I’m sure we have all heard jokes about gingers. Well, I am here to share if there is really prejudice against gingers or not.
My answer is plainly yes! As a ginger myself, I can confirm this. My whole life I’ve been called carrot or tomato and the worst one…. “Do you have a soul?”.
It all started in ancient Egypt many years ago; rulers thought that redheads were evil and witches. From then on, gingers have been stereotyped as having no soul. Another one I’ve heard is that every freckle a ginger has is how many souls they have taken. This doesn’t make sense to me because literally anyone can have freckles.
Some countries, like China, find red hair fascinating. In this country, it is extremely rare to have red hair, and they believe that this color of hair brings joy and happiness.
Most gingers are offended by the prejudice, mainly older people. Anyway, many younger people don’t really care and find it funny.
Here are some examples of how different countries have discriminated against or bullied gingers.
In 2008, a zoo in Australia called the Adelaide Zoo gave free admission to gingers for the orangutan exhibit.
During the holocaust, Germans associated red-colored hair with Jews, so they were also discriminated against in this country. The United States is bad about this. They created a South Park episode targeted towards gingers in 2005 called “Ginger Kids.” They also participate in “Kick a Ginger Day,” which was supposedly inspired by the South Park episode. Many people also say that the casting of Halle Bailey, who plays Ariel in the new Little Mermaid movie, is also discriminatory since the actor does not have red hair like the original movie. The role is supposed to be played by a ginger. Canada created the “kick-a-ginger day” as a joke. Unfortunately, many people were offended by this.
According to stereotypes, gingers are supposedly witches, and they are more competent and violent. Apparently, if you are a male ginger, you are more likely to be a criminal. The most common one is gingers have no souls, or if you stare into their eyes for too long, they could possibly take your soul.
Lots of people like to have these little names they call gingers. These include ginger root, red, white-skinned other, redheaded stepchild, and orangutan. But it’s not just gingers that get bullied. I am sure we have all heard the term “dumb blonde”.
Before you go around calling gingers these things, you should know some cool facts about us. For example, gingers will never have gray hair; our hair usually turns white or blonde. Gingers are less likely to get cancer. Gingers do not show many signs of aging as we age slower than others. We are known to have more vitamin D. Red hair, and blue eyes are the rarest combo in the world. Additionally, ginger are known to be stronger because they have higher vitamin D levels.
Fun Facts:
2% of the population has red hair.
Readhead Appreciation Day is on September 23. This has been celebrated since 2005.
Personally, I am honored to have such rare-colored hair. Who knows why people stereotype gingers? Maybe they’re jealous, or perhaps it’s the cultural meaning behind it. No one will ever know.
