Who Wouldn't Want A Ginger?

While looking up some of the statistics for a previous blog post, I stumbled along a little article. Before you click on it, I would suggest reading the rest of my article. You can find it here. However, I should first tell you what it is about. The world's largest sperm bank,  Cryos International, have began turning away donors with red hair. They state it is simply because they have such a high number of donors, but there is not a high enough demand for redhead babies (with the exception of Ireland). Perhaps it's because the soon-to-be surrogate mothers know they don't have the genes to produce a redhead child, so they don't bother requesting it. Maybe, they just don't want a redheaded child. That is pretty hard for me to believe, because throughout my whole life people who I'm just meeting, or maybe people just walking by me in a public place that I've never met before, will come and tell me that they love the color of my hair, and how someone they know had the EXACT  same color hair as me. What are the odds? Back to the topic, it is shocking to me how low the demand is for ginger babies. Maybe it's because I'm a redhead myself, but I've always pictured that my kids could have the same color hair as I do. Apparently to others, that doesn't seem like the reality.

How Much Is A Ginger Worth?

I have always know redheads were pretty important. Or at the very least, I have know that there were so many fewer redheads than there were of any other hair color, and what is importance if not rarity? Look at gold. It's not one of the most expensive items to humankind just because it's pretty and sparkles. It's because of how rare it is. I believe the same can be said of redheads. Even in Scotland, the place with the highest percentage of redheads in the world (a common misconception is that it's highest in Ireland-not true), it is at a mere 13%.  Ireland, following the stereotype, follows closely with 10% of their population as redheads. In the world as a whole, gingers scrounge up a lowly 3% of the entire world. The number is even slightly less in America, where an estimated 2% of citizens have red hair, somewhere between 6 million to 18 million people. Please keep in mind that auburn or strawberry blonde are not included in these numbers, they are calculated separately. Those numbers are lower than any other hair colors- a fact that is almost completely unrequited by data collectors.
While the number of redheads is the world has been decreasing, there were never high percentages of them rising above other hair colors. If rare items are supposed to be the most treasured, have redheads been held above all others throughout history? Unfortunately, in most societies that would be a no. In many societies red hair was thought to tell many things about a person, like a fiery temper, high sensuality, or a devious mind. Many stories from the medieval ages depict redheads this way, especially as beasts of humans that have degraded morals. In Montague Summer's Malleus Maleficarum, he states that anyone who had red hair and green eyes were certainly a mythological creature such as a vampire, werewolf, or witch (another common thought was redheads meant the parents had conceived the child at a time of the month filled with more red than others-can you say tmi?). This was very similar to the Ancient Greeks who believed that after a redhead died they would return as vampires, so they would take preventative measures to keep the from rising from the dead. Following along these lines, during the Spanish Inquisition, many redheads were burned at the stake in Spain because the Church stated they had stolen fires from hell- a crime they did not take lightly. Russians were not the most loving of gingers either. They maid several points in their writings that no saints had been named redheads, and both Adam and Judas, the two worst traitors in the Bible we're thought to be redheads. Even Germany during the time it was run by Nazis, they considered not allowing redheads to marry so they could not taint the other people. Not all societies judged redheads so lightly. In Ancient Egypt, redheads were merely considered very unlucky, and were avoided in everyday life for the most part. In Roman society slaves with red hair were often sold for a much higher price. Unfortunately that might have been the highlight of my kind. With all these things considered, maybe being the most rare hair color isn't worth it after all. 

The Little Mermaid

This week I'm discussing one of my favorite redheads of all time, the classic Disney princess, Ariel. You may tell me that I'm talking like the stereotypical little girl that loves tiaras and princes and ball gowns. This is nowhere near the truth, because the reason I loved Ariel so much was simply because she was a redhead like me. There were princesses of all races, all skin tones, all hair colors, and finally I had found one that matched my flaming red hair (plus she was a mermaid which was and still is my dream). Of course, I thought prince Eric was soooo cute and I trembled right along with the other little girls when Ursula rose out of the sea with the mighty staff of Triton, but the fact that a redhead could be a princess too actually blew my mind. It wasn't because I thought redheads weren't as pretty as anyone else or because I didn't think they were regal enough, the thought had just never occurred to me. Children were supposed to learn that the grass isn't always greener on the other side or that you need to follow your dreams from that movie but I learned to be proud of who you are, especially if you're a mermaid, cause everyone wants to be a mermaid.

On second thought the moral of the story is never give up your mermaid super powers, even for a chance at true love because in the long run, mermaid super powers are much more exciting.

New Ginger Joke!

Time for the second installment of Ginger Joke of the Week! While I'm still not sure if I'll be continuing it weekly, I found this joke and knew I just had to post it. And now ladies and gentlemen, a short story for your reading pleasure.

A brunette, a red-head, and a blonde were in jail when they decided to break out. The girls broke out and the brunette said, "Let's hide in that barn, they'll never find us." So they climbed up the ladder to the rafters and then the blonde brought the ladder up. The next morning, the cops came into the barn and shouted, "Come out with your hands in the air!" The brunette said, hide in those potato sacks, they'll never find us!" So the brunette got in the first one, the blonde got in the second, and the red-head got in the third, all while the police were setting up a ladder to climb the rafters. Once they got up, the sergeant ordered them to kick the sacks. So the cop kicked the first one: "RUFF." "It's just a dog!" yelled the cop. The cop kicked the next one: "MEOW." "It's just a cat," yelled the cop. The cop kicked the last potato sack and the red-head yelled, "POTATOES."

Back when I was a kid in elementary school, I heard many stories similar to this one, only it was always the blonde who took the dim-witted role. These days, I've been told many times that "gingers are the new blondes." I have certainly had my fair share of stupid moments but to call us the new blondes? Out of all the stereotypes of gingers (mainly the fact that we don't have souls), or any groups of people, be it by hair color, ethnicity, or religion, I think the most insulting would be insulting our intelligence.  The fact is there will always be those who are better at certain things than others, and that each person has their own talents. Stupid stereotypes are easily ignored, because you can easily see that they are false. These are the types of things Tim Minchin (see my last blog) is good at making fun of. Now don't let this rant fool you, it's very hard to insult me especially with things as trivial as telling me I don't have a soul. Others, however, are much more easy to hurt. So just as the cliche saying tells you, if you can't say anything nice don't say anything at all. Don't be a ginger racist!

Tim Minchin

Tim Minchin is a very talented comedian, songwriter, actor, and composer from Australia. He is well known for thinking outside the box and his wildly teased hair. One of his most popular songs is entitled "Prejudice." The song starts out slow and daunting, his and his words feel heavy, but still with a slight comedic effect, something he has become very good at adding while writing comical songs. He sings about a word that has been used to bully and judge, that we as a society need to stop using. Then, suddenly, the moods changes drastically. The background music changes to bouncy and light, and he starts singing "Only a ginger, can call another ginger ginger." Once the mood was lightened, he continues singing about the woes of being born a ginger, but in a much more humorous light. He also adds in a couple of pros (like the fact that ladies love the gingers). Overall, it's pretty much impossible to not feel happier after listening to this song. His creativity and play on words just add to the humor of his unique look of heavily applied black eyeliner an drastically teased hair. It's safe to say you will never forget him or his songs once you hear or see them.

Even though this is a song of comedy that's meant to be enjoyed and laughed about, I think Tim Minchin has a great way of looking at things. There are a few people in the world that will pick on you for just about anything, but he has found what is, in my opinion, the best way to respond. Laughing right along with them. He embraces all of the funny names people call him, even adding a few that I'm fairly certain he came up with himself. I honestly wish this was how everyone dealt with the negativity in their life because there could be no bullies if the tormentors knew they could never make anyone feel bad about themselves. Alas, humans are full of flaws and insecurities to match them.

Here is a video of Tim Minchin performing the song "Prejudice" live so you can watch it for yourself. (Warning: he says the F word once towards the end so I wouldn't suggest listening to this on a high volume if you're around other people.)



Something New Perhaps?

I'm pondering adding a different segment to my blog, a new idea that came to me just this morning. Along with my other thoughts and historical information about redheads tha I had already planned on posting, perhaps I'll also add a post each week with a "ginger joke" tha ill either male up myself, get from one of my friends, off the Internet, or even if someone replies with a good one in the comments (hint hint wink wink).Though I know this won't add much more intellectual value to this blog, who doesn't need a good laugh everyone once in a while, especially at someone else's expense (I joke of course, this is all in good humor and I would never support any jokes that would hurt someone's feelings)? I don't know if I'll be able to come up with a new one every week, but I'll play with the idea and upload as I see fit, even if it is just because I need something to lighten my mood. Thank you for being patient while I decide exactly what I want to do. And now I present to you all, the Very First Ginger Joke of the Week/A Ginger Joke Segment That May Never Happen Again.

Q: What do you call a ginger who has gone off the deep end?
A: A ginger snap!

Ginger Genes and Assumptions

In the last blog I told you that I got my red hair from my grandma. However, today I would like to more in depth at the genetics of redheads. It is a recessive gene, which means that someone from both your mother's and father's side of the family must also have red hair, which would show that both your parents have at least a possibility of having the red hair genes and passing them along to their children. Since neither of my parents have red hair, but both carried the right gene, I had a one in four chance of having red hair. If only one of the parents had the red hair gene, then there is no chance their child could have redhair, but there is a 50/50 chance that they will also be a carrier. I got the thick, wavy, and bright copper color of my hair from my father's mother. However, when my parents got divorced, I got a half sister who also has red hair. It drives me absolutely crazy when people who have just met us remark, "I could tell right away you were sisters from your red hair!" My sister's hair forms perfect ringlets, colored golden red. Her skin is the classic pale sprinkled with freckles, while I have almost no freckles and my skin is tinted a distinct shade of pink. I swear one day I'm going to be in a bad mood and when someone tells me how similar we look, I'm going to reply with "I don't know what you're talking about. She's adopted." Just to see the look on their face. I'm not sure my mother will appreciate it, though.
People, there are different shades of red hair just like there are different shades of brunette or blonde. Remember that the next time your gonna tell those two gingers how similar they look.

My Blog

For the next 9 months I will be posting on this blog at least twice a week about my life as a ginger in our modern society. I will have segments on redheads who have become famous and what they have become famous for, specific redheads and their impact in history, the statistics on the decline of redheads, movies with redheads, and more. I, myself, am a ginger, and I will also be posting events that happen in my life pertaining to my being a redhead. As the blog continues, I will also include personal childhood stories that pertain to my red hair or easily burned skin. Both of my great-grandmas were redheads, but I am the first of anyone in my family to inherit their bright copper colored hair since them. My younger half-sister, who is 11 years old, is also a ginger, though she has golden red (or strawberry blond depending on the season)curled hair. The rest of my family has brown hair and tanned skin. Some of the posts will be funny, while others will be serious. I have some ideas already but if there's anything you can think of I'd love for you to share them in the comments below. Some of the things you can look forward to are a review of the ginger episode of South Park, a look at the comedian/song writer Tim Minchin, and of course on a very special week of my choosing, a list of the cutest gingers!

I am excited to share with you all the new things I learn on this adventure!