"Ginger boys are just ugly"

[CrumpetHead]

Just wanted to rant

Had 32wk consultant appointment today, sat in tiny waiting room with about 15 other people all crammed in and there's two women sat opposite DP and I chatting to each other, conversation goes something like "have you ever thought that your baby could be ginger" "oh god no don't say that, I wouldn't mind so much if it was a girl but ginger boys are just ugly, yuk"

DP was sat next to me and could hear the whole thing, he is ginger and so is our 14 month old DS. How rude can you get?!
DP wears a cap constantly when he's out because he got teased in school about it.

What difference does it make what colour hair you have? It's just a colour the same as brown, blonde, black are colours! Thinking about it now it's really making my blood boil and if I could turn back time I wish I'd have said something to them instead of staying quiet because I didn't want to cause an argument.
Idiots

I passed a lad in the street, full curly head of gingery blonde hair and full ginger beard - wow he was striking. Looked like he'd walked off a viking/ Kingdom/ Game of thrones film set.

We have ginger in the family - it can go with the most pretty rosy creamy skin.

I LOVE ginger hair. It's so unusual and striking. My best friend from school has ginger hair. I had a similar conversation with my mother who was utterly horrified when I was first pregnant and told her there was some ginger on DHs side of the family. But she is one of the bitchiest and most shallow people I have ever met.

People saying that having 'ginger hair' is equivalent to being 'Black' - YASSSSSSSSU

Cactus - whereas there are clearly some historical differences, I'm scratching my head as to why you think it is so very, very unreasonable for people to draw an equivalence between people being victimised because of their skin colour and those victimised because of their hair colour?

Has anyone mentioned Eric Mabius from Ugly Betty yet? And if not, why not?

I think people are missing the point here...

I agree, ginger people can be very attractive, but that's a personal opinion... Some people just won't find people with ginger hair attractive, in the same way there are some physical attributes I don't personally find that attractive... The difference is that I don't say stuff like 'I think babies with XXX are ugly!' As it's demeaning and superficial.

I say this on all of these threads - MN might be a cheerleading collective for redheads, but in RL things can be very different. My ginger DS2 is abused by strangers every day for his looks - he's of the skinny, pale, invisible eyebrows, invisible lashes, freckles and ice-water blue eyes variety. He also has an orange beard.

He's been bullied, attacked, pestered and teased, including by his teachers, since birth. He's been chased through the streets of Amsterdam by a hen party and chased through the streets of Harrogate by a gang of Poles who beat him senseless - because he's ginger.

IMO the debate isn't about a hierarchy of abuse with racism at the top, it's about why do people of all ages, classes and ethnic background behave like this?

Like Flash says, not liking ginger hair is a personal opinion like you all have personal opinions/likes/dislikes on any physical feature. People shouldn't be sworn at for not liking ginger hair!!! People are allowed to not like ginger hair just the same as some people don't like brown/blonde hair etc. Its just the way they air that opinion that could be more sensitive.

I've lived in the UK for 20 years and I've also lived in 3 other countries. I've never seen this level of vitriol against a hair colour before coming to Britain. I think I'm too old now to understand this obsession with ginger hair.

I think they are lovely, girls with beautiful red / auburn locks are stunning.
Chris Evans of TFI friday fame has made a fortune from looking different!
Whats the problem these days? the whole image, got to look,this way or that way is just meh in my opinion. Being young must be awful nowadays.,i dont envy them.

just the same as some people don't like brown/blonde hair

There are people who honestly don't like brown or blonde hair to the extent that they claim that they wouldn't go out with somebody with brown or blonde hair?

I think it's very odd to be that specific about appearance. Clearly some people are more good looking than others - but surely that is more than a matter of pigmentation?

Carabos, awful thing to happen to,your son. Very sad.

Have not RTFT but - How rude and ignorant. Sitting there saying those things surrounded by people who are probably just hoping for a healthy child, who cares what hair colour?! People probably say these things light heartedly without realising how offensive they are. Hope it didn't ruin your DP's day. I bet the perpetrator wasn't exactly winning any beauty contests herself anyway.

Poles chase gingers because of antisemitism. A Polish colleague mentioned this when we were discussing cultural differences. He was redhaired himself, and quite enjoyed living in the UK where we don't do the whole pogrom bollocks.

And plenty of people who aren't particularly attractive manage to walk down the street without comment, while I am sure that many red heads who suffer abuse are, objectively, good looking.

Don't Jews have dark hair generally?

I think that they were Polish is something of a white elephant. I suspect if the victim hadnt come along they would have indulged in an aligned occupation such as gay bashing. Vile vile thugs.

tobysmum You are probably right about the gay-bashing. They were just vile thugs looking for a victim, but my point is that redheads, like gay people and other minorities, are too often that victim.

Btw, DS2 is not good-looking. He's not ugly, he's just ordinary of appearance apart from his colouring. He's more Ron Weasley than Damien Lewis. I can't take my eyes off him, but I'm his mother, that's my job. .

Its horrible, did the police catch them?

The reasons different cultures hold suspicions are often lost through generations so people hold views but have no idea why.

Judas Iscariot is portayed as a red head and red hair has been associated with witchcraft and vampirim. So though the ignorant have no real idea why they hold these awful prejudices this is the subtext. Europe was still executing women and men as witches only a few hundred years ago. When we think of 400 years ago when these persecutions were still taking place its a long while ago but if each 100 years is approx 4 generations thats only 16 generations for folklore, tales etc to be passed down. Chidren still sing ring a roses about the bubonic plague from that era.

So these prejudices really stem from terrible times.

tobysmum no. They ran off leaving him on the pavement where he was found by his friends. He said that he'd nipped to the loo as his group left the pub, so he was separated from them for a few mins. The thugs were across the road, started shouting to him, which he ignored, then they charged him.

It's so bad that normally when he's out with his mates, he walks at the centre of the group and they are all hyper-aware that things could kick off at any moment. DS1 was once in the same bar and had to wade in to rescue him from an assault - he said it was like a saloon scene from a western movie, chairs being thrown, the lot. That was because one of the bullies he'd been at school with was giving out. You'd think they'd grow out of that, but apparently not. We live in a very nice small town, but low life scum are everywhere and thuggery knows no class boundaries.

Make no mistake, this is an ordinary young man trying to go about his ordinary life.

carabos

I would also like to be very clear that ginger-bashing isn't just an 'English' thing. It happens plenty in Scotland, where an awful lot of ginger people live. After reading the thread I'm guessing that it's linked to anti-Irish prejudice from way back? I've not personally witnessed bullying but have heard lots of anti-ginger comments along th lines of the op.

I don't think anything more is necessary.

I would like to thank this thread for introducing me to Max Martini.

Very rude. Nothing wrong with ginger men.

It's as though people adore having something to be prejudiced about, and ginger is the one thing they think (wrongly) is acceptable.

Quite right crazy

I never really had this as a child (in Scotland) but actually had a couple of drunken arseholes on town try it a couple of weeks ago.

It caught me by surprise so I just wheeled around and yelled (channeling Rab C Nesbitt) 'what the f? Are you f* me?'. Luckily the got all embarrassed and shuffled off with everyone gawping.

I wouldn't advise rising to the bait but after almost 50 years of not having anti-red bollocks it caught me on the hop. It seems to have become more of a thing in the past few years from piss taking to positively vile bullying and violence.

Personally I don't like pale blue eyes, but I can't say that I've ever threatened to drown a pale blue baby or rip someone's eyes out because I didn't like the color.