What do we think of ‘gingerism’?

[Nikee20]

It’s annoying me!
Why is okay to be not okay with gingers?
Today a colleague said ‘I have a new grandchild, but they’re ginger…for now . But the sun might bleach it.’

Is this okay to say ‘shut the F up’ or -

YABU - this is fine, be quiet

YANBU - this is shit

Well, redheads usually have distinctive skin. Colour, i.e., pale with freckles as well . I have red hair well, should say it's as it's white now . I always liked it and wasn't bullied for it - probably more bullied for having freckles. But I have got into spats loads of times on Twitter and X with people who are nasty and dismissive about the bullying nowadays . More thinking of my DSs and DGC than myself for my generation it wasnt such an issue . I think South park had alot todo with it !. If you mention that it can be a bullying problem you get loads of abuse saying it isn't a race etc . Hopefully that's past now and the current generation seem to have an easier time reading what PPs have said again - like I did .

You think my 3yo dgd should dye her hair????

It's a little bit similar to how it's seen as fair game to take the piss out of someone for being extremely pale.
I do not have red hair myself, but have a fair bit of Irish and Scottish ancestry, and my paternal grandmother who was a redhead. I've inherited the translucent skin aspect, but not the red hair (my hair is more of a very dark blonde).
The amount of people who tell me I look sick, etc is ridiculous. This is my fucking skin, I cannot tan, and my only reaction to the sun is turning into a lobster.

No.

Tim Minchin says it best....

No, you obviously didn't read what I said - 'its not ok to dislike the person just because they have a hair colour you don't like. What you seem to be saying/dictating is everybody MUST like ginger coloured hair.

I don't think anyone expects everyone to like ginger hair bit they si expect people not to be utter dicks about it and not go on about something someone is born with in a negative and derogatory way which some people most definitely do.

I'm ginger and I had multiple people say things along the lines of "oh let's hope the baby gets dad's blonde hair" when I was pregnant with DD. And "aren't you glad she's blonde and non ginger?" After she was born as if I wasn't sat right there, a ginger.

It's mad how casually rude people are about gingers. I love my red hair and wouldn't change it for the world, but people can be so weird about it.

I agree with this.

I was working somewhere and a red headed colleague said his wife was expecting a baby. Another colleague heard and verbally vomited the most vile and disgusting things. It was utterly shocking.

I don't understand it at all.

I think red hair is beautiful.

Well DD was born ginger, unsurprisingly as I've an Irish / Scottish ancestry although dark brown hair myself. I was concerned and hoped it would change and probably made similar comments - not because I didn't like it but because I thought she'd get bullied. In her tot years she got nothing but praise and compliments, she's had a bit of agro at secondary school but not as much as I'd expect and she still has the most beautiful Titian hair, firey red and gold in bright light and more browny in dimmer light.

I detest the word ginger as I've only ever heard it as an insult.
People don't have to like the colouring but need to understand that it is wholly unacceptable to denigrate it.
It's not the same as racism, but the othering whether for good or bad, the insulting and then the fetishising is still appalling.

Not acceptable. I was a natural redhead (going grey now) a lovely auburn shade with brown eyes. I absolutely loved my colouring and in my 56 years have never dyed it a different colour. I think I was extremely lucky that 'gingerism' didn't seem to be a thing when I was a kid, nobody at school ever bullied me or commented on it. I feel really sorry for kids and young people today who have been bullied because of it. No doubt if I had gone through that, I'd not have loved my hair as much as I did.

I'm a red head. I have beautiful, natural, curly, dark auburn hair.

I was mercilessly bullied because of it at school. It really changed me experience of being a young person.

On holiday in Morocco, a local said "I believe you have a soul". I later discovered this was because lots of people in North Africa believe that people with red hair don't have a soul and are evil

Red-headed people have been persecuted by various religions/movements throughout history, including in Western Europe.

It is not OK.

Absolutely not acceptable and a form of racism.

I've always found it bizarre that people have this attitude towards people with ginger hair. They always sound a bit dumb to me expressing dislike or making fun of someone because of their hair.

I learned this prejudice exists from mumsnet. I wonder if it is a uk thing?

Red hair is lovely, but bullying over it has been a thing forever. You were fortunate you didn't get any grief.

Exactly the same for me

CJ0374 · Yesterday 23:52

Surely its another form of racism, depending on what has been said?

I wouldn't say it's racism, but it's definitely bigotry and bullying, so in the same class of shittiness. It's not a crime, it's beyond people's control and it should absolutely not be used as a pretext to make somebody's life a misery.

I've never understood the bias against red hair. I'd love to have red hair. It's beautiful.

Your colleague is shallow, ignorant and lacking in any taste.

Younger people seem a lot more tolerant of differences than older generations. Dd is 17 and hasn't had any issues. (South London) Always seems to be older people I've heard comments from. It makes people look dated. Like thick bigots.

I find it horrible and puzzling in equal measure. (Gingerismn not ginger hair!)

I’m pretty sure it is. I have several close friends with red hair and it isn’t really a ‘thing’ to the same degree here in Australia, although we do have the term ‘ranga’ for red headed people. I only heard people stressing about having ‘ginger’ babies through my English DH and his mates.

I agree with you that being prejudiced against those with ginger hair is unpleasant and unkind.

I do though think that ginger hair and the commonly associated look is quite divisive. Some people absolutely love it and the red haired children I know get way more compliments about their hair than their blonde/brunette equivalents. I can also think a number of beautiful people with stunning red hair where I think their hair adds to their attractiveness and makes them stand out.

i do also think though that it can often be a distinctive look, especially when it's the very orange ginger hair with pale skin and freckles. This can be harder to pull off and I feel like men in particular with this look are generally considered less attractive (not always, but commonly!). I think this is why parents are not necessarily keen to have ginger babies sometimes as they know that the kids may face a stigma and just that it isn't necessarily a look that's considered conventionally attractive. It reminds me of your child needing glasses. As a glasses wearer myself, I don't think glasses 'ruin' someone but if you look at most models, TV shows etc then it's obvious that glasses aren't considered conventionally attractive. In all honesty, I would rather my child didn't need glasses from a purely aesthetic perspective (plus medical too but that's a different story).