Taliah
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- Posted: Mon, 14 Jul 2008 03:17:30 +0000
BBC News
Carrot-top, copper-top, ginger-nut, ginger minger, bluey (among Australians), Duracell, Ronald McDonald, Simply Red, Queen Elizabeth. And so on for hours and hours of the typical redhead's life. No wonder some gloss over their hair colour as "auburn" and "strawberry blonde" and even "titian".
These are common names that red-headed people can expect to hear in the UK, and (thus far) less commonly, the USA. Trust me, there are more, and most of them vulgar. Can these be considered insults? Or is this just another stereotype, as in the case of "dumb blondes" or "boring brunettes"?
However, my big question is this, is there such a thing as redhead discrimination? Or even racism? First, we need to know what theses definitions entail:
Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary
Main Entry:
dis·crim·i·na·tion Listen to the pronunciation of discrimination
Pronunciation:
dis-ˌkri-mə-ˈnā-shən
Function:
noun
Date:
1648
1 a: the act of discriminating b: the process by which two stimuli differing in some aspect are responded to differently2: the quality or power of finely distinguishing3 a: the act, practice, or an instance of discriminating categorically rather than individually b: prejudiced or prejudicial outlook, action, or treatment <racial discrimination>
Main Entry:
rac·ism Listen to the pronunciation of racism
Pronunciation:
ˈrā-ˌsi-zəm also -ˌshi-
Function:
noun
Date:
1933
1 : a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race 2 : racial prejudice or discrimination
— rac·ist Listen to the pronunciation of racist -sist also -shist noun or adjective
Keeping these definitions in mind, I kindly invite you to read through these news reports and other interesting sites I have found on the internet about redheads.
There was a case on a waitress receiving sexual harassment and abuse because of her red hair- Redhead Waitress
Another on a family forced to move across the country due to hate crimes because of their red hair- Redhead Family
A case of a man being beaten for his red hair- Man stabbed for "being Ginger"
Also, a source on red headed children being more likely to be targeted by bullies- Redhead Bullies
Red is the Color of Power - This has a note of how red hair was was treated as being marked by Satan.
Wendy's Protest - A protest against Wendy's for the portrayal of redheads.
Now, I myself am a red head, perhaps not a vibrant red that stands out, but it is more red than blonde. While I live in the United States, I have not been picked on or bullied because of my hair color, if anything, most people liked it. Then I became acquainted with a (now friend) guy from the U.K. over the internet, and one of the first things he told me after seeing a picture was "My God, you're a ginger!" Thus, I was introduced to this form of teasing of red heads, but upon further research, I was shocked at some of these cases of violence simply because they had red hair. However, from what I understand, no legal group actively defends red head abuse as a form of "racism" or "discrimination" if you will.
Okay, here are your questions ladies and gentlemen.
-How do you view bullying and name-calling of people with red hair?
-Could this become (or be) a form of bigotry?
-Have you had personal experience of such discrimination towards red heads?
-What are your views of the cases I have presented? Is one more notable than the other?
-There is plenty of evidence this discrimination exists in the U.K., have there been any notable cases in other countries?
-Should there be a racial equality group to monitor hate crimes and harassment towards red heads?
-Are the negative and/or positive stereotypes of redheads a factor in this? How do you think so?
-Is this even an issue?
Note: This is my first thread in the ED, if something is against the forum rules, please kindly inform me and I will make the necessary changes.
