Gingerism. Am I unreasonable to think it should be outlawed by now (lighthearted)

[gingergenius]

So, obviously by my username you can guess my colouring, and I've recently read posts by pale-skins where people think it's acceptable to comment on your colouring, which often feel awkward, uncomfortable, rude or downright predatory. As an example, "do collar and cuffs match?" Is still (and I'm in my 40s) a favourite (my usual reply us: "what do you expect? Purple feathers?"

But I'd love to know, what's the cheesiest/cheekiest/worst comment you've ever had in relation to your looks? (If only to make me feel like I'm not alone!)

I've not come across the ginger stuff in recent years - just to make you feel better I will admit to being very blonde and having paid a lot of money to get the perfect shade of ginger which really does just not come out of a bottle!

@StickThatInYourPipe it's still a thing. Especially in my line of work!

But hats off for going ginger! I'm impressed! Maybe we should have an honorary ginger award for commitment to the cause! 😘

Not heard ginger comments and if I did I'd consider it rude. However some people comment on everything sooner or later - height, weight, accent, name - whatever, when they have no real conversation to make.

I am ginger and have 5 ginger daughters. We get comments pretty much every time we go out but they are all positives !

lol you're right @Tapandgo - though not sure 'conversation' is in the repertoire of most I've encountered

i like it! Badge of honour and all that!

@mumtomanygirls that's impressive! Mum to 3 but no gingers - to be fair I hated it as a youngster but love it now

I have a ginger dd (now 12) and, afaik, she has never had a single negative comment.

I'm hopeful gingerism might be on the way out.

@StickThatInYourPipe YES!!!

@LordTrash I wonder whether Ed Sheehan's over exposure might turn the tide again? Love him, but boy he's had a hard time!

If Ed Sheeran makes my dd's life harder, I'm coming after him .

Let's hope not!

@LordTrash think he's gone into hiding after overplaying his hand on GoT!!!

, that was a bit cringe.

I'm glad I'm not the only one. I was hiding behind a cushion for that whole scene!!!

Why the fuck do people think they have a right to ask intrusive and personal questions about the colour of your pits and bits when you are ginger? No-one asks it of blonde or brunette people FFS.

My husband is gingery blonde, and never gets through a month without someone commenting on how white his skin is. Going on about how he 'should get a tan,' and how he looks 'ill.' It's particularly bad in the summer when everyone is tanned, and he gets comments several times a month then!!! He does not tan, and is quite happy with his skin colour anyway thank you very much!

It's so rude and offensive and personal. Fuck off. Makes me feel like saying 'he can't help his skin colour anymore than you can help what your fucking face looks like!'

Pisses him off, but pisses ME off even more. Fuck off and leave my husband alone you fucking cunts.

sorry about the rant, it just makes me so mad!

As a redhead with 2/3 red children I hear comments on a regular basis, it is tiresome but nothing compared to the awesomeness of having hair the colour of sunset!

Oi! Ginger! Do you have ginger pubes? From a complete stranger on the street.

My Dd's first word was 'hair''. I think I may have posted this before, it was because everyone who saw her in her pram exclaimed 'what lovely hair' and it is. I teach a group of students and oddly four of them have red hair. Odd because of where I work, we have lots of 'ginger pride' conversations. I have sported red dyed hair -because I can with a redhead Dd and Ds1. I want them all to go to the ginger festivals in Ireland or Sweden.

Start a wannabeginger club. Plenty of us. Alas it's a recessive gene so trying to nudge my DCs into breeding it back in to a previously ginger family. Ginger Dating Site - I'm trademarking this.

PS is it true green eyes are as rare as ginga? 2% world population? Genetic experts on MN please answer.

My DBro has lovely ginger hair which I coveted as a child, but he's hated it for as long as I can remember- used to dye it, and now keeps it shaved grade 1 etc.

He had to put up with so many taunts and such bullying throughout school/ apprenticeship- I remember him being told his temper was due to his ginger hair, and that red-headed boys are trouble-makers etc. Such negative comments and labelling/ pigeon-holing from a young age from teachers and family members alike- I am sure it contributed to his very rebellious teenage years, as it was pretty much expected that he would be trouble.

DD2 (18m) is definitely more gingery than blonde like her siblings, and people already seem to be rather quick to point out the correlation between her hair colour and tantrums- comments like "Ooh a red-headed, you'll have your hands full with her!", or "Ginger curls on a girl are beautiful, but you know she'll have a fiery temper to match!"
Drives me crackers with the assumptions and labelling, just because of her hair colour!

@milliemolliemou I'm ginger AND have green eyes. I thought that was normal??

I think green eyes are a tinge on top of other colours, so it's hard to express pure. DH is a greeny eyed ginger and both the DC are blond (one quite dark blond, now he's a teen) with blue green eyes. I think the green eyed gene is a yellow one which appears on top of brown or blue.

Milliemolliemou, I was SO excited when dd2 started to show signs of being a redhead. I have a lot of red haired cousins, but had never had any in my close/immediate family.

I worried that she'd hate her hair colour as she got older, due to the kind of dickheads I grew up with, but she still loves it and maintains she won't ever dye it . She is gorgeous, just like something out of a pre-Raphaelite painting.