Scottish lifestyle blogger Amber McNaught

Random Things People Have Said About My Red Hair Over The Years

Why do people hate gingers?

Or wait… DO they?

Do people really HATE gingers, or do they just say some weird things about us, for reasons known only to themselves? It’s hard to say for sure, although one thing I CAN say for sure is that, here in the UK at least, “ginger-bashing” or redhead prejudice is still alive and well, despite most other forms of prejudice –– or just plain rudeness –– being firmly frowned upon. While many other countries seem more moderate in their approach to hair-color hatred, here it’s still (somewhat) acceptable to make jokes about redheads, describe them as “ugly”, or say you’d rather die than have a red-haired baby. All of which is honestly kind of nuts, really, when you consider that it’s just hair, and not really worth making a fuss about. 

Still, though, people do it.  My “ginger”  hair colour is often the first thing people mention when they meet me (Of course, it doesn’t help that my name is ‘Amber’: if I had a pound for every time someone’s made the totally-unique observation that, “Your name is like your hair colour!” or “I bet I know how YOU got your name!” I’d have… well, I’d have a good few pounds, at least. Also, I bet you DON’T know how I got my name, because I actually wasn’t named after my hair colour, SO THERE.*), and, strangely, they will often continue to mention it every time they see me after that, almost as if it’s the only thing worth mentioning about me. Maybe I shouldn’t tug too hard on that thread, huh?

(* I was named after my mum’s friend’s dog. My mum met said dog while she was pregnant, and thought the name was ‘too nice for a dog’, so there you have it. I like to tell people I was named after Amber St. Clare – i.e. the ORIGINAL ‘Forever Amber’, but it was actually that dog. Shame.)

Where was I? Oh yeah: when you have red hair, people mention it. A lot. They also tend to repeat the same things over and over (and over and over) again, each time thinking they’re the first person who’ll have said it. They’re not, though. Far from it.

So, why do people hate gingers? Beats me. As evidence of the weirdness about it, though, here are some of the random comments I’ve had about my red hair over the years…

Scottish lifestyle blogger Amber McNaught“You’re not bad looking… for a ginger”

Um, thanks? I think?

“Firecrotch!”

I just… I just can’t with this one.

“Ginger!”

When you have red hair, random passers-by will shout the word “GINGER!” at you. Sometimes they’ll even slow down their cars and wind down the window so they can yell it at you as they pass. I really wish I was joking about this, but no, it actually happens, and no matter how often it happens, it doesn’t get any easier to understand. I can’t even imagine sticking my head out of the car window to shriek, “BRUNETTE!” at a random stranger – in fact, I can’t imagine wanting to scream ANYTHING at strangers – but if you have red hair and you’ve never had someone yell “ginger” at you, all I can say is that you’re probably not from around here, are you?

(This is why many redheads hate the word “ginger”, even when it’s NOT being used as a taunt. It’s also why Tim Minchin says only a ginger can call another ginger “ginger”…)

“I bet you have a fiery temper to go with that hair!”

Er, I DO have a fairly hot temper, so if you want to assume that all redheads are the same, then you could certainly say that we have fiery tempers. If you want to assume that all people with a particular hair colour are exactly the same as each other, though, well, I for one will probably lose my temper with you. Because I’m a redhead. We’re like that.

“It’s OBVIOUSLY not real…”

Because red hair is seen as “usual”, a lot of people assume that it can’t possibly be real. Most of the time, I don’t get asked IF I dye my hair: I just get asked what colour I dye it: and when I say it’s natural, people refuse to believe I’m telling the truth.

“Have you heard that redheads will be extinct one day?”

Why no, please tell me more, because it’s not like I have TV, or internet access, or tons of people all repeating this fascinating factoid to me over and over again! By which I mean, yes, I HAVE heard that. Many, many times now. I’m not a scientist, so I’ve no idea if it’s true or not, and I also don’t really know how I’m supposed to react when people tell me about it for the 675th time. If it’s true, it’s not like I can do anything about it, so… I guess I’ll just lose my temper again?

“Don’t worry, your hair isn’t the ugly shade of ginger!”

Because of the stigma that still exists towards red hair in the UK, a lot of people assume that those of us “cursed” with the “ginger” gene will be deeply ashamed of it, and will require constant reassurance that we’re not THAT ugly. I’ve had people tell me I’m “actually quite pretty… for a ginger!” and I’ve also had people earnestly try to reassure me that my hair isn’t REALLY red – it’s actually quite blonde in some lights! Or brunette! Yes, if you dim the lights and kind of half-close your eyes, my hair could totally pass for brunette! Whew! Dodged a bullet there!

 

“Did you know that in some countries people actually like red hair?”

As with the “one day you’ll be extinct!” point, yes, I did know that. People who aren’t from the UK are often incredibly surprised by the amount of prejudice that exists towards “gingers” over here – they think it’s absolutely crazy that people attach so much importance to something as silly as a hair colour, and I’d have to agree with them there. As I said in my intro, “gingerism” is a peculiarly British thing – which is surprising, because there are a lot more of us redheads here in the UK (and particularly in Scotland) than anywhere else in the world. You’d think people would be used to us by now, but apparently not!

“Can you not tan AT ALL?!”

Nope, and even more shockingly, I don’t want to, either, so that’s TWO super-weird things for you to digest about me!

“You look sooooo like <insert random redheaded celebrity>!”

Pretty much any redheaded female you can name, I’ll have been told I look JUST like her. Because we all look the same, didn’t you know?

“Does the carpet match the drapes?”

There’s literally no situation in which this is an appropriate thing to ask someone. None. Ever.

“Do you ever worry that your children might inherit it?”

No, I don’t: do you ever worry that yours will inherit your lack of tact?

(Sadly, some redheads DO worry that their children might inherit “it”: not because they think that “it” is ugly, or will make their children unloveable, but because of the very things mentioned in this post. I guess that while there are people in the world who think it’s OK to bully people over the colour of their hair, we should probably ALL worry about procreating, though…)

[UPDATE: since I had my little boy, Ive also been getting a variation on this one, which is, “I bet you’re glad he’s not a ginger!” So, basically, “Thank goodness your child isn’t as ugly as YOU, Amber, huh?” Lovely.

“It’s OK on a girl, but I really hate red hair on a boy!”

I’ve heard people say this so many times, and it honestly takes my breath away every single time. I mean, what a HORRIBLE thing to say to someone: especially to expectant mothers, who seem to be the group most often on the receiving end of this insightful thought. Again, people will always have their personal preferences, and things that they find attractive/unattractive, but for some reason it seems to be generally accepted that red hair CAN be OK on a girl, but is ALWAYS ugly on a boy. And that pregnant women will want to hear it. Because everyone wants to know that people think their baby is going to be ugly, don’t they?

“Is it true that you have no soul?”

Yes. Yes it is. And you should be very, very afraid of us… 

“Ed Sheeran.” Just… anything about Ed freaking Sheeran…

Because it’s apparently impossible to speak to a redhead these days without making at least ONE reference to Ed Sheeran. Don’t ask me why, it just IS…

Any redheads out there care to add to this list?  Why do people hate gingers?

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COMMENTS
  • Jamie

    REPLY

    I live in the US , and I love your hair color, just sayin!

    March 19, 2015
    • Fiona

      REPLY

      Amber, thank you for your article. I suspected some of these things, but l never knew to which extent they were going. I come from a part of the world where natural redheads are very rare and l have always wanted to be one. Right now I am sporting redhead look again.
      I think that your colour is incredibly beautiful. l can’t even start imagining why anyone would bully a redhead…but then, bullying seems to be a part of human nature.
      I have just met a redhead British friend. I’m grateful for this article because it helps me to understand him better and not to make some stupid mistakes.
      BTW, I love your blog.

      March 26, 2015
      • Caiden

        REPLY

        Some people in my school used (and still do) call me Ed Sheeran…AS AN INSULT.

        December 23, 2021
        • Godwasred

          REPLY

          Same bro. Stay strong, stay red.

          May 20, 2022
    • The comment most heard in school about my redhair was are you related to so and so? They have redhair too…As if every redhead is some how all from the SAME family…maybe all refugees from a leprechaun island somewhere.

      October 15, 2016
    • Sophie-louise

      REPLY

      Why is your temper so bad?

      March 22, 2020
      • naBer

        REPLY

        why is your lack of comprehension so bad?

        April 23, 2021
        • Kennedy

          REPLY

          Why is your lack of sanity so bad? This is mainly for people who care so if you don’t care then you can leave, thanks <3

          September 15, 2021
        • Dale

          REPLY

          Ass

          June 21, 2022
      • Kennedy

        REPLY

        I’m sorry you didn’t read the article or care to comprehend it. It makes us annoyed when you ask idiotic questions like that. Just because our hair is red doesn’t mean we act with a bigger temper than you. Thanks <3

        September 15, 2021
    • Lily

      REPLY

      I agree with your post totally. I’ve too experienced all the comments you mentioned. It’s a form of prejudice which has not been recognised. Us redheads should campaign together to stop such wicked beliefs and opinions.

      June 12, 2020
  • I LOVED this post!
    I didn’t know many of the things you wrote about redheads in UK.
    I recently moved from Italy to UK and guess what? I’m a *fake* gingerhead…! 😀
    E.

    March 19, 2015
  • Stacy

    REPLY

    Love this post! (And as a fake red head I have been asked the question of why I would want to make myself “ginger” by a lot of people in the UK…)

    And for the last point – I love it! (Does that mean I sold mine to get my hair dyed?)

    March 19, 2015
    • Rose

      REPLY

      Love this article, I have heard all of them, a bunch just this week. Someone just today was saying it wasn’t okay to be racist but at least they could pick on gingers. And tried to explain to me not only was that okay, but spoke like they were an expert even when I tried to speak back. I love my hair but it gets so hard sometimes when that’s all people see.

      June 6, 2019
  • Katie pickles

    REPLY

    Your blog has had me in stitches. It’s very funny. You go girl! X

    March 19, 2015
  • As someone who has spent years dying their hair red/ginger, I’ve never understood this! People do stop me and comment on it all the time even as a ‘fake ginger’ though and then they look really disappointed when I say it’s not natural. I’m not sure where it even comes from, like you said, its not that unusual in the UK!

    March 19, 2015
      • Gill

        REPLY

        SNAP! I am a lovely long haired ginger woman too and besides from lovely older ladies sidling up to me on the bus and complimenting me on my hair colouring I am always asked if it real? Or out of a bottle? I know dive into an existentialist rant about ‘as real as any of us are’ or look myself up and down and say ‘well last time I looked my name is Gill and not Gean so I guess I’m not out of a bottle!’ I like my colouring for it means I’m never forgotten and have a constant reminder of glorious autumn leaves, and the song too!! Love Jillxx

        March 31, 2015
      • Olivia

        REPLY

        A friend of mine has two daughters with red hair. They are 8 and 6 yrs old, and she has had people stop her in a store and ask if that is her children’s natural hair color. *face palm*

        April 1, 2015
  • Rachel

    REPLY

    Yep heard all of those! When I was at secondary school my friends would say “I hate gingers, but not you Rachel….you’re hair isn’t really ginger it’s more…………” and then they’d stop! Great, thanks. One of my friends used to say that she wouldn’t want ginger kids. She’s stopped now but I think that has more to do with my reaction to it than any change on her part.
    I was bullied but nothing to do with my hair, or that I remember anyway but I’m sure my mum thought that was part of it because she started (and to this day still says) saying I was strawberry blonde. I was and am ginger, it’s ok.

    March 19, 2015
  • Oh how I can relate to everything!! People used to shout “Rickkkyyyy” at me (from Eastenders fame) when I was at school. When my red-headed son was around one year old we went to a shop where the assistant said to me “what a gorgeous colour but it’s wasted on a boy”. I replied that I didn’t think so and, leaning out of his pram, my son appeared to swipe the nearest shelf of its goods in retaliation. You could call it hot tempered but I say it was justified!

    March 19, 2015
      • Sophie-louise Stanworth

        REPLY

        Another one is , is that your sister or brother

        September 11, 2020
  • Jayne

    REPLY

    Gingerism thrives in Australia too, probably because of our British heritage. You might get called Fanta Pants over here

    I really don’t get it. (I’m not a redhead)

    March 19, 2015
  • Myra

    REPLY

    As I’ve said before my father was a redhead, fading to strawberry blond as he aged, and I have a cousin who is a glorious redhead. I was so jealous of their red hair, and love redheads with their pale skin. It’s fabulous. I don’t understand those who bully others at all, never mind for a random physical feature.

    March 19, 2015
    • Sarah

      REPLY

      I have red hair, I work in a hospital and due to the high turn over of people I get asked 2 to 3 times a day if my hair is natural and told how I should never dye it because people pay so much to get my natural colour ?? its gotten to the point where I feel like making up a story when someone asks “Is your hair natural?” “No its not, I actually fly over to scotland every 8 weeks to swim in a special lake that dyes it this colour”

      June 7, 2019
  • I have reddish (more like an auburn) hair and people used to comment on it all the time as I was growing up. I had both sides of the spectrum – some people would say ‘wow people pay hundreds to have hair that colour!’ and others would say I was ‘ginger’ etc. Love this post – I’ve definitely heard all those things! x

    Amy | http://www.perksofbeingamy.co.uk

    March 19, 2015
  • This post made me laugh so much. I don’t understand why there is so much stigma against red hair either. I think it’s because it is unique and people, (especially in the UK) like to make fun out of things that are different.

    I don’t have red hair myself, though I’ve been so tempted to dye it that colour as I think it’s beautiful. I do however, get the tan question, a LOT as being incredibly pale skinned with freckles means that I can’t tan either and yep, I couldn’t give a crap either. Why do people find that so hard to believe?! xx

    http://www.kirstytalks.co.uk

    March 19, 2015
  • Lisa

    REPLY

    I’m totally amazed how a big deal it is in the UK. I’m from Germany and as a kid I always wanted to have red hair and freckles. The freckles are no problem but it turned out red hair does not suit me. Bye Bye, childhood dreams…
    Should my future children have red hair (I’m not sure how likely it is since I have dark brown hair, Same as my parents) I would bei delighted!
    As for the second last point – generalisation is stupid but most of the time I have to admit I like red hair on girls better; many of those cute little boys I see tend to have a rather carroty shade of red which is not my preferred nuance. But that’s my own opinion and I don’t tell it these kids, that would be mean and they are not interested in hearing it.
    This old “no soul” stuff… A friend of mine is a dyed redhead and sometimes she makes jokes like “Witch! Burn her!” about herself. It’s okay for friends (among my friends, I call myself Hobbit because I am just under 5’0″), but not for strangers in the streets.
    I hope it is not too confusing^^
    Best
    Lisa

    March 19, 2015
  • I’m sure I’ve read that red hair dyes sell more than other shades. I might have imagined that though…if I did in fact read that somewhere, it makes it even more bizarre that people are so crap about red hair. I’ve always thought red hair is absolutely beautiful – as a kid, I always really wanted properly red hair. Maybe because my cousin is a redhead and I thought she was the coolest person alive.

    March 19, 2015
  • Bianca Nazari

    REPLY

    Adding up to the lista: I live in Brazil where people usually love redheads. I think it’s very pretty and as an original brunette but with light freckles I dyed it red about 5 years ago. It must have suited well cause I tend to get the most funny reactions when I tell people my hair is actually brown. The things they say the most is “omg I was so sure you were a natural…because of the freckles!” or “are you a natural redhead?” and “whats the color of your dye?” or “I’ve always wanted to dye my hair red too” and “I like your hair a little more strawberry red than reddish like this” (Like whoa thanks for this useless information bro) but usually nothing bad at all….I’m really sorry you guys have to put up with bully in the UK…its really stupid! 🙂

    March 19, 2015
  • Lisa

    REPLY

    Hi dear Amber,

    First of all I think you are beautiful and I love your blog ^^
    I am a redhead and it’s true that many people seem to be so aware of it. Last year I went to Scotland, Edinburgh (to be precise) and I will never forget the experience I had over there, I was waiting for the bus and suddlenly it arrives, one of men there started talking to the driver, he said; “be careful, remember that “ginger thing” is contagious” and then I look around and we were all redheads… so I thought that people are used to make such jokes over there, here in Chile is not very frequent ^^
    Hugs****

    March 19, 2015
  • Yes, what is up with people shouting, “Ginger!” in the streets? It is so bizarre.

    March 19, 2015
  • BUT YOU DO LOOK LIKE AMY POND!

    😮

    March 19, 2015
  • emily

    REPLY

    It’s so weird isn’t it that people feel the need to remind you of your hair colour constantl.

    I have very long blonde hair, in pretty good condition and don’t really use heat on it, and I often have complete strangers TOUCHING my hair.

    I never really know how to deal with that, my manners win over and I just stand/sit there awkwardly waiting for them to stop.

    March 19, 2015
  • I think anything that is classed as different from the “norm” is given more attention as it makes some people uncomfortable. I’m a redhead who also doesn’t want children, double whammy lol

    March 19, 2015
    • Same here! I always hear, “But your people are dying out. You HAVE to have kids.” Um, no. And the “redheads will be extinct in sixty years” myth has been debunked.

      March 26, 2015
  • Please please, don’t miss understand what I’m about to say Amber.
    I am portuguese – a different continent 🙂 – and I actually believed you dyed your hair… you know why? Because it is so, so gorgeous, I honestly thought that it couldn’t possibly be real.
    In one of your recent posts it even came to my mind “How can she always have that hair looking so amazing? She must attend the hairdresser at least once a month”
    So… as you can see, I trully think you’re blessed one, to have such a gorgeous hair with the need of dyeing it or something else.
    I wish I had your hair… honestly 🙂

    March 19, 2015
  • Charlie McNicol

    REPLY

    My husband has red and very curly hair and so many people comment and say his hair would be lovely on a woman! He is also a very hairy man and has red curly arm hair (and general body hair), so he does get a few orangutan comments

    March 19, 2015
  • Amanda

    REPLY

    I am constantly asked if my hair is natural – to which I reply that no-one ever says “Nice rack: are they real?” and this is no different.

    My brother always said if he had a ginger baby, he’d drown it (I know). His son is staggeringly gorgeous and the brightest copperiest fieriest red imaginable – and my brother loves him to pieces. Karma.

    March 19, 2015
  • Emily

    REPLY

    I love this post! I am a redhead too and often have people make “ginger” jokes and then back-pedal when I give them a look. I love my hair colour and I adore yours! And the Tim Minchin song? Genius! And as for ginger guys not being cute? People who say that have obviously not heard of Eddie Redmayne, Seth Green, Paul Bettany or Damien Lewis! One other random observation, I tend to find that it is men who often make the “cruel ginger” comments/shout outs, and women often tell me how much they like my hair colour.

    March 19, 2015
    • Amanda

      REPLY

      Mmmmm Seth Green…..

      March 19, 2015
  • You have beautiful hair! <3

    March 19, 2015
  • This is so true Amber. I am a redhead and have gone through exactly the same things. You have the bullying at school and when you grow up you kind of think people may have moved on from being that shocked at ginger hair. I’ve had people heckle me from cars and things like that, it is so weird. How do you reply To ‘GINGER’ ? Like yes. I know thank you. It is so weird in my eyes. Jo x

    March 19, 2015
  • Maybe this is an American thing…but the comments I most often hear about redheads are about their pubic hair. Thinks like “fire crotch!” and “does the carpet match the drapes?”

    March 19, 2015
      • The one people find “oh so hilarious” in the UK is to say “ginger minge”! Oh how funny, it rhymes, never had that said to me before! Or the other one is they look at your eyebrows and comment “Oo you know what is the same colour as your eyebrows?!” Jeez…

        March 20, 2015
  • Amber

    REPLY

    I get creepers here in the U.S. Have you ever heard “Does the carpet match the drapes?” Oh and the touching. THE TOUCHING. My hair is now dyed red because it has started to desaturate in color to prepare to go white (Pretty silvery stark white YAY) so I dye it and I have a stripe of blue which is awesome and I love. But I also have super curly hair. That plus red equals EVERYONE TOUCH!

    It is horrific.

    I also second the “Amber is your name? Well then I know why you were named Amber! Must be because of your hair.” Also I get, “Well, I’ll be able to remember your name better because of your hair color.” Of course though, they don’t.

    March 19, 2015
  • Julia

    REPLY

    Hi Amber, I love your blog, being surrounded by gingers in my family, mum, nephew brother in law and 2 out of 3 of my children, plus numerous other relatives, I’ve heard most if the comments before. I’ve heard some quite insulting comments by supposed friends that mock gingers then justify it, and when I remark that I wouldn’t say anything about their fat kid, the response was, well you can dye red hair but you can do anything about being fat????? This was a comment by a fairly intelligent person and as for Katie Hopkins saying things like gingers are harder to love, I know its how she gets her fame but its callous and heartless. People say gingers are soulless, but the taunter’s and bullies are the soulless ones. My ginger family are beautiful inside and out, intelligent and awesome. Thank you Amber for giving a positive perspective.

    March 19, 2015
      • Natalie

        REPLY

        This comment sums up what I feel perfectly but I’ve never been able to word it right. I’m ginger as well and have gone through everything you’ve mentioned – to the ‘do you have a soul’ I always answer ‘yes, otherwise there would have been a lot of murders’ usually shuts them up. I’ve also heard the typical ‘ginger ninja/minger’ taunts as well as ‘does upstairs match downstairs?’ People are oddly excited about that one. I love my hair and my pale skin and wouldn’t change them.
        I’ve just stumbled on to your blog (looking for pale foundation recommendations) and I love it.

        March 14, 2016
  • Kristen

    REPLY

    My daughter (4 months old) has verrrrrry red hair (albeit sparse all over her head). We live in the US, but you wouldn’t imagine how many of these things we’ve already heard. “Is it naturally that color?” I mean…_really_??? She’s an infant for crying out loud! Then people proceed to ask how she got red hair. If they took the time to look at me or my husband instead of staring at her, they’d know. Oye. All I can do is shake my head Haha!

    March 19, 2015
  • Lauren Burch xx

    March 19, 2015
  • Um, have none of these people heard of MANNERS? I am not a redhead but I would never say any of these things to a stranger! Seriously…

    March 19, 2015
  • TinaD

    REPLY

    My youngest son is red. (The rest of our family is blond. Yes, my husband looks at me sideways sometimes. But since red is a mutation of blond, there’s absolutely no reason it can’t mutate again. Or his family has unacknowledged gingers in their woodpile.) From the kids at school he gets:
    1. Gingers have no soul
    2. Your mother dyes your hair
    3. Your mother should bleach your hair
    4. You’re not a really a redhead; THAT (pointing to some kid with a head like a copper penny) is a real ginger
    …usually from the same people. He’s very confused. And sometimes enraged. But well-sunscreened.

    March 19, 2015
    • Sarah

      REPLY

      I love the well sunscreened remark ?? my husband, myself and our two sons all have red hair so Ive taken shares out in sunscreen

      June 7, 2019
  • Liz Tea Bee

    REPLY

    It’s always interesting to hear about how different your experience is in the UK than mine has been in the US. I was taunted for my hair color and called “red squirrel” in elementary school. I got comments about the fiery temper as a child too.

    I never even heard the term “ginger” or the “gingers have no soul” thing until there was an episode of South Park about it in 2005. My cousin’s daughter was 10 when that episode aired and she was taunted constantly afterwards. Her experience was very different than mine. Thanks, South Park.

    People asked me quite a bit when I was pregnant “do you think the baby will have red hair?” but it seemed to be a neutral thing. My mother-in-law has red hair so the genes are definitely there. I was a tiny bit disappointed when my son was born with blond hair.

    March 19, 2015
  • I agree totally, I am a redhead also and hate all the jibes about ‘gingers’. Nice piece Amber 🙂

    March 19, 2015
  • Emilie Wohlert Fournais

    March 19, 2015
  • Brilliant! I have heard just about all of those Marianne Gilbert! xx

    March 19, 2015
  • Jess Ratcliffe

    REPLY

    This is so true! I’m in year 9 at the moment and I have been bullied for having red hair all my life! During year 7 it got so bad that I had to be put in an inclusion unit away from all the other kids in my school because I had developed anxiety over it. And the funny part is, I actually like my hair colour! I was just afraid that everyone didn’t like it! This is something else to add to the list. People don’t realise that some of us like our hair colour and they think we need contrast reminders that we should be happy with our hair colour or that it is so ugly we should wear a hat all the time! Also, I think ginger kids are so cute! I would love my kids to have the reheaded gene! Xxx

    March 19, 2015
  • Oh I hear ya!
    When I was at school it used to be ‘ginga’ with a hard g rather than a soft g like ‘ginger’ that got shouted.
    And oh god, ‘you’re fit, for a ginger’ – gee, thanks, did you really think that through before you said it?!
    I also used to always get hairdressers/mums complimenting my hair as I was growing up, which as an awkward pre-teen was just embarrassing because at the time I really hated it!
    I have to admit I do enjoy a bit of #gingerpower banter every now and again though, although certainly wouldn’t be bashing any other hair colours in the process!
    Thankfully I’ve learnt to love my red hair now I’m in my mid-20s, I do colour it every now and again, but just versions of red, sometimes slightly darker in the winter and then slightly brighter in the summer, I doubt I’ll ever stray from the red now though – until I go grey, in which case I shall probably opt for blonde! 🙂

    Ceri x

    March 19, 2015
  • I must be incredibly lucky as I don’t experience any of this. The response to my red hair is overwhelmingly positive. Strangers frequentky stop me to say my hair is lovely. I know this stuff you speak of happens because I’ve heard loads of redheads talk about it, I honestly don’t know why I’ve avoided it.
    I got a little teasing at school, but I nipped it in the bud by declaring how much I loved my hair. Once kid realised it wasn’t a sore spot for me, they stopped.
    I also have to
    Admit that I love the term ginger. I refer to myself that way & even use it as name on social media. My niece has a running joke about me being a ginger nut, which we both find funny. She actually admires why she calls my ‘mermaid hair’ .
    Anyway, I hate that folk get bullied because of their hair colour. I think red hair is beautiful.

    March 19, 2015
  • Chantel

    REPLY

    I have to say, I loved this post. I grew up in the southern united states. Right along the area we call the bible belt. Around here, red hair was looked upon as the sign off the devil, so I got picked on quite a bit while growing up, and on top of that, I was in middle school before I had even met another red head. The worst insult I remember getting about my hair color (along with my short stature) was leprechaun. I got called that so many times, and it didn’t help that those horror flicks about one had been coming out around the same time. Besides that I’ve been called spawn of Satan and devil child because I also happen to have two naturally different colored eyes. Yay me…

    March 19, 2015
  • I live in the U.S. and as a child I got teased for my red hair but once I became a teenager I got positive attention for my hair color. It continues to this day and now I have an adult daughter who has beautiful red hair. She was never teased as a child about her hair and she has found the same thing I found that people often rave about her hair. Maybe the culture here in Georgia is a little different than in the U.K. as far as redheads go but we both have found that we get lots of positive attention because of our hair.

    March 19, 2015
  • Evie

    REPLY

    I am a redheaded woman in the US and spent most of my childhood being called “carrot top”. I guess the term “ginger” is the new thing. I have 3 children, all redheads, and do find we garner attention everywhere we go. People love to tell me that it’s genetically impossible that I ended up with redheads. Apparently not people! 🙂

    March 19, 2015
    • Sandra

      REPLY

      How do you deal with the attention? I am struggling with it. I hated it as a kid and my kids don’t like it. I usually just say something polite and try to get away. By the third time in the store the other day, I didn’t react as someone made a comment just because between juggling the kids and getting our groceries I was drained. The man snapped and yelled at me.

      August 11, 2022
  • I’m “across the pond” in America and I simply ADORE redheaded men! Prejudice is a funny thing. Also, you are beautiful and I love your style and blog.

    March 19, 2015
  • Can I add “Do the drapes match the curtains?” In what world is that an acceptable question? Also, as someone that is currently growing a (probably) ginger boy, I know those baby comments well. The ‘you’re not a proper ginger though, you don’t have ‘that’ ginger face’ is the worst.

    March 19, 2015
    • Katie

      REPLY

      Oh goodness, that is the worst comment ever, I got that all the time out at the bars. My other least favorite is people telling me that I’m a “daywalker”, not a full ginger, from some episode of South Park. So many teenage boys think that is a compliment. On the flip-side, my boyfriend loves to tell me my hair isn’t really red, and I’m like, I was made fun of throughout school for having red hair, so gosh darnit, it’s red.

      March 25, 2015
  • This whole concept of “gingerism” is so bizarre! I had never encountered it in Germany but in Ireland, I heard a pregnant coworker tell my red-haired friend that her very worst fear was that her baby might have ginger hair. My friend politely said something like “Well, surely the most important thing is that it’s healthy and happy?” – and the mother-to-be actually didn’t seem so sure. (Two years later, I’m still appalled! Not only is it rude, I don’t even understand why anyone would even THINK this!)

    I can relate to the weirdness of people constantly pointing out your hair colour to you – when I lived in Spain and Chile, my long, naturally blond hair stopped traffic and was the cause for a lot of honking and shouting and awkwardness. The weirdest moment was when a Spanish guy, while hitting on me, explained that the logic was “well, you’re a blonde, blond means Northern Europe, Northern Europe means Sweden, Sweden means porn” and then seemed surprised that I wasn’t interested in continuing the conversation…

    March 19, 2015
      • Sandra

        REPLY

        In the US, this is a constant thing I have to be alert on. People try and touch my kids hair a lot.

        August 11, 2022
  • …another carrot top checking in. You’ve given me a dose of reality Amber….I was thinking I might feel ‘at home’ when I visit the UK {I live in Vancouver, CANADA}….you know, hanging with my red haired peeps…but it sounds as though things are much, much worse there {sigh}. I was teased as a kid, but fortunately I was also well liked with a lot of friends {if that makes any sense?}, so I survived my childhood and teen years. I do remember ‘old’ ladies always cooing over me, and I DO remember thinking I would never, ever have a boyfriend. I find it interesting that some readers find this post funny. I actually don’t find it funny at all…I think it’s a very, very good post…but, for me, so NOT funny. At one point in an earlier career, I worked in a small office with six employees…. and three of us had red hair…and it was such a weirdly great, kindred feeling. I also cringe a little at the word redhead…it seems such a harsh word compared to blonde.

    March 19, 2015
    • Suze

      REPLY

      I agree that the underlying message here is no laughing matter! If people find this post funny then I’d hope that it’s just Amber’s witty writing style or the ridiculous/far-fetched nature of some of these points which they find amusing (rather than the actual mocking itself and the nastiness behind it all)…..or otherwise I assume that these people haven’t had the misfortune to experience this kind of prejudice personally, in which case they should count themselves very lucky indeed!

      March 21, 2015
  • Claudia Biron

    REPLY

    I also am a redhead and live in the US. In high school classmates called me Big Red. I’m 5’7″ and wasn’t really over weight. I think kids in school try to find something different about people. I have had nothing but positive comments and found that men actually love red hair. I was just listening to a radio program this week actually, and there was a study on redheads that said it’s harder for women with red hair to date because men are actually so attracted to them that they are hesitant to approach the woman! Very interesting. And I would actually love to be referred to as a ginger. But that has never happened to me. I will say that when I was in high school and it was cool to be tan, I wished I had tanable skin. Not so much anymore.

    Thanks for the great article Amber!

    March 19, 2015
  • It absolutely pains me whenever I hear people say any of these things, especially when they directly make it about my girlfriend, someone who has gone through all of these things and then some in her life solely because of being a redhead. It wouldn’t be acceptable if you were to insert a race or gender in place of where they say these things so it shouldn’t change because of hair or skin.

    It sucks that it’s still so bad in the UK which is a bit ironic given that the concentration of them is the greatest in that region (US still has the most in total number though). It’s better in the US and Australia (they also have their own derogatory term called Ranga to relate redheads to Orangutans) but still a problem solely because it exists.

    South Park definitely didn’t help with the gingers have no souls thing and spawning things like kick a ginger day. Likewise, I agree that taking pride in who you are or having a preference is different from putting down others just to praise another. Redheads from a physical standpoint have been the most appealing to me but it never made me put down anyone else or keep me from being attracted to any other look. Some people just get borderline obsessed and a someone with mild OCD, it’s still not excusable.

    It’s just doing the same thing but in reverse and contradicting any arguments made for why it should should. Some other things I find annoying to hear and see are the stupid memes that say stuff like redheads are hot, gingers are ugly or anything similar as well as “a real redhead” looks like this and does this.

    If a redhead doesn’t fit those stereotypes with them most commonly being told that they must have green or blue eyes, freckles and be really pale. If they don’t fit that description then people automatically assume they’re a fake redhead even though redhead features can vary greatly and you can have redheads of ANY race. That is something most are highly ignorant about. They’re too stuck on every redhead must be Irish in some way even though there’s more in Scotland in terms of number and ratio and red hair was found in other places before Ireland.

    I also hate the stupid meme picture that says a girl without freckles is like a night without stars or the ginger problems memes or it’s a redhead thing memes that stereotypes all redheads as having the same problems. My girlfriend has been put down and mocked by other redheads for not having any freckles (she’s freckless no matter what). She’s had to hear people say things such as, “The best redheads have freckles” or, “Theres no point in being/dating a redhead if they don’t have freckles”. Bleh..

    My girlfriend highlighted that when she was around 11-13, she was with her mom and older men made sexual remarks using the dreaded, “does the carpet match the drapes” line. She said it was the first time she ever heard it and she was confused and lost by it and her mom had to explain it and why people say it. Disgusting that grown men would say this to a young girl even in front of her mother.

    Even now random weirdos say it to her online and when she’s out. Random people have even messaged her (it’s basically guaranteed if she comments anywhere which includes your page) asking her to prove it by sending photos with one guy even going so far as begging and offering to pay her $1000 for them (she wasn’t even the least bit tempted and instead appalled). It’s amazingly sad how some people have no decency at all. Going back to stereotypical looks to identify a “real redhead” is the eyebrow comment. People use this with any hair color but that’s wrong too.

    Many people have eyebrow colors naturally different from the hair anywhere on their body which can range from being lighter or darker than the rest. It’s not uncommon for redheads to have eyebrows so thin it looks as if they have none or for others to have blonde eyebrows. As such many redheads pencil their eyebrows to be darker on purpose. But women of all backgrounds commonly pencil their eyes so regardless it’s a rather stupid thing to go off of.

    Oh, almost forgot the random people that come out and try to touch her as if she’s an alien while asking if it’s her real color or dyed. Personal space isn’t important clearly.

    To answer that extinction question, it’s a hoax and blondes got the same hoax once. Redheads or any gene can only go extinct once the genes themselves run out so as long as one useable copy exists in humanity you can spawn another. Seeing as you don’t need to be a redhead to have redhead children, the gene is not going anywhere unless humanity itself dies out or if someone looks into the DNA code of every single person on Earth and personally murders anyone with the MC1r gene.

    March 19, 2015
  • Yep, my ginger (when I *am* ginger – which I’m not right now but have been for most of my adult life) is out of a bottle but that doesn’t stop people making assumptions about me based on it. I have about the least fiery temper of anyone I know but if I’m the slightest bit irritated it’s because I’m a red head.

    Although we haven’t had anyone PITY us for this, Steve has curly ginger hair so we’ve had a lot of comments along the lines of, “Well, we know what the baby’s hair’s going to look like…!” I think curly ginger hair is cute on babies but a part of me hopes the kid comes out with my mum’s poker straight, jet black hair just to see the confusion of everyone’s faces.

    Apparently gingerism is also a thing in Germany – my high school German teacher’s daughter was born while they were living across there and he claimed she had to wear a bonnet all the time when she was a baby because old ladies would recoil in horror when they saw her ginger hair; apparently it meant she was a witch. At three months old. POWERFUL MAGIC KID.

    March 19, 2015
    • Oh, I knew there was something else I wanted to put in that comment. One of the local shopping centres in Aberdeen did a special discount day for red heads last year. It was off the back of some red headed man’s friends making him a pretend discount card because of his “disability”. I was stunned by how many people on social media were getting excited about getting 10% off because of their hair colour because *I* was appalled and pretty offended.

      March 19, 2015
  • So annoying when people feel sorry for you and say ‘but your hair’s nice though…’

    March 19, 2015
  • It’s funny but as a blonde growing up in Spain, I used to get a TON of commetns about my hair too! Obviously not so much in England, but I used to get dumb blonde jokes ALL THE TIME out there.

    An ex of mine was also pretty obsessed with the fact that I was the only blonde girl around for miles (which is probably why I dyed it brown about two days after I dumped him!)

    So annoying. It’s just hair folks! Nothing to see here!!! xx

    Little Miss Katy | UK Lifestyle Blog

    March 19, 2015
  • Steph

    REPLY

    My friend (natural brunette) dyes her hair “ginger”. Once, she had a new hairdresser who asked her if she’d ever thought of colouring her hair! When she said ‘Errrr, I clearly already colour it??’ The hairdresser literally could not believe it. She was like ‘WHAT?? You CHOOSE to be GINGER??’ People are just freaking weird, I’d love to go red but I haven’t found a shade I find convincing! I think it’s a tricky colour to copy and look natural.

    March 19, 2015
  • Pip Lee

    REPLY

    my son is a red head, and when he was about 3 months old, a random lady came up to me and said its such a shame to have a ginger baby. I was so shocked I didn’t know what to say.

    A teacher told me that I was over anxious and was spoiling him because I asked them to be careful at a sports day, when the children would be in the very hot sun without much shade, and my son who is also very pale skinned with red hair ended up in hospital as they didn’t recognise that he cannot cope with heat because of his skin and hair. I am fiercely proud of him because he holds his head high when on a regular basis people say really cruel and thoughtless things to him. He is only 11

    March 19, 2015
  • Maite

    REPLY

    Don’t fret Amber- red hair won’t go extinct. It’s a gene, it can’t just disappear, especially considering it’s a normal trait in some countries. That said, where I live (Argentina) red hair is pretty rare, so gingers are a liitle bit of a big deal. Also, I disagree with people. I think boys with red hair are absolutely gorgeous! Some girls like them blonde, some like them with blue eyes, I like them with red hair

    March 19, 2015
    • Maite

      REPLY

      Wait, that turned out a bit bad. Red heads are a big deal but not in a bad way. They’re not made fun of for being ginger, people aren’t terrified of having children with red hair and no cars stop for someone with red hair. It’s more like a “Oh, you have red hair. So cool!” thing (no one actually makes that comment though). Also, is there any difference between “ginger” and “red haired”? I’ve always used them interchangeably but I’m not sure…

      March 19, 2015
  • Aunt fiona

    REPLY

    You and your hair are beautiful. Never got the ” ginger” thing. It is a form of bullying. Thankfully we don’t have that issue here. I cannot imagine, someone calling someone else a name, because of their hair colour, now that’s plain weird. Xxx

    March 19, 2015
    • Maite

      REPLY

      I already asked, but could you tell me the difference between “ginger” and “red hair”? English isn’t my mother tongue and I use them both (I was even taught “ginger” was the proper term), but from these comments, apparently “ginger” is rude? Could you explain?

      March 19, 2015
  • Amanda

    REPLY

    A bloke at work was (rudely) asking my colleague if she dyed her hair (she has long blonde tresses), then turned to me and said “Well, I needn’t ask you if you do. No-one would dye their hair TO that colour”.

    Funnily enough, he had very little hair and what he did have was nondescript and I would never have thought to comment on this fact.

    March 19, 2015
  • Liz G.

    REPLY

    I died laughing at this post! I was born a redhead and my father refused to acknowledge it since no one in the immediate family on either side had red hair, although my great-grandfather on my mom’s side was a ginger from England. Finally someone in the grocery store commented to him that his cute baby daughter had red hair. Mom said it was like someone let the cat out of the bag! But he finally resigned himself to it. I find it interesting that in my neck of the woods (American West) red seems to be the most prominent color for women to dye their hair so us redheads must be doing something right! I love my hair and when I go gray I will dye my hair right back to a shade that matches my real color. LONG LIVE GINGERS!

    March 19, 2015
  • I absolutely loved this post! Well done!

    love,
    Katharina

    March 19, 2015
  • Jane

    REPLY

    I loved this post Amber. I was blessed with a beautiful red-headed daughter, whose hair literally mesmerises me. The hairs are a perfect mix of red and then pure white blonde. It’s like each hair has been individually painted.
    I have had complete strangers stop us and say, “She’s red!”. Erm, yes, well done on your colour identification, Genius!
    One older lady saw me (blonde) and my husband (brown haired) with our daughter and actually asked, “Where is she from!?”.
    I mean the cheek! I replied that I have a very attractive red haired postman and she shuffled off, muttering…
    It is imagining treating anyone this way due to the colour of their skin that galls me. Why should hair colour be any different?

    March 19, 2015
  • Irene

    REPLY

    As a Spaniard, I was utterly mystified the first time I heard a redhead joke when I moved to the US. Natural redheads are extremely rare in Spain, so to me it looks like such a beautiful, special hair color. I remember when I was 14 I desperately wanted to dye my hair red! I now feel my natural brunette hair is more flattering for myself, but even so I still gasp with envy whenever I see your red hair.

    March 19, 2015
  • GaiaT

    REPLY

    I completely relate to number 5. I am from Italy, and I had no idea there were so many stereotypes about red hair in the UK! I mean, we had too in the older days, there is a very famous novel from Sicily talking about a boy with red hair as a devil’s child who brings bad fortune, but as I said, it was in the older days. But if it cheers you up I know a British person who loves red hair and wishes he had it too… Doctor Who! 😉

    March 19, 2015
  • I really don’t understand the prejudice towards a hair colour in the UK, I don’t get it at all. Then again, any prejudice doesn’t make sense.

    The last time I saw my natural hair colour it was light brown but I’ve always loved red hair and thanks to the magic of dye my hair colour has ranged from traffic light red (someone shouted Ronald McDonald at me from a car window when it was that colour) to a few shades lighter than yours is and I always get ‘But why would you WANT to dye your hair ginger?’ It’s like asking ‘why would you want to dye your hair blonde?’ I like it, it’s not weird.

    March 19, 2015
  • Fiona

    REPLY

    I WISH I had red hair. I have the pale skin and freckles to go with it but sadly the best I can do is auburn-ish in the right light, if you are being kind. Nondescript brunette if you are being accurate. Basically, I have always wanted to be Anne of Green Gables (yes I’d have Gilbert Blythe & the seven children including twins too).

    March 19, 2015
    • Fiona, this describes me as well! My natural hair colour is a mousey brown (“dirty blonde” as my mum calls it) and I have been colouring my hair red since I was a teenager, starting because my two heroines as a teenager were Anne Shirley and Tori Amos! I wouldn’t take Gilbert or the seven children though, I must admit!

      March 22, 2015
      • Melina

        REPLY

        Actually, “dirty blonde” and “mousy” are every bit as derogatory terms as “ginger”, or any other pejorative term used for someone’s hair colour…
        In what possible world could anyone think calling someone’s hair colour “dirty” to be acceptable?! Just as all the other rude comments mentioned here. I have dark blonde/light brown hair that many would call those names, and dyed my hair for most of my life (first blonde, then red/copper, and I still love that colour :D), as I didn’t want to identify with anything “mousy” or “dirty”, but now I have grown out my own natural beautiful colour and am proud of it, just like natural redheads are proud of theirs 🙂

        And oh yes, when I dyed my hair red (with henna, back then), I did once have a man shout to me “Hello Ginger!!” out of a car window, in the UK… Luckily I didn’t realize it was (probably) an insult 😉 And I also had at least one man tell me in a pub he’s always fancied gingers… (That was obviously a compliment, though.)

        June 1, 2017
  • Well, I’m just gonna say- I’m a brunette and have always been envious of red heads- I think red hair is so stunning…

    March 20, 2015
  • Stefan

    REPLY

    In regards to your second point, redheads are not going to go extinct. The gene that causes red hair is recessive, meaning that two copies need to be inherited for the trait to manifest. For some reason people generally seem to have misunderstood the concept of a recessive gene as something that will disappear from a population given enough time; this is not the case. The only way that a recessive trait (such as red hair) could become extinct would be for some factor to select against it, and unless people are so cruel as to select against red hair in the population, it’s not going to happen

    March 20, 2015
  • biddi

    REPLY

    Things Redheads Are Sick of Hearing #163: So, I hear redheads are better in bed.

    #164: So, are you red ‘down there’ as well?

    Ppl are so rude sometimes!

    March 20, 2015
  • Erin

    REPLY

    That was a great post! I’m from Australia where there is a similar level of prejudice. Redheads here get the charming label “wranga” as in orangutan. I also have people tell me that I look “exactly” like actresses with red hair (Nicole Kidman, Julianne Moore).

    March 20, 2015
  • Hi! I myself have a bit of a ginger undertone I inherited of my father, it shows especially under the sun, but I feel proud of having this, redhead are perhaps more rare but therefore so much more special I’d think 🙂 x Josune, Your Beauty Script

    Latest post : http://yourbeautyscript.com/

    March 20, 2015
  • Trudy

    REPLY

    Your hair is thick, long, and shiny – it is absolutely gorgeous, and the colour is a plus (just in case you weren’t already aware 😉 I loved the Anne of Green Gables books when I was growing up, and badly wanted red hair.
    I don’t think it is just redheads who get a tough deal. I had a cousin who is quite blonde, and she is always getting hassled with blonde jokes, she gets so mad and I don’t blame her!
    Another time I had a weird experience as well, I have quite long hair, I was at a museum standing looking at an exhibit and a lady came up behind me, touched my hair and said to her friend, ‘What beautiful hair’, then they moved on! I was so shocked I just stood there in surprise, wondering if I looked like part of the museum exhibit or something!

    March 20, 2015
  • Siobhan

    REPLY

    I dye my hair red and I get mixed reviews my close friends and family love the colour but, a lot of people I’ve worked with or are just strangers ask me why I would want to dye my hair this colour and aren’t I worried someone might say something to me. Completely baffles me that people would ask that. I always say because it’s a beautiful colour and I think it suits me, don’t you? Usually shuts them up.

    March 20, 2015
  • Do you know what the best thing is about being a redhead?
    My friends have all been colouring their hair since their late 20’s, early 30’s in order to hide the grey/white hairs.
    I turn 45 at the end of this month, I’ve never coloured my hair, and it’s only been this year that I’ve spotted the odd white hair.
    My nan still had her natural red hair when she died at the age of 60.
    Don’t know why we hold on to our natural hair colour so much longer than other colours but it’s great!
    I also think redheads are admired much more now than when I was a child.
    I hated it growing up but now I love it!

    March 20, 2015
    • My mam has red hair and she was bullied for it as a child, but liked it as an adult. She turns 60 soon and still hardly has any greys at all. I, on the other hand, have several grey hairs already at 29! I do wish I’d inherited her hair colour. She looks amazing in pictures from when she was in her 20s, like a Pre-Raphaelite model.

      March 20, 2015
  • Omggg the celebrity lookalike one. Seriously ANYONE with red hair!!! Whyyyyyy.

    March 20, 2015
  • Oh I think this is my favourite post from you EVER, which is saying something!

    As you can probably guess from my name, I’m a redhead – and one who feels she has apologised for it/ tried to cover it up her whole life. It’s only in the past 2 years that I finally accepted my colour and instead of getting blonde highlights to emphasise the (natural) strawberry blonde-ness, I embraced the red and feel SO much better for it.

    My funniest experience was on a second date with my first boyfriend, who had assumed I was blonde in that classy nightclub lighting – and was shocked to discover I was a redhead in daylight.

    My daughter is also called Amber (just because I think it is a beautiful name, though now regret choosing Rose as her middle name for obvs reasons). She was born with red hair which turned white blonde by the time she was 2 and now gets upset that her hair has NO colour.

    I’m rambling… thanks for a great post, have often considered writing one myself on the same topic but doubt it would have been as entertaining as yours!

    Nic x

    March 20, 2015
  • Joanna

    REPLY

    I found your blog while looking for some easy hair updo and I can’t get enough of it! Your posts are funny and witty. I’m staying here 🙂
    As to your hair and the colour, IMHO it’s flawless. I’m not surprised it’s the first thing people notice about you because it’s quite rare but all the comments they make stunned me. The majority of them is so rude! For few years I had my hair dyed red/auburn but what I heard were mostly questions if it was natural or compliments on my look. The only thing I didn’t like happened a few times and that was men suggesting that redheads not only have “hot” hair… But that was in Poland, not UK.
    I’m going back to your other post, take care!

    March 20, 2015
  • LydiaGrace

    REPLY

    I have auburn hair, and hands down the worst thing that I have heard about my hair colour was when we were learning about ethnic cleansing/WW2 in year 8 history. My charming teacher decided to go around the room and tell each of us if we would have ‘passed’. After much inspection of my hair, it was decided I was ‘just about safe’. Mortifying.

    March 20, 2015
  • When Julia Gillard was prime minister, everyone in Australia thought that the only thing worse than having a FEMALE prime minister, was having a prime minister who was a woman and a GINGER woman at that. Yep. Not a thing she said could be taken seriously because OMG GINGER. LOL SO FUNNY EMEGERHD.
    She was kicked out quick smart after everyone ran out of jokes about periods and hair colour. Oh, and I *wish* I was kidding, but I’m really not. Kind of says a lot about Australia!

    March 21, 2015
  • Annie

    REPLY

    I absolutely love your article, it’s painfully true! As a natural redhead, I have spent years sighing every time one of these questions is asked. One I get a lot is “have you ever thought about dying it?” Well excuse me, have you ever thought of getting yourself some more tact?
    No, I hated my hair when I was younger because of a constant stream of bullying, but as an adult I can say that, although it hasn’t stopped, more people are telling me they love my hair rather than seeing it as some kind of monstrosity, so I don’t think about dying it.
    I hope that one day I have red headed children so that I can tell them that their hair is beautiful, they are beautiful, and people on the street are obviously just ignorant if they think it’s okay to taunt someone about the colour of their hair.
    I love your blog and will definitely be reading more! 🙂

    March 21, 2015
  • Suze

    REPLY

    As a child I was told that I probably shouldn’t go on holiday abroad, for fear of being stolen. Apparently rural Spain was too risky because my red hair would be like a shining beacon to the child-snatchers who would swoop in and steal me away to sell on at a premium, due to the rarity of my hair colour. Whilst there was an element of truth in that (we’re going back quite a few years here), that’s scary stuff to tell a young child and I was pretty freaked out. A few years later we did venture abroad on holiday, to rural France, where I was followed around the supermarket by a weird old man who was literally mesmerised by my appearance. It was like something from a Pink Panther film, almost comical but actually very creepy – he was transfixed and just kept staring at me like I had two heads, following me around the aisles, peering around corners and through the fixtures in utter amazement (and probably a little bit of terror too, judging by his face). One of the locals saw what was happening and explained that the crazy stalker guy wouldn’t have seen someone with red hair before. Ever. It was very rural and I was really something of a phenomenon apparently. That
    totally freaked me out.

    Sadly I’ve heard all of the things you mentioned and more (many things which are just too crude to mention). I am quite thick-skinned and not really an overly sensitive person but, in all honesty, having red hair has felt like a curse for me and something which I wouldn’t wish on anyone, at least not whilst the prejudice against redheads is rife….not because I personally think there’s anything wrong with red hair – after all, it’s JUST a hair colour, as you rightly pointed out – but simply because of how (some) others react to it and think it’s acceptable to make cruel taunts and jibes about a physical characteristic which someone just happens to have been born with. For some reason political correctness seems to have forgotten about “Gingerists” and this prejudice is very much openly alive and kicking in the UK. People can be so cruel and it’s not something which stops when you leave school. I’ve had similar comments from work colleagues and even an old boss. I think this type of prejudice is so commonplace and deep-rooted in our society that they didn’t even realise how shamefully derogatory they were being.

    Going back to things which redheads are sick of hearing, another one I’ve heard quite often is that gingers can’t date other gingers otherwise it looks incestuous because people will assume that the two people are related. WTF! Yes, redheads are less common than brunettes/blondes but not so uncommon that they must all be closely related to each other! Nobody bats an eyelid at a couple of brunettes or a couple of blondes in a relationship but when two redheads get together it’s all of a sudden completely wrong. Ridiculous! Another thing I’ve heard a lot is when brunette men say they can’t have beards because their facial hair grows ginger or has some ginger in it, like that all of a sudden redefines them in a negative way and they can’t possibly let anyone know that they’re secretly a partial ginger. Obviously in an ideal world this anti-redhead type prejudice wouldn’t exist but, until then, I completely understand why people would choose to not show their natural hair colour through fear of attracting negative attention.

    March 21, 2015
  • Nicole H.

    REPLY

    I enjoyed this post so much Amber! Reading the comments has made me laugh and cringe at the same time. As a child (I live in America) I was taunted mercilessly by other children because of my bright red hair, pale skin and freckles. I never heard the term ‘ginger’ until the South Park episode, so then that became the popular derogatory term for a redhead (it still is). Once I became an adult, I was no longer looked down upon for my hair, rather, it seems to get lots of positive attention, from both men and women. This puzzles me. So red hair is awful on a child, but wonderful on an adult???? The worst/most hurtful comment I ever received was from my mother-in-law, who announced while I was 7 months pregnant with my first child: “I just pray he doesn’t have red hair!” I wanted.to.kill.her. He has brown hair, his sister is blonde. I have people say to me, very confused like, “but I don’t understand, why don’t your kids have red hair?” Um, because they don’t.

    March 21, 2015
  • Woh. I don’t understand anybody thinking having red hair is a bad thing. It’s a relatively rare trait. I work hard to keep my hair fake red because I love red hair! I think I would flip out with happiness if I had a real red haired kid someday.

    Also anybody who tells you redheads are going to be extinct doesn’t have even a basic grasp of genetics. It’s a recessive trait so it may be seen with less frequency, but it won’t just go away. There’ll always be the chance that two people will carry that recessive gene and have a kid with red hair!

    March 21, 2015
    • Trudy

      REPLY

      Interesting what you say that about the redhead gene. I had heard someone say (when a friend had a redhaired child) that you needed to have red hair on both sides of the family for it to come out. I was never sure if this was correct or not, but if it is a recessive gene and you need both copies from your parents, then I guess it is true! I guess it also means that is why none of me or my siblings have red hair – my father’s brothers & sisters were red (not him) but my mother’s family are dark. The closest in our family is a sandy blonde. If I ended up with a red haired kid that would be fine with me – I think it’s gorgeous.

      March 21, 2015
  • Anna

    REPLY

    As a ginger who lives in the us I get called soulless all the time. My brother is also a redhead and whenever he is involved with a group of kids who get in trouble at school the blame is pinned on him. I personally love my hair colour and wouldn’t trade it for the world. It’s odd that people would yell at you in the street though, at least that doesn’t happen over here.

    March 22, 2015
  • I’m just gonna go all out there and say that abusing someone because of their hair colour is as bad as being racist. It’s something beyond that individuals control. Sure, I could dye my hair another colour (and I have) if I wanted too, but you wouldn’t tell someone that it was a shame about their skin colour.

    I got so horrible bullied at school when I was a kid for having red hair, which I always referred to as strawberry blonde, never as ginger – because I was made to feel that ginger was a bad word. Nowadays? I get so many compliments on my red locks – I love having ginger hair. My Grandad always used to tell me there would be a day when I’d like my hair, and it’s finally here. Redheads unite!

    March 23, 2015
  • I love this post! I’m only sort of a redhead (my light brown hair leans red, and is curly, so people look at it and proclaim it red for some reason), so I can relate to some of this. Plus as an American who moved to the U.K. it was a shock just how rude the whole “ginger” thing is here – it is so much worse than in America, where are your manners Britain?! ;-0 I’ve had people chase me down the street yelling “Nicole Kidman” at me on more than one occasion (I guess there are worse things, but it’s always a bit awkward!). I’ve also had the “You’re lucky you’re attractive because your hair is ginger” type lines…I mean seriously what is wrong with people?! I’ve only had a taste of it compared to what others suffer, but I feel some of your pain. Hopefully redheads like Christina Hendricks and Karen Gillan will continue to give young redheaded girls everywhere inspiration to hold their heads up high.

    March 25, 2015
  • Nellie

    REPLY

    Great post and interesting (and sad) comments. It amazes me how rude people can be. I actually hate it when someone tries to put a label on someone else, or figuratively put someone in a box such as, “She’s the artist in the family,” or “He’s the smart one.” It limits the person that is being labeled, and puts down others who might have the same talent or interest.

    March 26, 2015
  • Oh Amber this is the best thing I’ve read on the interweb in ages, and I’ve been reading a lot of great stuff lately! So much to say…

    Firstly, as you know I’m a faux redhead so I have red hair by choice. I’ve dyed my hair nearly every colour going since I was 16 (bar “unnatural” colours like blue or green) and I’ve never kept a hair colour more than about 6 months to a year… until I went red. I’ve dyed it red (in slightly varying shades) for over 4 years now and I can’t see myself wanting to be any other colour until I go silvery white, which I’m well on my way to btw. I LOVE RED HAIR and dye mine red for that very reason.

    I find it particularly odd that people are surprised that I’m naturally brunette when I tell them the red isn’t natural. My eyebrows are dark, I do have some freckles but I also tan so I find it strange that they’d assume it’s my natural colour. I think I’ve just found the perfect colour for my skin tone so perhaps that’s why.

    Some of my man crushes include Damian Lewis, Max Beasley and Paul Bettany – plus James McAvoy has a lot of red in his beard – the red hair’s got nothing specifically to do with it, I just like them. Why anyone would find a man “unattractive” just because he’s got red hair doesn’t make sense. What is it that they find so offensive?!

    Some famous female redheads aren’t naturally red at all: Emma Stone, Christina Hendricks, Gillian Anderson and Cynthia Nixon are all natural blondes. My husband thinks Emma Stone is heavenly and much prefers her red hair.

    I’ve never heard the “redheads have no soul” thing. WTF??????!!!!!!!

    You’d think the Scots would know better seeing as there are so many redheads, wouldn’t you? I’m so shocked you had that as a kid. Goes to show how we love to bash others in the UK. Yay us…

    I am appalled that anyone would ever say to a parent how awful it is that their baby has (or might have) red hair. You wouldn’t tell a parent their baby was ugly, would you?! Like internet trolls – I have such a hard time believing that such people really exist. It’s so incredulous that their brain goes “I know what I’ll say to this person! I’ll point out the obvious and be particularly cruel at the same time!”

    I don’t know whether I just live in a bubble(!!) or have lived a very sheltered ADULT life, but I seem to have been spared two things: being asked why I don’t have/don’t want children* (I’m 43), and why I’d choose to dye my hair red. I’m just so saddened at the fact that anyone receives comments about anything to do with their physical appearance – to say them to be mean is bullying and cruel, and to point things out without realising you’re being rude is just tactless and insensitive.

    Why on earth can people just not THINK about what they say to others? In person or online?? The people I dislike most in this world are those that say things simply to make others feel bad about themselves and never, ever pay compliments. I had a close friend at college who was like this and one day I woke up to the fact that she did nothing except make me feel bad about myself, so I cut off contact with her and can honestly say I don’t miss her.

    I’ve started to go off on a tangent and have a bit of a rant… so much more I could say but I think it’s probably been said by other people!!!

    SUPERB post, Amber. Always love reading your observations as much as seeing your outfit posts.

    Catherine x

    *P.S. I have to point out that the being childless thing at 43 and never being asked about it kind of amazes me – the stuff I read that women get asked if they don’t have kids is appalling. I once asked my mother about why she’d never mentioned my childless state before and she said “It’s none of my business whether you have children or not. If you’re happy that’s all that matters.” Go Beryl 🙂

    March 27, 2015
    • Good god massive apologies for such a long comment. You can’t see how long it’ll be when you’re writing it…!!!!!

      March 27, 2015
  • This is such a great post Amber (and really love the story of how you got your name too!). I’ve had every colour of hair under the sun and I always found it interesting seeing how people reacted to me depending on what phase of hair do I was going through at the time. Right now I’m back to my brunette roots and people do seem to be treating me like more of a grown up than my previous bright blonde locks ever warranted.

    I adore red hair and dyed my brunette locks a fiery ‘Florence Welch’ red colour for years and absolutely loved it. I can totally relate to a lot of the comments you’ve mentioned (and that was even when mine wasn’t natural!) and during this time I also seemed to attract a lot of negative blog comments and my first ever troll – who frequently used the word ginger in a derogatory way (again – even though it wasn’t natural). I’m Scottish, my Dad had really red hair in his youth and my now ,soon to be, husband has a good head of ginger hair and a giant ginger beard so I’ve never really seen the issue with it – if anything I love individuality and the fact the fewer people are red heads appeals to me. I’m secretly kind of hoping that my kids do inherit the gene as I’d raise them to be proud of those roots and rock red hair like no other. Why on earth would we all want to be the same anyway?

    Fab post,
    Jac
    http://bumpkinbetty.com

    March 27, 2015
  • Stephani

    REPLY

    How awful that such prejudice against a hair color is still so socially acceptable in the UK that people think it’s ok to yell ‘ginger’ as an epithet at redheads passing on the street. Seriously? I’d be tempted to yell ‘a$$hole’ back at them. And point. And laugh.
    I was always very envious of my younger brother’s fiery orange hair as a child. He inherited my dad’s coloring. And I SO wanted to be a redhead; instead I got a dark blond that eventually went mousy. (Speaking of hair-color-based stereotypes, do women in the UK get the whole dumb, sexually promiscuous blond bimbo thing tossed at them? I did. A lot. And I’m not and never have been. At least they didn’t yell it from passing cars.)
    Half the heroines who did amazing things in the books I read were redheads–often as a symbol of their outsider status–and I wanted to be like them. Not an outsider, but to do amazing awesome things and be heroic and all that. Not that my little brother ever exhibited any of those traits. So I always saw red hair as being special, unique, somewhat exotic, even though it was in my family. And definitely beautiful.
    Now I henna my hair and I love it. My temper has always been fiery and short-fused regardless, though.
    In the US, the usual taunt is “carrots” or “carrot-top.” There’s also the “red-headed stepchild”. Or saying that a red-headed baby in a family of non-redheads must be the Milkman’s. And yes, generally men asking women if the “carpet matches the drapes”. Sometimes you’ll hear the very vulgar “fire-crotch”. Ick. But the prejudice definitely is not so violent as it appears to be in the UK.

    March 27, 2015
  • Pamela-Marie ,London UK

    REPLY

    My Mother ,who was Scottish had beautiful red hair and porcelain skin.My 2nd daughter has inherited this and hears the same stupid comments.Get over yourselves people! It is high time these kinds of brainless comments ceased! (Great article ,BTW)

    March 28, 2015
  • J.

    REPLY

    I love red hair, and have dyed mine red for about three years. I have pale skin and green eyes, so most people think it’s natural. I once had a lady run up to me in the streets (in the UK) to tell med that it was so good that I kept my natural hair colour since her sister who was a redhead started dying it after being bullied. I think she was a little disappointed when I told her I had dyed it red.

    My mum actually told me the other day that my grandmother was a redhead, so that might be where I get my colouring from. My mum is super blonde and my dad had black hair and brown eyes.

    March 28, 2015
  • Lily

    REPLY

    Oh goodness. I’ve heard all of these a hundred times. What really gets my goat is that you’re supposed to just roll with it or laugh it off.

    The worst things I’ve heard in recent years are: ‘the sun burns gingers, so we don’t have to’, and ‘if you want to get a job, you need to dye your hair. I wouldn’t give a ginger a job.’ That last one was said to my redhead friend by her CEO father.

    Weirdly the one that’s hit me hardest in recent years is meeting our new neighbours from South America for the first time. After we’d said ‘hi’, one of them shouted in my face ‘who’d want to f*&# a ginger?!’ For some reason I always let my guard down around people who aren’t from the UK. ( Although it’s a pretty sad state of affairs that I would have expected a stranger to shout something so rude in my face if they’d been British.) As it was, because they weren’t from the UK I just didn’t expect it. That one really got to me.

    As for kids. Well, I’m damn proud of my hair. I’ve never dyed it, though it might have been a damn sight easier at times, and now it’s fading I am going to keep it red as long as I can. It’s my ‘screw the haters’ badge of honour.

    By god, I hope my kids don’t inherit my hair though. I don’t want them to have to live with this.

    March 30, 2015
  • I know I’m a bit late here, but I only found your blog today (and am absolutely loving it!)
    As I was reading this, I was nodding along, and mm-hmming as I went through!

    The tanning problem comes up a lot for me, and the times when I’ve been sunburnt on cloudy days spring immediately to mind. The rest of the family is fine with factor 30 sun cream, but I can burn with that on, and so have to resort to the factor 50 sludge! From about March onwards, I carry a little bottle about with me, because I can burn so quickly, and with how changeable the Scottish weather is, it’s better to be prepared!

    I do love how distinctive red hair can be though! I worked at a residential centre in Austria during the summer, and there was another Scot who was coming to help at a kids camp. Someone had told him that I would be there, and although we’d never met before, he could pick me out on sight because I was the only redhead!

    During school, white shirts used to pose a problem too though, because the colour made my pale skin look paler, to the point where people would ask if I was ill, for the first few weeks of term, until they realised that it was just the uniform. Distressing, frankly!

    April 28, 2015
  • Amie

    REPLY

    Wonderful post. I am a redhead in the States. Mostly I received compliments but would get some teasing. I am tall, and would occasionally be called “Big Red” which in my state is almost a compliment. One of my state’s college football team’s nickname is “Big Red” but the tone this term was delivered in was not complimentary.
    My hair is also thick and curly. I still get comments of, ” where did you get that hair?” How does one reply to that? And yes, most every hairdresser reminds me that some people are willing to pay big bucks to get my hair. Some hairdressers don’t want to believe my hair isn’t from a bottle or permed.
    For the most part, people are nice and mean well. But, some are rude and uncaring as well. I try to take the high road and write the rude people off as ignorant. No matter what they say to me, I know that they are the one who is laking in some way.
    I love my hair, it’s one of the things that make me unique.

    April 29, 2015
  • Amie

    REPLY

    Forgot to add, my red headed grandma (who was born in Sweden) would tell me to wear whatever color I felt good in. She did not want me to limit my wardrobe because of stereotypes of what looks good on red heads. I regularly wear bright pink, orange and bright yellow and receive compliments with each color. I love to wear bright colors.

    April 29, 2015
  • Ohhh but I WISH I could tan! Has anyone been asked about the thinness of their skin? I’ve been told tattoos should be more painful because gingers have thinner skin…

    April 30, 2015
  • As a fellow redhead I can totally relate to this post and have heard several of these things myself. Thankfully not the “Aren’t you afraid your children will get it too?” … because my kiddo does have red hair and, oh no, he’s a boy to boot! Thankfully he seems to have been spared some of the taunting I was on the receiving end of when I was a kid.
    Oddly enough I hadn’t been called a ginger until just a few years ago, the name I was mostly called as a kid was ‘carrot top’. I’m not keen on either of them and like you can’t imagine someone shouting it out their car window at me! That’s so ridiculous.
    I have also been asked a lot about not tanning, and like you, no I don’t tan nor do I care too. This pays off in the long run though because people do tell me all the time I look younger than I am which is likely due to my liberal use of sunscreen all these years. 🙂

    May 3, 2015
  • Laurie

    REPLY

    Hi! I’m a natural redhead (more like auburn)! My hair is really long and mega curly and all my friends love it! I’ve never been bullied at school for being “ginger” but have become accustomed to my group of girlfriends calling me “Ginge” it doesn’t bother me at all! I also get asked the question “Why aren’t your eyebrows the same colour as the hair?” as I’m the only redhead in my family I have unfortunately inherited the dark brown eyebrows.
    L
    xx

    May 9, 2015
  • Claire

    REPLY

    It’s so sad how mean people can be sometimes without even realising it. And so often when someone has a hair colour that doesn’t look great it’s due to the fact that everything else they are wearing doesn’t go with it, perhaps if people stopped telling them their hair was always going to look terrible and it was hopeless they might have the confidence to actually choose clothes, makeup and haircut to make themselves look amazing instead of just choosing whatever because they don’t think it will matter.

    May 16, 2015
  • Lori

    REPLY

    I’m late to the party but I had to leave a comment. I am a nearly 50 year old red head have dealt with incessant teasing, rude comments and of course compliments as well. Talk about a minority? On the playground I was “the red-headed monster” and would BEG my mother to let me dye my hair to brown like my sister. On the hand my sister recently told me she was so jealous of all the compliments I’d receive and she wouldn’t. My heritage is Sicilian and it’s always assumed that I’m Irish. Once I became an adult I’ve grown to love my hair. While I am a deep auburn my step-daughters are strawberry blonde and “ginger-esque” so it is always assumed I am their mother. The youngest one told me she was glad that it looked like we go together. That sweet statement made up for the lifetime of horrible ones.

    May 27, 2015
  • Gem

    REPLY

    Oh Amber, I feel your pain!!

    I’m a History teacher down in Devon, where redheads are like unicorn teeth.

    As part of my ongoing commitment to Red Heducation, I actually teach a mini module called ‘Gingers through time’ where students learn about greats such as Boudicca, Henry VIII, Elizabeth I et al. Nothing makes me prouder than me asking a year 8 class “Can anyone tell me why Elizabeth I was such a great queen!?” And 30 students shouting back in unison “Because she’s ginger”.

    Some might call it madness, I call it a public service. Gingers are like Demi gods in my school. 😀 xxx

    May 30, 2015
    • Kas

      REPLY

      Ha ha ha… that’s great! All kids need to go through your class, that sounds amazing! 🙂

      April 19, 2016
  • The guy

    REPLY

    Everything is true & lol @ your hair isn’t really ginger anyway. Trying to make you feel better. Oxymoronic

    July 22, 2015
  • Henrietta

    REPLY

    Hi Amber.

    I am a female natural redhead too, also from the UK. This post really struck a cord in my heart, as I too have practically had all of these comments thrown at me at some point. I grew up abroad in fact, but even when growing up I suffered from low self esteem due to my hair colour and pale skin. I was (and still am) teased and called names such as ginger, carrot top, casper (due to my pale skin), Ron Weasly (from Harry Potter) etc. Friends even went as far as saying ‘were your parents ashamed when they had you’ ? And, ‘no offence but I really don’t want a ginger child!’ to even more shocking things I don’t want to disclose…The comments were not always meant to hurt, but every-time I would feel that little bit of anger/sadness.

    At work the other day, I mentioned how I wanted to try and find a way to make this ‘ginger bullying’ stop, and nobody took my plight seriously. You seem to handle it quite well, whilst the hurt I have is still inbred in me and I still find myself getting hurt by these comments, despite being called a ‘hot ginger’…thanks for posting this.

    September 20, 2015
  • Buttons

    REPLY

    I have never understood the crazy that red hair seems to inspire in people. I don’t have naturally red hair, but I’ve henna’d it for a good majority of my adult life to a golden-blonde coppery color- I like it, it warms me up and makes me look more ‘alive’ and soft. I like it.

    Anyway, though, the point here, I’m pretty open about dyeing my hair red. The reactions, though, always confuse me. People tend to react in one of two ways. Either with adoration 1) “What do you use? Your hair is so beautiful!” which will usually lead to a long-winded and fun discussion on how to henna and use herbs to dye hair- this, of course, is mostly a conversation I have with women.

    Or the much more worrisome 2, which is when, usually men, react with shock and incredible hostility. I have had a male relative follow me around at a funeral commenting about my ‘fake’ hair, and a male coworker spend the entire shift angrily telling the staff of my store that I am a “faker” because I dye my hair. To this day, any time I work with him, he makes it his mission to make sure everyone on shift knows I’m a “poser, fake bitch”, etc. Even though I don’t really care that people know I dye my hair, that’s kind of why I’m nervous when men ask me that question. It is MEGA weird to react that way, and I’m sorry if I crushed your dreams, strange men.

    October 28, 2015
  • Lois

    REPLY

    Haha, I loved this! I always get asked why I don’t just dye it, and the look of confusion on their faces when I tell them that I don’t want to, because I actually like my hair color!

    January 5, 2016
  • Rosie

    REPLY

    I can relate 100% to this post! I’ve experienced them all, plus many more! I often get asked if its my natural hair colour, (I’ve even been asked to show my roots as proof!) followed by, “people pay loads of money to have like that”. I also get told “there are two types of ‘gingers’ (cringe) pretty ones and ugly ones”. Cheers.
    Also, another one is “your eyebrows actually match your hair!!’ SHOCK HORROR.

    February 7, 2016
  • Lost Guy

    REPLY

    That “car slowing down just to yell at you” has just happened to me.
    Thank you Amber for documenting it because many people find it hard to believe when I tell them. Now we have another testimony.

    In fact, I still find it hard to believe myself. I mean, the driver delayed a lot of cars behind just to stop in front of me and shout.
    Am I that important? It seems so.

    I will try to write a few other things that could be added to the list later.

    March 14, 2016
  • I am also a redhead, and I HATE it when all the time people ask me “Do the curtains match the drapes?” I’m like yes yes they do happy now? It just bugs me. People also think (where I live) you are a nerd if you are a redhead. Like, honey no I don’t think I am a nerd. Believe me, I am NOT A NERD.

    April 8, 2016
    • Kathryn

      REPLY

      Being a nerd is nothing to be ashamed of. I’m a nerd, and I’m proud.

      May 10, 2016
  • Kas

    REPLY

    Hello Amber
    All of the above apply to me, I was in my thirties that last time a bloke stuck his head out of his lorry window to shouted ‘ginger’ at me, a couple of weeks ago a bloke in the queue in Boots asked me if I was Irish (if I had a quid for every time I’ve heard that… 🙂
    Old ladies in the hairdressers have to point out that their “brother’s uncle’s dog’s wife’s sister’s cousin has your colour hair” – um, great, thanks for sharing.
    My old work friend was kind enough to point out that mine was the ‘nice ginger’.
    Particularly offensive was when I was pregnant and the same ‘friend’ told me that my baby inheriting my ginger hair would be “okay as if it was a girl, but you wouldn’t want a boy with ginger hair would you?” :O
    I have a lovely ginger lad, he is 7, and loves his hair. It might help that his mum is ginger and proud, we refer to each other as ginger, he does aikido and calls himself the ginger ninja. I want him to own his ginger label, it’s his.
    Thank you for this article x

    April 19, 2016
  • Kathryn

    REPLY

    I’m a natural redhead. Here’s what I reply when people ask me if a have a soul: “Oh, no, my soul was removed for all this sarcasm.”

    May 10, 2016
  • Amen! As a redhead myself, I love posts like this! It’s true things are a bit easier, but I was tormented with that whole “no soul” business for YEARS.
    I received a great comment recently when I was quietly reading and minding my own business at my in-laws:
    “You know Jess, your hair isn’t actually *that* red…!”
    Gee, thanks…?

    May 23, 2016
  • voskat

    REPLY

    Love this! I am a natural redhead as my mother before me and her mother before her. When my daughter was born, I hoped and prayed for a little one with red hair, but alas she is a blonde beauty like her Dad. Much to my delight, 13 months later my son was born with a face that is the spitting image of mine and the most amazing shade of red hair too. I tell him often how lucky he is to be one of the few true red heads, and even luckier that he and I share the red hair and brown eyes combination that is even rarer than simply being a redhead alone. Of all the ridiculous things people say about us, none irks me more than the “red headed temper” comments. Yes, I do have a quick wit about me and get irritated easily – but it’s not because of my hair color, it’s because of the absolute inane commentary of the simple fools who say this crap to me.

    June 24, 2016
  • Silverwood

    REPLY

    I am a natural redhead, and one thing that really annoys me is that people feel a “need ” to touch red hair- without permission!

    June 25, 2016
  • Nanda

    REPLY

    I LOVE this post! I’m a redhead myself and whilst reading this I realised I started to find some of these things normal, which I definitely shouldn’t. btw, you have a great sense of humor.

    July 12, 2016
  • Sara

    REPLY

    First of all, how bizarre that people are so weird about red hair in the UK. I had no idea. I love red hair. I am a brunette but I have wanted to have red hair since I watched Titanic for the first time. Major girl crush on Kate Winslet in that movie. Unfortunately the warm golden undertones in my skin don’t work with red. I guess we want what we don’t have.

    July 17, 2016
  • If it’s hard being a redhead in the UK imagine me being redhead in a subtropical country like Brazil. I had no idea “ginger” is considered bad, i always use the term “Ginge” and #TeamGinge, all the rest is the same everywhere, nicknames, people shocked about the pale skin and amazed my the natural hair colour… And all I want in the life is a have a ginge baby, or 2, or 3. Catching a ginge husband ASAP.

    August 8, 2016
  • Jacci Burgin

    REPLY

    Most hated as a naturally born redhead and very proud one: Does the Carpet Match the Drapes. Believe it or not I’m in my 40s and even older men, boys, ask me this a lot. First of all my husband is the last man that needs to know the answer to that question how would you like if my husband asked your wife or partner such a personal question? Secondly never realized I became a house.

    November 1, 2016
  • Kylee Henson

    REPLY

    I live in the US so people aren’t hated because of their hair color, but redheads are really rare, and my hair color is rare even among redheads, since although it’s mostly red, it has pretty mucheap every other color in it as well (but luckily the colors mix and blend well together) and here is a small list of things random people have come up to me and said/asked:
    ‘Your hair is so red!’ (Possibly playing with my hair and making me want to slap them because I’m slightly autistic and hate when anyone but me plays with my hair)
    Yes, I know my hair is red, I’ve had it my entire life. Tell me something I don’t know. And will you stop touching my hair before I slap you across the face?
    ‘Your hair is so beautiful!’ (Possibly playing with my hair)
    Thank you, but did I give you permission to touch my hair?
    ‘Is it natural?’ (Once again, possibly playing with my hair)
    Um, I’m only twelve and honestly think it’s stupid when people change how they look for the new trend or beauty standards, so what do you think? I also hate it when people touch my hair, so release the hair before I release you arm from its socket.

    February 19, 2017
  • Laura

    REPLY

    I LOVE this! It is so true! I’ve never really thought about this being a thing specific to the UK. Even my own mother says I should get fake tan because I can’t tan naturally.. Um, no thank you, I love my pale skin! 😉

    Unfortunately, for some reason my hair is slowly but surely turning a dull brown shade, and I can’t figure out why. I’ve always been on the darkside of ginger, but this is not the colour I used to have 🙁 I want my ginger hair back!

    March 1, 2017
  • “No, I don’t: do you ever worry that yours will inherit your lack of tact?”

    Brilliant. Just brilliant.

    March 17, 2017
  • When I was born I had red hair and one of my grandmothers was delighted – she had always wanted red hair and prayed that I would have it. The other grandmother hated red hair (despite her favorite actress being Lucille Ball). As I grew up, my hair started to turn blonde, then brown, and the latter grandmother actually said to me, “Oh, I’m so glad your hair changed color,” then, when I dyed it back red once, “Why would you do that to yourself?!” Sigh.

    March 28, 2017
  • Andreja

    REPLY

    I never understood that, especially because I find red hair very beautiful. I know a girl who’s a redhead and she used to get bullied a lot in middle school. She started dyeing her hair black at very young age and she still does it. As a brunette I can’t relate to your post, but I can relate to comments about skin because I’m pale and I can’t tan (and also, same as you, don’t want to). Every year when the weather gets warmer I’m hearing comments about it from people that have known me for years and even from some people in my family. “OMG, you are so white, you should be more on the sun, you could advertise dairy …” It’s getting old. Yes, I’m pale and I love it! You should know it and get used to it by now – if I was pale last summer, I’m still gonna be this year.

    March 28, 2017
  • I dyed my hair red for years. Yours is lovely.

    March 28, 2017
  • Love this !! I’ve heard every single one !!!! Was even bullied at school for being ginger by a boy who had ginger hair !!! Now my beautiful daughter has red hair and people always comment on it … x

    March 29, 2017
  • SLA

    REPLY

    No, Amber, redheads are not going extinct. This is an extension of the old 1970s “blondes are going extinct” hoax. The people who propagate this hoax are counting on two things that will continue to spread it: that the people they are telling this hoax to aren’t smart enough to know how genetics works by saying “recessive genes disappear over time” which is thoroughly impossible, thus everybody should spread it(or any hoax) “just in case,” and implying that this hoax is somehow sexy by saying “better make more redheads before they’re all gone” thus propagating the hoax as if mentioning it is a form of flirtation. But as I said, it’s all a hoax. Nobody needs to worry.

    April 29, 2017
  • Honestly, I don’t know why people hate of red heads so much. I’m not one myself, however, have always wanted to dye my hair that colour (and being extremely pale it wouldn’t look out of place).
    A lot of my friends and classmates have red hair so it seems normal to me.

    May 17, 2017
  • HI I’VE A NIECE WITH RED HAIR AND AS THOUGHT SHE HAS FIERY TEMPER IF UP SET, HER YOUNGER SISTER HAS BLOND HAIR, BOTH HER MAM AND DAD HAVE DARK HAIR. MYSELF I THINK THAT RED HAIR ( NATURAL ) IS A LOVELY COLOR TO HAVE AND IS AS GOOD AS BRUNETTES OR BLONDS EVEN ANY OTHER COLOR COME TO THAT. SOME PEOPLE DYE THERE HAIR JUST TO GET AWAY FROM THE NATURAL COLOR WHICH IS A SHAME AS THEIR NATURAL COLOR IS BETTER THAN COLOR THEY’VE USED TO CHANGE IT TO. SO LEAVE IT NATURAL GIRLS IT’S BETTER THAT WAY.

    July 27, 2017
  • Poppy

    REPLY

    A little interesting fact, approximately 40% of the UK population carries the recessive red hair gene. Pot and kettle.

    August 6, 2017
  • Amy

    REPLY

    I’m a natural redhead & proud of it! I was also born with blue eyes so Hitler would of really been scared! ?. I, however, am able to tan. NOT when I was young tho. I would burn & more freckles would appear. I do have ALOT of freckles. I’m not ugly & that’s the truth?. I couldn’t grow a black hair if my life depended on it. I do have a temper, but, very loving. It’s cool that I’m a rare breed, but, also sad. Redheads are gifts from the sun to the earth, be PROUD to be a red! I know I am!

    August 8, 2017
  • you are so right i have ginger hair and i always get called names but i just say -oh im so sorry your just jelly that i can change my hair colour but you cant change your ugly face.or i say -i have ginger hair and im proud of it at least not bullying people about there hair colour everyone is perfect the way they are no matter what they look like fat or thin big or little everyone is perfect in there own way dont let anyone tear you down just because your diffrent diffrent is good so dont listen to the hater love yourself for who you are.dont let people judge you.you might not be popular you may not have boys that like you but there is someone out there for everyone so just dont listen to judgemental people stand up for your self no matter who you are.Everyone is perfect in each and everyway.-Megan rundle

    August 27, 2017
  • Anna

    REPLY

    I used to have reddish hair – more strawberry blonde than your beautiful red. When my hair grew back after chemo I was rather miffed that it grew back black! As soon as I could I went and bought a dark red dye as I missed my redness.

    August 30, 2018
  • Cort

    REPLY

    Omg, whenever anyone asks me “does tbe carpet match the drapes.” Or exclaims, “red in the head is good in the bed!” I want to break their damn necks!! I am from usa and have had to deal with the sexual harassment my whole life bcuz old creeps were into redheads. Kids would tease and all that but only the ones you didnt want any attention from would take an interest in you and be annoying little perves about you being a redhead. Also i hated hearing, “you dont want to make the ginger snap!”

    September 21, 2018
  • Anonamous

    REPLY

    I am I redhead myself and I am only 13 years old but I have experienced all of these. I even get called many different names by bullies in my school year / and many in other years. One particular girl in my year who is a bully to me calls me ‘wotsit’ (the British snack) . I have also been called a ginger slave and a boy in my year(year 8) has even told me to kill myself and that I should jump of a bridge. I think that my hair colour is beautiful and I don’t see why others can’t see that too( my hair colour is more strawberry blonde however still ‘ginger’. I also get called ‘ugly’ which has definitely knocked my confidence. As I said I am only thirteen so I still have many years of bullying ahead of me but I do not know how much longer I can handle this sort of stuff.

    April 22, 2019
  • Rose

    REPLY

    Love this article, I have heard all of them, a bunch just this week. Someone just today was saying it wasn’t okay to be racist but at least they could pick on gingers. And tried to explain to me not only was that okay, but spoke like they were an expert even when I tried to speak back. I love my hair but it gets so hard sometimes when that’s all people see.

    June 6, 2019
  • Chris Mckinnon

    REPLY

    I’m a redhead guy and I’ve been told that I somehow “pull it off” being a redhead and a guy but that doesn’t stop all of the abuse. I’m from Canada and I get all the “joking” abuse but it feels the same. I can not take it when people say the word “ginger” even when it’s not directed at me or any other redhead. I hate it. I don’t even say it myself. It honestly bothers me even when other redheads say it. I hate saying this but it’s honestly like calling a black person the N-word. It’s not appropriate and should taken more seriously. People don’t understand when they’re not redheaded. This needs to be addressed as a new standard.

    January 27, 2020
  • Sophie-louise

    REPLY

    Why is your temper so bad?

    March 22, 2020
  • Mikay

    REPLY

    I have red hair And why is it that pale skin and my many freckles are seen as unattractive and unwanted? I have been teased constantly about wearing too much sunscreen and never getting a tan. Yes; It’s either red as a lobster or my normal very fair skin if I don’t layer on the sunscreen. And I wouldn’t have it any other way thank you very much!:):)Thank you for this!

    April 29, 2020
  • April

    REPLY

    Loved your post! I live in the US and my daughter, 8 months old, is a red head. I can already feel your frustrations! I definitely feel like people ONLY see her hair. I love her hair, but sometimes it would be nice to get something other than, “Her hair!!!!!” “Look at that red hair!!!” The “Hey ginger!” Doesn’t bother me too much, though it’s starting to lol. And yes, I’m already getting sick of the whole going extinct stuff ????

    “Does she have a temper?/I bet she’s got a temper!” Her temper is not nearly as bad as mine(brunette) ????

    “At least it’s an Auburn and not an ugly red” :/ I LOVE red hair! I prayed for a red haired girl for years actually! Lol

    “A lot of people pay a lot of
    Money for that color at the salon!” Are you trying to compliment or reassure me???

    And the one I hate most…”Maybe it’ll change colors as she gets older.” ???? I certainly hope not!!

    June 9, 2020
  • Sarah

    REPLY

    Another thing that always bothered me as a natural redhead, was when someone did a bad dye-job on their own hair (usually trying to lighten dark hair with the intention of making it blonde) and it turned out a brassy yellow-orange and they would lament about how it turned out “ginger”. Uh, no, it turned out terrible, not ginger. That, and when people would harden the two “g’s” in “ginger” to use the word as an insult. It definitely makes the word more offensive. That may be a regional thing though (good ol’ Northern Ireland).

    July 23, 2020
  • Sarah

    REPLY

    P.S. My eldest daughter’s name is Amber although she doesn’t have red hair (though I had hoped that she would have) – she’s named after the gemstone as it’s always been a favourite of mine.

    July 23, 2020
    • James

      REPLY

      its an easy target no question im from uk have dark ginger/light brown hair comete with ginger beard which i am proud of You have to find the strength from within , Otherwise the shit can make you go crazy Incidentally ive always thought and still think blonde hair is overrated looks terrible on men im convinced Believe me i could go on and on

      December 9, 2020
  • Nikaila

    REPLY

    I have heard most of these same things and I was born and raised in the USA.

    I was bullied a lot as a child and when I asked the ring-leader why they bullied me, she answered, “Your hair is the color of fire, so you must be a child of the devil.”
    As crazy as this sounds, we were both 8 years old when she said that…

    It’s so bad that I’ve started dyeing my hair purple just so i won’t get the random “fire crotch” comments from passing strangers at Walmart.

    August 13, 2020
  • Paul Waid

    REPLY

    When I was little I had bright red hair. What I hated most was being called carrot top and men roughing up my hair. I guess it was supposed to be good luck to rough up a red heads hair… at least that’s what they said. I’m now 65 and I still have my red hair, although it’s not as vibrant as it used to be. However, my beard is white as snow, which comes in handy for playing Santa. I’m still proud to be a redhead.

    September 19, 2020
  • sarah

    REPLY

    Hi Amber, I used to live in the UK, and spent my whole life being teased (appalling) – even at work can you believe it being called Ginger and other names far, far worse across the office floor. I moved to Canada 10 years ago, and now I get nothing but compliments!! I have stopped dyeing my hair and now embrace it, it’s such a shame though it’s taken til I’m in my 50s to love it!! – Shame on you UK!! Rock the Red!

    November 2, 2020
  • James

    REPLY

    its an easy target no question im from uk have dark ginger/light brown hair comete with ginger beard which i am proud of You have to find the strength from within , Otherwise the shit can make you go crazy Incidentally ive always thought and still think blonde hair is overrated looks terrible on men im convinced Believe me i could go on and on

    December 9, 2020
  • Jennilayne

    REPLY

    Some say I have red hair, though it is not incredibly red, and I have a friend with strawberry blond hair who always posts about how red heads are so much better and refers to me like we are in a club, it is annoying because I have never really considered myself a red head, although I think a guy i went on a date with did not like redheads and never called again, not like I would have wanted him too. My quasi-red hair weeded out a douche. But my niece and nephew, whose parents are not redheads, are as ginger as the day is long and absolutely adorable(may be biased). And my man’s nephew lives with us, he is like 28 and very ginger and can pretty much get any girl he wants. His gingerism is his only asset. Well, and his smile. But you should see all the beauties he has around. It is insane.

    January 3, 2021
  • Traci

    REPLY

    Working retail, we hear it all! One lady silently refused to let me assist her at a service desk. Once I left, she promptly approached the counter and commented “Thank goodness you came! That last girl was a REDHEAD and redheads commune with the DEVIL!! There’s no way I’m letting her help me.” ???????? (Michigan, USA).

    January 6, 2021
  • Carley

    REPLY

    Love the post. Being a ginger with freckles and blue eyes, I relate to all of it.

    I hated when kick a ginger day came around, had bruised shins by the end of the day. One year on that day I wore steel toed boots and kicked back, they didn’t dare trying that crap on me again 🙂

    To add on, one of my favourite questions I get is “does the carpet match the drapes” sadly I get that one a lot from both men and women.

    I don’t mind being called a ginger, it’s better than the other names I don’t like: red-headed step child, the milk man’s kid, tampon

    January 21, 2021
  • Emily

    REPLY

    I always get told how beautiful my hair is and that people would love my color hair and that Idk why but it just bothers me like great I cant help that I have this color hair. When I was little people would come up to me and touch my hair and my mom says that I would come up to her because I was scared that people would just come and just randomly touch my hair and it terrified me. My hair is red and very curly. My hair is darker but my eyebrows are very very light but they are red and In class one of of my class mates said ¨why dont you get some eyebrows¨ and that hurt like what the heck why do you have to be so mean and it was a boy. So I have no idea why people have to be so rude and insensitive to red heads.

    April 30, 2021
  • Maranda

    REPLY

    I’m a natural redhead and I had a coworker at Jack in the Box who was also a redhead and people would ask me if he’s my brother and say that we look like brother and sister. I’m the ONLY redhead in my family. My daughter who is now 6 months has red highlights but she’s Irish and Mexican. So she has more of an auburn type hair color. It’s so rude that us redheads get targeted the most despite people calling blondes dumb

    May 10, 2021
  • Olivia

    REPLY

    Hey, so I’m 15 and have ‘red hair’ I live in the uk and have a younger brother also with ‘red hair’. I know that I’ve been bullied for my hair colour and it’s really difficult especially when your younger because everyone just wants to fit in and having red hair prohibited that. I’ve even been asked on multiple occasions if the carpet matched the drapes and I don’t think that, that is ever ok. I’ve come to love my hair but I still have my ups and downs, and I know my younger brother would prefer not to have red hair too. I’ve been stereotyped and shamed for my hair colour and told that I have a temper or have no soul. Ive had people tell me to my face that they would never want my hair colour cause it looks ugly but “not on me though” and I’ve had people ask if that random stranger was my brother because he’s also a red head. I’ve had people tell me I’m adopted because my parents don’t have red hair and that I don’t belong. I didn’t realise how bad it was until I was walking back from school and a boy from another school yelled at me calling me a ‘ginger bastard’ to which I responded ‘love you to bro’ this did not effect me but obviously did my friend she seemed sad and confused as to what just happened and I explained it happens all the time. Not a lot of people know about gingerism and I think it should be a bigger thing, this article really helped show me that I wasn’t the only one so Thankyou.

    May 19, 2021
  • Kennedy

    REPLY

    As a red headed girl in middle school I hate being compared to carrots or Ed Sheeran (no offense Ed Sheeran I love your music) or ketchup or a carrot top for that matter. Or how about ginger can’t forget that one! Even Freckle face.

    September 15, 2021
    • Cat

      REPLY

      Yeah Ed is sooooo bad until he once sat in that sofa then he is the coolest dude ever

      September 28, 2021
  • Kennedy

    REPLY

    Or being called the redheaded step child can really hurt sometimes.

    September 15, 2021
  • Alexander Tritium

    REPLY

    If you have ever signed up for the military, you will know just how much they hate gingers… All the bloody time was just bashing on the unfortunate 2-3 of us.
    Used to it now though, if you join in and take the piss out of yourself they’ll usually stop.

    September 20, 2021
  • Cat

    REPLY

    I got called Fieona all through primary.
    Also just saying it’s rude to be rasist but being horrible to gingers because there ginger is fine

    September 28, 2021
  • Laura McComb

    REPLY

    I’m an American red head and I’ve heard all these too. I’ve never been picked on for being a red head: in a bullying type of way. I love my locks and tend to get compliments on it. My grandpa was picked on (100 yrs ago- rather be dead then red on the head)… in my family we all pray the babies will inherit “it”. It’s a bage we wear with pride. It saddens me that the UK, with the largest pop of red heads, are so anti- ginger. I do have the carpets/drapes question- I just reply, don’t worry sweetheart, you’ll never know. Also notice it seems acceptable to perpetuate these stereotypes about red heads- even in media. Maybe the hate comes from Vikings. Idk- it’s my superpower! Without world!

    October 2, 2021
  • Megan Brigit patterson

    REPLY

    I don’t live in the UK but I live in county roSscomon which is in Ireland but I am a redhead and for some reason I am always being a target to other people in my classroom and they always make lies about me and this girl Lauren always pushes me and I always tell on her but the teacher is her mom and she only believes Lauren if anyone tells on her so my life is b and and to put a Chery on top my brother and sister hate me

    February 17, 2022
  • Gael

    REPLY

    Ok, this is so true! The most recent hair color names I’ve gotten are lasagna, strawberry blond, and orange. When people ask me what hair color I have I jokingly say “burnt gold” because when I say I’m a redhead, the response is usually “ no, you’re more of a…..” and they can’t decide. I’m from the US and I still get “girl Ed Sheeran” all the time. I’ve also heard that red hair is a sign of incest, which is gross. If we could stop stereotyping gingers that would be fabulous.

    March 15, 2022
  • Kelly

    REPLY

    Ok I’m from uk and all these are true just this morning I was walking my dog when a car with 2 boys in adult bodies, proceeded to flash their lights, bib their hooter, and lean out of the window and scream “ginger”! I’ve been bullied for my hair colour my whole life, I’m a red head although I’ve been told I can’t call myself that, I’m ginger but I just don’t want to admit it? When I was younger everyone used to ask my mum what hair dye she used on my hair from when I was about 3-4 years old?! Also when people meet my family they go “but they are not ginger?! Are you adopted? Did your birth parents not want you as your ginger?” Nope I’m not adopted and red hair runs in both sides of the families but skip a couple of generations and I got the hair colour, not my siblings or parents. And another one is when there is a bloke with ginger hair, apparently I should get together with him to ensure gingers don’t go extinct, it’s a gingers duty?! Dating websites are the best, I’ve lost count how many guys message me “I’ve never been with a ginger!” And your still not going to!

    July 1, 2022
  • Debra Cameron

    REPLY

    I’m 73 and still have very red hair. Born and raised in California. When I was young I was never without a boyfriend. Every boy or man I ever dated would eventually “confessed” to me: “You know, my first love was a redhead.” It never failed, except for the times I was their first love. I was never called ginger. I only heard that label after I was married for 10 years. My hair has gotten a little lighter now, and someday it will turn white. But people always think I’m younger than I am because I’m not grey. The hardest thing about being a redhead is the sunburns. I have had skin cancers on my face. Always wear your sunblock!

    July 18, 2022
  • Elizabeth

    REPLY

    I have loved reading all of these comments – I am a redhead too and the only one in my family other than my grandma! I struggled in school but then grew into myself and have loved my hair and being a redhead for years now. Up until very recently, I have been with my boyfriend for three years, we live together he talks about our future and a family, but then occasionally in front of other people he has made a joke about not wanting to have ‘ginger’ children especially a ginger boy. I love him but this has really upset me and caused me to doubt our relationship. I’ve spoken to him about it and he said it’s harmless and a joke and of course he wants a future with me. But I can’t see past it and I feel lost in our future and don’t know what to do. How would you feel about your closest making a joke like this? Should I just accept it is a joke or should I be concerned?

    August 21, 2022
  • Rh

    REPLY

    Wow, my mom was a redhead too.

    March 21, 2023
  • Renee

    REPLY

    Amber , I absolutely love your “Red (Amber) Hair”! You are very stunning with that color. I wouldn’t change anything about you. What others say about
    you, may or may not be true…..but, your beauty is far beyond what “others” can see. An old saying from years ago, may not be the best english but it carries a
    huge message…….”It don’t mean nothing!”

    April 3, 2023
  • Sarah

    REPLY

    I have two red haired daughters and I always wanted red hair. I think it’s the prettiest color of all. My question is, is bullying as bad in Scotland as I’ve heard it is in England? We want to leave the US (where everyone loves their hair) and move to Scotland but not if it’s going to cause my daughters to hate their hair.

    April 19, 2023
  • Nathan Pollard

    REPLY

    I get a lot of ‘Ed Sheeran’ comments. In fact, I actually have a tally of how many Ed Sheeran references I get each day. I also have had ‘Ed sheeran’s ugly brother’ and ‘Sped Sheeran’, and ‘ginger c**t’. It’s worse that I’m still at school and get it every single day. The only time I’m too fussed about it is when they shout it down the busy corridor at me and outside in public. I have strawberry blonde hair, which I hate, and feel embarrassed to have it. I think if I was a girl and still had this colour hair, it would look okay. But no. I also have blonde eyebrows which look almost invisible which I get some mocking out of. It is annoying, but not too hurtful. If they’d mention it, I’d go along with the joke and get a laugh out of them, but it does get old. Like a corny joke told to you up to 6 times a day, every single day, without fail, for 2 years.

    June 1, 2023
  • That one boy that comments

    REPLY

    Bro I am a guy with red hair. Everyone says things like “stupid ginger, sing me a solo Ed, and you ugly piece of crap.

    September 18, 2023
  • That one boy that comments

    REPLY

    My self confidence is so low right now. I get no girls. Anyone want to make me happy.
    Please I need help

    September 18, 2023
    • Kas the smash

      REPLY

      I’ll be your girlfriend

      September 18, 2023
      • That one boy that comments

        REPLY

        Really??????

        September 18, 2023
        • Kas the smash

          REPLY

          Ya hottie ginger. Please say you are not older than me…. 20

          September 18, 2023
          • That one boy that comments

            REPLY

            Im 19 and dont worry I like older girls

            September 18, 2023
  • That one boy that comments

    REPLY

    Save my non existent Soul

    September 18, 2023
  • Grace

    REPLY

    I am in FRICKIN MIDDLE SCHOOL, but I have red hair so I get called saten, ginger, ed sheeran, ugly, fireball, and a b****. I get bullied every day and I am over it!!! People hate me for my hair, I can barely get friends. Does it get easier? And people write these in my locker too.

    February 10, 2024
    • Kayla

      REPLY

      Hey Grace! I know it’s difficult, and things won’t go away for a while but they will get better you’ll see. If people make those comments you just have to brush them off when you show you don’t care about what they say about you then they will start to back off.

      February 13, 2024
  • Kayla

    REPLY

    Girly! I feel you so much! Lately I’ve been being called a leprechaun and it doesn’t help that my water bottle is green…I bet you know how that goes. Almost everyone I met has thought I would have been a rude and unforgivable person along with the fact my hair is fake. Though I do have some advice to fellow red heads, Don’t let anyone get underneath your skin about a name they call you be cause of your hair, and let me tell you the girls are going to be mean but let me tell you a secret…IT IS BECAUSE THEY ARE JEALOUS!!! Keep that in mind when a girl starts being rude to you about your appearance at that goes for anyone not just red heads.

    February 13, 2024
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