyone Should be proud of their own beauty

DS2 is ginger and has never afaik had any teasing as a result. He is identified by it however iykwim in that the nicknames his friends give him are ginger-related, but not unkind.
He loves being ginger as he knows it is special- he was madly excited as a small child when we visited the Centre for Life and found out all about the genetics and history behind it.

Interestingly, he did have excema as a baby and still gets very odd skin things today. He is also resilient to pain, a bleeder, doesn't regulate his body temperature very well and is colour-blind, all of which I believe are part of the ginger genetic make-up.

Treasure your gingers, they are other-worldly in many ways.

Well one would think we'd treasure our children no matter what their hair colour

Any redheads who have never heard should stop what they are doing and listen to it now.

I was carrot-headed as a child and don't remember ever being teased for it; my hair faded to more strawberry-blonde by the time I was a teenager, and I have sometimes wished it was redder. I was rather disappointed when DD's reddish blonde hair as a baby has changed to more blondish/brown.

It seems to me that the anti-ginger thing is a relatively recent, UK-only thing. And even so, people having red hair doesn't seem to stop people drooling over Damian Lewis or Benedict Cumberbatch, for instance, or Lily Cole or Christina Hendricks.

I don't think it's been mentioned, but did anyone see One Born Every Minute last week? One of the expectant dads commented "as long as it's not ginger" when the midwife said she could see the baby's hair. I think he was possibly just nervous and said the first stupid thing that came into his head, without thinking. But it shows how ingrained and acceptable (to some) gingerism is in society that it would even occur to someone to say that.

What Worra said. If you stuff your child's head full of loved-up nonsense, they'll believe it and take the fall at school. Why not just tell them that you love them no matter what they look like, that their character is is what's important.

I realise that the ginger 'love-in' has been borne out of a reaction to the anti-ginger comments but listening to it it sounds as daft as the anti-ginger comments - and is just as harmful.

The way a child looks really shouldn't matter, but clearly does to so many people.

There was a young girl, 16 or 17, sat next to me today at the hairdresser. She has the most beautiful light red hair and wanted it dyed dark brown. Every single hairdresser inthe place was pleading with her to reconsider, but she was adamant.

Such a shame, as her original colour was gorgeous. But up to her. Just made me sad as she said she'd always hated her hair. I wonder if that's becauee she'd been bullied

DH says it's nothing to do with the colour and everything to do with The International Law of Girl Hair, which decrees that people with wavy hair want straight hair, while straight-haired girls want curls and so on.

You put it better than me Lying

While you're inside my head, is there any chance you could search my memory and tell me where I left my reading glasses?

Just ignore the midget porn...it was for research honestly.

The International Law of Girl Hair... I like that, TheOldestCat, very true!

I'm a straight-hair wannabe...

Most of my family and dh's (inc me, him, and our kids) have a variation of red hair. No one has ever been teased or bullied for it - I don't see anything unbeautiful about it at all, either. I don't think I have ever heard anyone being rude about red hair but I'd certainly object if I did!

Fabby's comments are as idiotic and offensive and ignorant as ever. She's an attention-seeker, I think, so we should probably not pay any attention :)

Just because like like red hair does not make it a ginger love in.
It just means you like red hair

Are they on your head, Worra? Have you used them as a bookmark? Did you put them in the fridge when you last made a cuppa? Did they slip off your head down your bra?

That last one, happened to me with my sunglasses...

I have no objections to a ginger love-in .

Some people sound determinedly obsessed about it... I don't see the need. Love the child for who it is, not for the hue of what it sprouts on top of it's head, is what I think.

Your sunglasses slipping off your head and landing down my bra is not really for public discussion thank you very much!

Wonders if anything is sacred anymore.....

DP would rather love a ginger love-in too. Preferably one including Amy Pond.

The thing is, red hair is quite fabulously gorgeous and should be celebrated in whatever guise it presents itself.

I didn't realised that coloured blind was part of the ginger genetic makeup. DP is coloured blind, and has very pale skin. As I said further up he has darkish hair but his beard gives away his ginger roots. I think if he grew his hair out it would be ginger. I love him tho, ginger and all
My cousin was very ginger as a kid but his hair has got darker over the years too.
What's the genetic chance of having a child with ginger hair anyway? I know my eye colour (brown) will properly take over DPs lovely blue eyes but not sure on hair colours.

Well, it's much more striking than mouse! Perhaps other people are jealous of it. (I say this as someone whose hair is browny-red, but goes red in the sun. I purposely sit out bare-headed to try and change it more!)

What does annoy me though is a friend of mine has lovely red hair and insists on saying she's 'strawberry blonde' No you are not!!!!!! You're twenty-something, you should know your own hair colour by now!!!!!!!!!

But 'quite fabulously gorgeous' is your opinion and yet you're stating it as a fact.

I think that's what Lying is saying about the 'love in' thing

It's just hair colour...some people like it, some people don't, some people fucking hate it, some people think it's fucking fabulous.

But for the love of sweet baby cheeses...IT's just a friggin hair colour

Sorry, ^slight overuse of exclamation marks there. That's been niggling away at me for years

Great and now my bolding is fucked