To be fucking sick of ginger hair comments?

[BlurryFace]

My 2 DSs are both under school age and ever since their hair came in I get to hear comments on it from strangers. Sometimes its complimentary, other times it's tuff like "ooh he's going to hate his hair when he's older bless him" or "he's going to get picked on with that hair".

It doesn't ruin my day or anything, I just think "get some social skills you twat" while going 'mmm, really'. I am ginger for Christ's sake, so even if it goes over the boys' heads I can fucking understand it. When I was pregnant with DS1 SIL (who I like) said "oh DH, wouldn't it be funny if you two had a ginger kid? Oh no offense, BlurryFace."

I just feel sick of shrugging off ginger this, ginger that comments. I've been doing it for 20+ years, my own mother has said she thought it a shame I was ginger when I was born. I got all the ginger pubes (what other colour would my pubes be, dumb fuck?) comments at school, but everyone hated me anyway, it was just bonus ammo.

Next time I think I'm going to ask if the person who thinks my kids will hate their hair hate their own nose/jaw/body shape.

Pause, how in the world did you hold your tongue ! I would have went through for such a ridiculous and horrible remark.

Don't get the hate at all

Boy at DC2s school, kind, patient, has calmed my boy down more than once is ginger . Its a hair shade that is all and the Titian type shade and copper is stunning.

I love red/ginger hair!! I'm glad the remaining part of the red hair dye has turned ginger 😊👌🏻

People with red hair get abuse in Scotland too so not sure how that fits in with the Celt theory.

I just think "get some social skills you twat" , Next time I think I'm going to ask if the person who thinks my kids will hate their hair hate their own nose/jaw/body shape.
You should stop just thinking this and start saying it. Rude bastards.

BillyButt, thanks I do quite like my hair now I'm an adult not a bullied child.

PrivatePike I was only orange ginger as a baby. Also seconding you on the hollow laugh re gingers having perfect skin, I'm very oily and blemished. :(

This has been an interesting read! My DD is brown haired at 4, my DD was jet black when born and is only 4mo but it's turning ginger. He's bloody gorgeous and I love his hair, every last bit of it, I really hate the thought of having to defend him when he's older

I'm a red head. Both my boys are too. Eldest (15) walking home from school and out of a pick up truck a man in his thirties with the window opened threw his apple core at him saying " I Fg hate ginghas complete stranger!!. It makes me mad that someone can abuse him just walking home. I also had the pubes comment. Ignorance is still out there.

I love ginger hair and I would compliment people on it. It just looks amazing.

I don't understand negative comments. It's not like there is anything we can do about our genetics.

In Scotland it can be linked with sectarianism. Scottish redheads are often (not always) originally from a Catholic community. I have experienced this sectarianism myself from a Hearts fan (A bit ironic as my Catholic father supported them), and been intimidated by a bunch of Orangemen in my home city during festival season.

@thumbs, I am very sorry about the treatment you got for being pale. Guess girls get it too. My daughter was a tad chubby at school (3 stone overweight ish,) so I think people were so busy calling her fatty, and lard-ass that they overlooked her pale skin!

nonibaloni if you tried to touch my DD's Afro you would get a short sharp 'what the fuck are you doing?' It is incredibly rude.

Quite likely, user - my saving grace was NOT being fat. My chubby gorgeous Greek-heritage friend copped all of that though. :(

I love ginger/red hair too! It's beautiful.

I agree it stems from anti Celtic feeling in England.

No other countries have this anti ginger feeling as far as I know.

OP,

You have absolutely every reason to hate those type of pitying, negative comments...drive me insane too, esp.when idiot adults feel it's perfectly acceptable to give that low-level message that red hair colour's something to feel shameful/ embarrassed about FFS.

Redhead myself (strawberry blonde), and other shades of ginger and titian in my extended family.
(Some gorgeous hair pics on this thread, btw).

20 yrs ago, my cousin's DD (then aged 6) was actually spat at by an old Corsican woman, who then fled inside and barricaded the door!!! Apparently, the myths about bad luck do still exist in some people's minds.

For Ginger solidarity, this is an amazing event each year...for kids, too www.redheaddays.nl/en/about/

Some comebacks, for when ignoring insults wears thin:

• Idiot: "Oy, Carrot Top!"

Redhead: "Carrot tops are green, I'm ginger (auburn/ redhead etc.)."

• Idiot: "Oy, Ginger!"

Redhead: "Yup, that's me: adding spice wherever I go..."

• Idiot: (any insult)

Redhead: "Keep going, if you want to know what "Gingersnap" really means..."

• Idiot: "Gingers have no soul!"

Freckly redhead: "Wrong. Each of my freckles is a soul I've stolen. You're next..."

Obviously for an adult redhead only:

• Idiot attempting to embarrass you in public: (any insult)

You: "That's not what you told me in bed..."

Lastly, each and every redhead can relate to this clever, funny and true song by the very gorgeous Tim Minchin:

I had this the other week a child about 10 taking one look at my ds2 and saying how she would hate to have ginger hair whilst we waited to collect dd from nursery. The childminder was as equally uncomfortable with her comments. I bit my tongue.

My DH is also ginger and never got bullied he didn't give them the power and when someone called him ginger he would pick one fault and throw it back at them. He was definitely known at school for having a sharp tongue.

@blackstea - yep, Australia does. British heritage thing, I have no doubt - but it's here, right enough. Not quite as bad as in the UK but still.

I have known a few people (my generation - middle aged,) who are ginger, and they dyed it blonde or brown - (the tv star RYLAN is a ginger you know!)

They did it because they HATED being ginger, not coz it's bad but because of the bullying they got at school in the 70's and 80's. Their hair colour takes them back to that bullying

Quite a few programmes and films that young folk are/have been into over the past few years have ginger characters/heroes. (The Blossoms from Riverdale, Ron and his family from Harry Potter, the lass from La La Land, Ed Sheeran, Anna from Frozen, the girl from 'Brave,' Gisele from Enchanted, Ariel from the little mermaid, Kim Possible, Rose from Titanic, etc) so hopefully the nasty attitude that gingers have had to tolerate will eventually subside.)

I'm the proud owner of a ginger. Her hair is the most beautiful thing in the world (when she lets me brush it!) it looks like we've had it highlighted but it's all natural and she's a curly girl.

I have only had positive comments about her hair so far, I'm not looking forward to the anti ginger comments that sounds like they will be coming over the next few years.

I love the gingersnap comeback zuzu! I'm definitely going to use that one, in fact, I can't wait for the next time my DP jokingly winds me up about my hair just so I can throw that at him! 😁

"...never got bullied he didn't give them the power"

Well that's a nice victim-blamey comment, isn't it. So you're basically saying that everyone who DID get bullied, it's their own fault for letting others bully them? Try BEING the bullied child before you spout that sort of comment, eh?

YANBU. My DD has auburn hair and whilst almost everyone who comments on it says how beautiful it is, it's usually followed up with "It's not RED red is it?" As if that's a good thing 😡
My mum in particular likes to point out that it's gone 'even more ginger' when she's been in the sun. SO WHAT????

My little red head I've covered his face but he has the most ice blue eyes.

My mum was a beautiful redhead - range of colours front and back all natural- whose hair turned annoyingly beautiful white blonde with age. Sadly, I inherited my dad's brown to battleship grey.