Member-only story
Culture
Redhead Stereotypes are Dumb and Annoying
We’re not hyper-sexual, we’re hyper-sexualised
Growing up as a redhead, at least in English-speaking nations, can be pretty rough.
Everyone has a name for us, none of them pleasant: when I was at school in the UK it was “ginger” with a hard g, in Australia, it’s “ranga” (same g sound). And of course, we’ve all heard “carrot top”. I get tired of pointing out that the top of a carrot is green. In the USA, the phrase “redheaded stepchild” means “a person or thing that is neglected, unwanted, or mistreated” (Lexico).
Finally, let’s not forget the infamous Ginger Kids episode of Southpark, whose “misunderstood” premise that redheads are evil and have no soul led to violent attacks on redheads in schools across the UK and USA.
Yet, when we get older, something changes, for women at least. A whole load of stereotypes come into play, most stupid, some demeaning and harmful.
Redheads aren’t after your man
There’s a phrase I heard a lot in my 20s:
“Men date blondes, marry brunettes and have affairs with redheads”
After a lifetime of being told that my hair made me hideous and no one would ever want me, the younger…
