to feel insulted by the availability of a ginger gene test

[HariboAndWine]

As a redhead I find the whole idea of this test incredibly insulting and offensive. I wouldn't change a single hair on the heads of my beautiful redheaded daughters either. The suggestion that one of the most defining physical features of myself and my beautiful girls is in some way a defect makes me

'By the end of it, someone will have built a shrine to Chris Evans and Mick Hucknall in their front garden, just to prove they love the hair colour more than anyone else in the entire history of Mumsnet'

Why would you want that test? Who would take it? And what would you do with that information?

YANBU
At the same time, I don't think someone would choose to have an abortion because of that.

I also don't get the 'whole ginger thing' here.

Have 2 redhaired cousins and they had lots of girlfriend because of it not in the UK

It's occasionally handy for cops with random DNA evidence. They dream of a test that can feed in a drop of blood and output a definitive photo fit image, but at the mo they can't get much further than ginger/not ginger.

I assumed it was so that people could avoid mating with a ginger gene carrier if they really wanted to avoid a redheaded baby. I can just see dating website profiles with "tested ginger gene free" on them .

worra i splurted tea everywhere reading that! My hair colour is also called 'strawberry blonde' by most but in a way that suggests people feel I would be insulted by 'ginger'. Sadly I possibly would be, such is the negativity attached to the word. I used to hate my hair as a child but as I have grown up have come to appreciate the uniqueness of it. at the mother horrified by her own ginger baby!

I have a picture of one of my redheaded DS's on my profile ready for when one of these threads pops up (as it regularly does). I am happy to encourage ginger worship!

its not a test to find out if a baby you are carrying will have red hair

it's a saliva test to find out if YOU have recessive ginger genes - so a bit of fun really - how could that be applied to people having abortions?

FWIW I kinda hoped I'd have ginger kids but I guess my other half doesn't have any of those recessive ginger genes so my ginger genes (others in my family have fab red hair, but not me!) didn't get a chance to shine! Oh well!

It isn't a test in utero is it?

Surely more likely to be used by those actively seeking gingers to procreate with or is that just me?

No erik it is to test whether you possess the 'ginger gene'. It is difficult to see how this would be of use to anyone!

YANBU

My dh is a redhead who is a double of Damian Lewis

We had hoped for a ginger DD, but she is blonde. We can't be the only people to see it as a positive.

I have red hair 3 of my 5 children have red hair. Im not really insulted by it - I cant understand why you would care but tbh if people really would base the choice to have children on this they may be better off remaning childless anyway - it would be beyond pathetic to chose not to have a child based on the fact it may be ginger!

YANBU

The saliva test to see if you are a carrier of one of the red head gene has been around for a while. Not sure why there's a fuss about it now.

Im not paying a load of dosh to find out what I already know.

Go and crack a chalk-board over the head of whoever is responsible ;)

As a ginger myself (although becoming increasingly auburn in my old age) I harbour a secret, fervent desire to breed more little gingers, so actually I would be tempted to take this test to see if I'm in for a shot!

Embarrassingly, in the early days of our relationship, I secretly made replicas of myself and DH in The Sims 2 just to see what the children looked like. Alas, all 12 of them inherited DH's soot-black hair, after which I grew bored of simulated breeding...

Wigglybeazer your children are utterly gorgeous! I would love a red haired child, it does run in my family but doesn't seem to in DH's

Thank you for the admiration, DS2 is no longer a small elfin child with long hair but a tall lanky 12 year old with a sensible haircut. My boys have had surprisingly little ginger abuse really, less than I did anyway, but ti is quite common where we live so they don't stand out so much.

Baby barrister there are definitely men who have a thing for redheads, DH has a thing redheads but I was the first and i think he imprinted on me.

i was brought up to believe that red hair is the very best colour, and that natural red lights in your hair are much to be admired.

and that by grandparents whose menfolk had black hair and bright red beards.

It's an anti-Celtic thing isn't it? That's why the yanks don't get it, it's just Anglo-Saxon discrimination against the Celts. Like racism for before there was racism.

I am so proud of my ginger toddler. I have mousey brown hair that I have highlighted for as long as I can remember, DH is mousey also.....my 2yo DD has the most beautiful curly red hair, people love it as do I.......she hasn't had any negative comments yet but I will make sure she is fully prepared for it.

This test isn't going to tell you very much, all it shows is whether you have one of three variants in a particular ginger gene, and given that 40% of the population have it, that's nearly a 1 in 2 chance.

Then, you need to find out if the partner also has it (fancy asking your new man to take that test then?!)

If you both have it, then you only have a 1 in 4 chance of having a ginger baby anyway!

So, it's more of a fun thing, I wouldn't bother with the test, I don't want to know if I'm related to American Indians either.