Why having red hair is not like being Black :-)

[dreamer_easy]

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Why having red hair is not like being Black :-)

As a ginger nut myself, I've been surprised to see people compare being a redhead to being a Person of Colour. So, to understand why well-meaning people might say that, let's do this backwards: let's first of all look at the ways in which being a redhead is like being Black.

First of all, red hair is genetic. The colour of human skin, hair, and eyes results from two pigments, the reddish phaeomelanin and the brownish eumelanin. At least six different genes control the production of these pigments, which is why humans come in so many different shades. Eumelanin helps protect us from UV damage from sunlight. The "tanning hormone", MSH, switches on the production of eumelanin. But in redheads, the receptor for MSH doesn't work properly - which is why redheads often tan so badly.

Secondly, redheads are sometimes targetted by bigots. I haven't been teased about my carrot-top since childhood, so I was really surprised to discover that in the UK, redheads are considered fair game for some quite serious harassment, and not just in the schoolyard. The stories are frightening: redheaded women taunted, in the tube or at work, about the colour of their pubic hair; a family moving house to escape harassment; even a stabbing.

And lastly, red hair is irrelevant. Or rather, it should be. Nobody should be judged on a stereotype of gingers as oversexed and temperamental. And yet, people still do it, just as we jump to conclusions about people because the colour of their skin. Nobody should feel free to bully redheads, and yet, some people still do it, just as some insult and harass people based on their race or ethnicity.

So much for the ways in which gingerism resembles racism. Now let's look at the ways in which they're different.

There's a lot more to racism than just pigmentation. For example, in the US, Irish immigrants were considered non-White (and lazy, ape-like, and generally inferior). Racism is inextricably mixed up with ethnicity. In Australia, racism against Middle Eastern immigrants tends to focus on language ("They won't learn English!") and religion ("omg terrorists! They don't respect Our Women! etc"), because it'd be hard to get away with more overt racism.

Redheads don't form a group that's like a race or an ethnicity. We don't have a common language or religion or culture. We don't have a history of being enslaved, segregated, locked in internment camps, or kicked off our land. We don't have a current experience of indefinite detention without charge or trial. We don't have a significantly higher infant mortality rate than blondes or brunettes, nor a lower average income, nor a shorter expected lifespan, nor a higher likelihood of growing up in poverty; nor do we make up a disproportionate percentage of prison inmates, or death row inmates. We're not crowded into neighbourhoods where other people won't live. To date, no-one has tried to "ethnically cleanse" us.

The longer that list goes on, the sadder it gets, and the more obvious that gingerism hasn't and isn't doing the kind of widespread damage that racism has, and is. Gingerism is unquestionably prejudice. It's just not in the same league as racism. And I pray to the red-headed goddesses of this world that it never will be.

Perhaps the most useful thing about comparing gingerism to racism is this: gingerism is patently ridiculous. If judging and mistreating people for their hair colour is obviously arbitrary, silly, and mean-spirited, then maybe our suspicions and assumptions about people from different backgrounds aren't as factual, logical, and natural as we think they are.

Your remarks are very welcome! (I'll add some links and footnotes in a comment.)

Comments

[kateorman.livejournal.com]

Is gingerism as bad as racism?

Woman wins ginger jibes tribunal

How the Irish became White

Last year, Australia's Prime Minister castigated Australian Muslims for refusing to learn English. The government's own statistics show that he was talking rubbish.

It's possible there is an element of leftover racism in gingerism - that is, prejudice against the Irish and Scottish.

[browneyedgirl65.livejournal.com]

Interesting article in similar vein:
http://www.seeingblack.com/2003/x022803/arabs.shtml

More links on gingerism

[kateorman.livejournal.com]

Red-haired family forced to move

Anti-redhead hate crimes on rise in Britain

Red hair bullying cases could end up in court

Red-headed family forced to move after 'ginger' hate campaign

[(Anonymous)]

You know, maybe it's just me, but this all seems to be missing the point. Group A will find some characteristic of Group B to define them as different, and vice versa. The important thing isn't the characteristic; the characteristic is just a convenient label. The important thing is how far the definition of Us goes in the Us vs Them, and how the Them are treated.

[sashajwolf.livejournal.com]

I think the most important distinction is whether or not the prejudice against Them is backed up with the power to turn it into oppression, including whether or not it has institutional support. Maybe that's implied in your "how the Them are treated", but I thought it was worth highlighting it specifically.

[acelightning.livejournal.com]

[seaya.livejournal.com]

That's because the red hair in the British isles doesn't come from Celtic ancestry (at least not alone). The Celts had black hair generally, AFAIK.

Arabs also get red hair, btw.

[kateorman.livejournal.com]

An article from the Human Genome Comments, "And is the red hair gene a 'Celtic gene' – as is widely supposed? (Not really, but it is safe to say that – a few rare exceptions aside - all red heads are MC1R variants that derive from European populations; the prevalence of these alleles is highest in Celtic countries.)"

[strangedave.livejournal.com]

All, of course, very sane and reasonable stuff.

I admit to being quite fascinated by the idea of the Irish being not-White in England (and the US). I've had irish friends from the UK say that they didn't feel like they were part of the White majority, and felt very much one of the oppressed racial minorities, and I've certainly come to appreciate the extent of English racism against the Irish. Its perfectly illustrated by the title of Johnny Lydons autobiography No Blacks, No Dogs, No Irish (a common sign on boarding house doors from his childhood). But it fascinates me because it makes so little intuitive sense to me -- I grew up after it all but disappeared from Australia, I think, apart from the lingering vestige of Irish jokes, and now Irish background is, if anything, a social asset.

[kateorman.livejournal.com]

For me the whole nonsense is aptly summed up by a line from Blazing Saddles which is too offensive to be quoted here in full but concludes, "... but we don't want the Irish!" :-)

[leoniedelt.livejournal.com]

My ma is a ginger (freckles, white skin, very red hair, eyebrows, lashes, etc) and temperamental is an understatement!

And the sunburns - poor woman. She could get roasted in the shade, i remember, from family outings etc as a kid. I used to have to help her put sun cream in the part of her hair to keep her scalp from getting lobsterfried. Interestingly she survived malignant melanoma aged 47, she'd 56 now.

But oversexed? Not likely. She tells of how dirty old men used to try and flirt with her and make lewd remarks about her and them in bed, etc, when she was just a teen, based on her hair colour. She used to cut it short or wear it under a hat to try and avoid the nasty men saying nasty things. What a daft, absurd thing to think.

Poor gingers :/

[alawston.livejournal.com]

Redheads don't have a common language, religion or culture but they are perceived as generally being Scottish or Irish - and it's only 10 years or so since overt Irishness in the UK brought with it suspicions of terrorist involvement - and there's a whole history of internment in Northern Ireland there...

[drhoz.livejournal.com]

wasn't there a Catherine Tate character about that?

[kateorman.livejournal.com]

Red-headed, fat, and forthright. They may as well just give up and cast me!

[the-cockfighter.livejournal.com]

One of my types include red-headed men, they kind of drive me wild. And whilst this appears to be selective, I think its to say I like all the "physical" combinations of men, fair, dark, shaved heads, etc...

[hexacontium.livejournal.com]

Yummy, red-heads! Strangely enough, it's red-headed women with many freckles that I find attractive (and really dark girls with curly hair) but red-headed men not so much. On the other hand that's exactly the type of men that is attracked to me. Ah well, in the end it's always personality that counts, not looks (or so they say).

[i-naiad.livejournal.com]

Interesting post. As a fellow redhead who is frustrated by people claiming it's like being black, but finds it a helpful analogy at times, I'd like to add two things.

1. Historically, there has been a lack of redheads, and in particular redheads with freckles, represented in mainstream media. Many of us grew up without 'evidence' that we were considered attractive. This is a similarity between being a PoC and being a redhead.

2. It's possible to change your hair colour. It is not possible to change your skin colour. (Ask me how many lemons I rubbed on those freckles to no avail.) This is a major and significant difference.

[kateorman.livejournal.com]

There's a funny scene in Niall Griffith's novel Stump where his two loutish lads wonder why gingers don't just dye their hair for heaven's sake.

[purrdence.livejournal.com]

I remember reading somewhere that redheads used to be denied work as wetnurses, because it was thought that redheads would pass on undesirable personality traits to the child through the breastmilk.

[purrdence.livejournal.com]

I just googled it and came up with this:

(my bolding)

"Now, for her bodie, sho ought to be of a middle stature, neither too big, nor too little, nor too fat, nor too leane, nor yet too grosse, having good fleshy armes, and legges; and her flesh being hard and firm: she must not be deformed, neither squint-ey'd, lame, nor crump shouldred: she msut be one that is healthfull, and not subject to any disease: the complexion and colour of her bodie, must be lively, and rosie; she must not be spotted with rednesse, and especially she should not have red hair: and therefore, such as are of a browne complexion, are held to be best, whose haire is of a chest-nut colour, betweene yellow and blacke."

From Childbirth or The Happy Deliverie of Women by James Guillemeau, London 1612. Reproduced by DaCapo Press, The English Experience series, no. 464, 1972.

http://victoria.tc.ca/~tgodwin/duncanweb/documents/nurse.html

[jvowles.livejournal.com]

So the cause of the obvious observable, physical difference is essentially the same in both cases, as is the general perception that some physical trait imparts a large number of personality traits. Sadly in both cases, those assumptions and the (possibly at least *partly* biologically driven) tendency to xenophobia provides an anchor for anger, scapegoating, and revulsion.

It's more pronounced in one case, and admittedly there's quite a bit more cultural baggage in that case as well.

But to say there's NO basis for comparison? That's falling into the old "you can't possibly understand" argument. Humans learn to understand new concepts by relating them to more familiar ones. That doesn't impart a full grokking of the other person's experience -- nothing can really do that outside of sci-fi or fantasy. But while you may not be able to fit into the other fellow's shoes, you can perhaps try on a similar style.

It seems patently ridiculous to oppress a whole group of people because of some unimportant physical trait or group of traits. Relating the concept to the experiences of redheaded folks gives us a somewhat analogous situation to relate to that isn't burdened with so much cultural baggage.

That doesn't mean there aren't a whole set of circumstances, prejudices, and other issues that are part of someone's "race" identity, but it can highlight the ridiculousness of those attitudes.

Kate: You may want to look into regional and cultural issues surrounding the term "high yellow" for what might be a more analogous experience.

[kateorman.livejournal.com]

But to say there's NO basis for comparison?

What the - I spent the whole first half of the essay comparing them!

[matthewwolff.livejournal.com]

But to say there's NO basis for comparison? That's falling into the old "you can't possibly understand" argument. Humans learn to understand new concepts by relating them to more familiar ones. That doesn't impart a full grokking of the other person's experience -- nothing can really do that outside of sci-fi or fantasy. But while you may not be able to fit into the other fellow's shoes, you can perhaps try on a similar style.

I think there's a lot of truth in this statement.

[trinalin.livejournal.com]

My best friend is a red-haired woman of color (weird using that expression). Actually, her skin is sort of a golden color. And damnit, I always wanted to be a red-head.

[drhoz.livejournal.com]

There's a wonderful episode of Nemesis the Warlock where Torquemada's successor and the suspiciously Afrikaan Arch-Bigot are planning a new campaign of hatred, now that it's uneconomic to continue the genocide of aliens.

They decide to target Freckled People.

You're the world's biggest hypocrite

[bardarmtrong.livejournal.com]

"Gingerism is unquestionably prejudice. It's just not in the same league as racism."

So if you cut me, then I don't bleed-- because YOU said "it's not in the same league." Gotcha. So when Jews and blacks made slurs against me, it's ok-- but it would be wrong for me to return-fire with slurs against them.

GOD I want to stomp your face in.

You are cherry-picking facts in order to be a politically-correct toady, and claim that racial slurs are worse than slur against redheads. But when you say:

"Redheads don't form a group that's like a race or an ethnicity."

Then you're being ignorant and simplistic. Redheads are not a race or ethnicity-- but it is genetic; the only difference unlike them, it's caused by a recessive gene, rather than dominant.
That’s the only difference. And recessive genes simply are expressed more diversely among a population—i.e. we are the world’s only genetic minority, even among our own group.

This means that while we didn’t have the same group-disadvantages that they had—i.e. we couldn’t be targeted and oppressed as a group like they were-- we also don't have the same group advantages that they have from their cohesiveness. On the contrary, each of us is basically on our own, having no group-support that they have, and without the ability to band together for group-protection. So we are basically divided, outnumbered, and targeted individually for a common phenotypical characteristic.

Therefore we need more protection than other minority-groups, since we can’t protect each other like they can: even our own parents can look different than we do, and this can cause us to become targets even within our own families. It's insane to say that a larger, more powerful and more cohesive group, should get more protection than a more weaker and more disparate one!

Consider Jews: they are not only an ethnicity, but also a religion: that gives them homogeneity as well as cohesiveness This gives them great power in terms of mutual support and activism. It’s similar with blacks, who likewise have made gains in this area because of their homogeneity.

True, we can't be targeted jointly in history like the others could, but only because we aren't homogeneous like they are-- and therefore there was no opportunity to oppress us as homogenous group. However, it's absurd to say that it's better to target and oppress people individually based on their color, than not as a group. Individuals have rights-- not groups; and when there is a widespread public mentality or belief which causes individuals to be targeted and oppressed based on their color, then the CAUSE of such is irrelevant: they deserve to be just a safe.

Redheads don't have the NAACP, the Jewish Anti-Defamation League, or any other group looking out for them-- but they have the same right to their safety, their sanctity and their self-respect. Therefore the law must act to ensure that we have the same rights as everyone else: if someone makes a slur against us, then the law should do not only what it would do against a racist or anti-semitic slur, but ALSO what the NAACP or the ADL would do.
For example, when Rush Limbaugh made slurs against redheads, not only should he be sanctioned by the FCC like he would against an anti-semitic slur, but should also fine him the same amount as he would suffer. The purpose of the law is to protect those who can't protect themselves, in order to protect everyone equally-- there is no such thing as a "safe prejudice."
So basically, Limbaugh should lose his job on ABC radio for his comments, just like he lost his job on ESPN when he made a racist comment (which wasn't anywhere NEAR as offensive as his anti-redhead slur).

Re: You're the world's biggest hypocrite

[jvowles.livejournal.com]

Gosh, what a very silly response.

[bardarmtrong.livejournal.com]

(continued) So we have a right to whatever amount of protection is necessary to counter this public prejudice and hatred against us, as well as our smaller numbers and cohesion; until we do, we are definitely an oppressed minority just like anyone else.

So you’re 100% wrong: being a redhead isn’t the same as being black— it’s WORSE in terms of public hate and oppression, since NO ONE is looking out for us—or CARES, when there are slurs made against us.

If, alternatively, you claim that groups have rights, then you have no case at all—since this would naturally mean that bigger groups have more rights than smaller ones, and that it’s therefore it’s perfectly fine that bigger groups oppress smaller ones.
So your logic is clearly simplistic and misguided; meanwhile a logical and intelligent analysis reveals that we deserve the same level of respect and rights as any other group—whatever it takes.

[bardarmtrong.livejournal.com]

P.S. your entire article is just one big rationalization for a double-standard, which proves you're nothing but a cowardly hypocrite who sucks up to popular sentiments.
Well you can't have it both ways: if rights are a matter of popularity, then there is no such thing as bigotry against an UN-popular group, and so it's ok to hate blacks and jews and everyone else that the majority doesn't like!
You can't pick and choose, idiot.