"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 know an absolutely ridiculous amount of hot ginger boys. I have snogged a LOT of them in my time. People are utter idiots. Red hair is utterly beautiful in either sex.

worra my Irish DM is an exceptionally liberal person who does not believe in bad mouthing anybody due to their physical presence. Unless they're ginger. I've always found that exceptionally odd (as I'm auburn ffs too, so I was the family 'ginger' ).

**Those dissing carrot ginger - You do know babies can't choose their hair color any more than they can their skin color or anything else.
This This This x 1,000.
If this was a conversation about not liking certain skin colors. They would be breaking the law. So yes why is it acceptable to diss hair color. For as long as I live I'll never understand that.
YNBU op. It's absurd that adults who are expecting children them selves think it fine to mock children because of their hair color. Great example they're going to be their future children.

the irony of all this is a lot of Caucasian English people most likely carry the gene for red hair and don't even know, so those of you mocking it beware it could be your child next, then all your abuses would stop right? lol

Flowers you are most simply put uncivilised if you think your comments should be on this thread!

Worra, that doesn't surprise me, but I think your experience speaks to various identity issues in people of Irish descent in the UK, what you could term Plastic Paddy confusion and internalised xenophobia.

I don't think it's widely known that Irish people in the UK have poorer mental health, higher suicide rates, and are over-represented among more serious mental illnesses, compared to almost all the other ethnic minority groups, and, crucially, that it can continue to the second and third generations.

Apologies -have come a long way from red hair...

My mother had gorgeous red hair as did my mother-in-law. Based on this I was so hopeful that I would have a red-haired baby. Sadly not but I love red hair and red-haired men make my heart go potter-patter.

I don't know Bloomsberry. You might be right, or they might just have really disliked ginger hair, and saw that as a reason to bully.

I'm not sure Primary kids really think past their noses at times, but of course it could have been driven into them at home, now I come to think of it.

cactus annie whilst the ginger hair issue is not exactly the same, as an asian woman I see similar traits and I find it vile. Now if it was in jest and not truly meant that's one thing, but comments on this thread demonstrate the sheer hatred, its bloody absurd! I was born and raised in England only today have I realised some English folks have this hatred for ginger haired people,i actually thought this thread was not serious at first but I'm sad to learn it is?!

Not sure I agree with xenophobia argument as growing up I had negative comments from the peers within the community I grew up in which was mainly of Irish descent. The xenophobia argument suggests that people/children have their own on their side, but this isn't always the case, hence examples of mums hoping their own children won't be ginger

bloomsberry that's very interesting. no offence (and I mean that as I'm suffering with dodgy tone-itis at the moment), but are there research papers into that? I'd be really interested in reading about that further than google fodder!

Strictly, my (Irish) mother is exactly the same. A kind, sympathetic open-minded woman who's delighted and interested by the new ethnic groups in Ireland, who goes to Iftars over Ramadan at the house of a Pakistani guy she used to work with, is very fond of my gay friends etc etc. But will shriek about the horrors of red hair, despite anything I can say.

I think in her case it's another deep-rooted prejudice, her association of red hair with travellers. She/we grew up very poor next to a halting site and I think was terrified we would be mistaken for travellers, who were treated as subhuman in 1970s Ireland. Still are.

WEll my mother is certainly not like that!

However interesting that you mention the higher likelihood of red hair in travellers. I think that is the case, although I do not know that, I've always thought it was true.... and I think that might be the basis for some of the anti-''gingerness'' in, specifically, Ireland.

is it just a ginger thing or do you think its discrimination based on your background i.e Celts? Irish/Scottish, and the ginger haired trait is an easy scapegoat. plus a lot of kids learn the hatred off their elders be it grandparents or parents, aunts, then they pass it on to further generations not knowing even why theyre doing it?

Sllight tangent, but they both have red hair, did anybody see that story about the two dopplegangers on the plane to galway!?

I love the doppleganger stories! I love the Irish girl and the English girl who met in Bremen as well. I want a doppleganger!!

bloomsberry that may well be it with my DM too, people used to assume she was a traveller when we were younger and she really hates it even now if people ask her where she's from. It some irony however that there's a lot of dark haired, ginger bearded men in DF's family. I'm the closest we have to a redhead in the family, and my ginger mates tell me I don't count!

There are only two negative comments on this thread though (unless I missed a couple).

One saying "Auburn is one thing, white skin and carrot is not good, sorry!"

And another saying "I think auburn hair is beautiful but carrot ginger is awful, sorry."

I'm not sure that 'demonstrates the sheer hatred' particularly.

However, in real life I have heard countless anti ginger comments and 'jokes' from people over the years.

So I don't think Mumsnet is particularly representative when it comes to general feelings about ginger hair (sadly).

two red heads, not separated at birth, just, very alike!

Ginger/red hair is my absolute favourite and I always assume that other people find it as lovely as I do!!

I have very dark brown hair, and I"m happy enough with it, but would change to ginger given half a chance! My best friends OH has ginger hair - he's rightly proud of it.

OP, there's plenty of people out there who think ginger is beautiful, whether on a man or woman.

I come from a family of reddish-blonde/copper types.

Not strictly "ginger" but close enough to be mightily offended by the inane drivel being spouted by the likes of Happyfeet and FlowersandSHIT

How sad that they are so ignorant and uneducated.

I'd hate to be perceived the way they must be perceived.

Strictly, there's a load of credible research - just google something like 'Irish uk mental health' and you'll find a lot of medical/sociology/Irish studies journal articles, though the picture is a bit distorted because Irish people were only added to the census as a separate category in 2001, and then it wasn't clear whether the respondent who ticked 'White Irish' were themselves immigrants or 2nd/3rd generation.

Just one randomly chosen example.

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1562353/

I can't find a link to it, but there's a study by Bronwen Walter called 'Mapping Irish Health' which found that 'White Irish' mental health (and physical health, too, I should say) since 2001 mapped far closely onto non-White ethnic minority groups than onto 'White British'.