Should we take it as red that ginger jibes are here to stay?

Published on Wednesday 16 December 2009 09:31

THEY are as unmistakably Scottish as Irn-Bru but, asks Laura Cummings, do redheads really get it too tough when it comes to the colour of their hair?

THEY are often the butt of jokes, enduring taunts such as "Irn-Bru shampoo" and "Fanta pants" from the day they first brave the schoolyard.

Some of the world's most glamorous women – from Hollywood beauty Nicole Kidman to supermodel Lily Cole – are redheads.

There may be more than half a million of them in Scotland – accounting for about one in eight of the population – and that number is rising, if you take into account the growing popularity of red hair dye.

But "gingers" still get more than their fair share of stick.

There is no doubt it is easier to melt into the background with almost any other hair colour than red.

The occasional jibe of "Duracell", or even "ranga" (as in orangutan), can easily be laughed off.

But some flame-haired "militants" are now taking up cudgels, despite the inevitable "ginger whinger" backlash.

With a semi-serious National Ginger Awareness Day – 22 February, for those who don't have it in their diary – established to highlight the issue, there is even talk of "gingerism" being "the last acceptable form of discrimination".

But can it really be that bad getting stick over your hair colour? One redheaded mother certainly thinks so.

Davinia Phillips was incensed by a Christmas card being sold in Tesco, featuring a photograph of a little boy with red hair sitting on Santa's lap, under the tongue-in-cheek caption: "Santa loves all kids. Even ginger ones."

Claiming the card encouraged discrimination, Mrs Phillips, whose twin daughters Kellsie and Georgia, nine, and Kiera, three, have red hair, complained to staff at the store in York, who removed it from sale. She has now called for the supermarket giant to stop selling the card at stores nationwide.

While many redheads can clearly see the funny side to such barbs, others insist the issue cannot simply be laughed off.

Former Scottish Youth Parliament chairman and Big Brother: Celebrity Hijack winner John Loughton, below, believes it should be taken seriously

The 22-year-old from Pilton – who spoke on the reality show about how he feels redheads are often treated in Britain – is all for embracing his ginger roots.

"It's easy to see being ginger as a negative thing, but if you go to another country or continent, people love it," he says.

"I suppose every kid gets a bit of hassle for being ginger, but I was lucky that I was ginger and big, so I got less hassle than others around me.

"I would call for more ginger role models in the UK and Scotland because who is there just now? The one from Girls Aloud, and Cilla Black back in the day.

"I think there should be a National Ginger Day in Scotland – we have a national something day for everything else."

Mr Loughton, who admits to fitting the fiery stereotype associated with redheads, adds: "Why does gingerism continue as an acceptable form of discrimination? I genuinely think it is one of the last remaining unfair forms of discrimination."

The idea of positive redhead role models rings a bell with marketing officer Joanna Murray, who lives in Duddingston.

The 30-year-old had a tough time at school over her hair colour and still gets occasional remarks.

"I always got called names at school, it was horrible," she recalls. "You couldn't print what the kids said, it was very offensive.

"As a teenager, I used to dye my hair brown or blonde – every colour just to stop people calling me names.

"Even as an adult, I have had things said to me. I remember on one night out a man said to me: 'Do you know something, you are actually really attractive for someone with red hair.'

"It wasn't until Ginger Spice came out that I thought, 'I'm just going to leave my hair red,' and ever since then I've absolutely loved it. I like being different."

She is fully behind the calls to get the Tesco Christmas cards off the shelves.

"I think that it's appalling. It's terrible because it is not any different to saying, 'Santa loves everyone, even black children.'

"My seven-year-old nephew has red hair and he's starting to realise that he has got something different. I have to tell him that he is special and red hair is the best."

Fellow redhead Gareth Rose, 29, who lives in Leith disagrees, however.

"Generally, I think it was a pretty massive overreaction," he explains. "I think sometimes when you react like that, you're almost inviting people to take the mickey even more.

"It seems to me that this card was simply a joke and if I had seen it in Tesco, I wouldn't have been offended or upset."

"Having ginger hair is seen as a negative characteristic, just like being overweight or short.

"It didn't really affect me much in school, there was maybe the odd occasion of name-calling.

"As long as you have a sense of humour about it, I don't think there's anything to be concerned about. It's just part of who you are and no-one is going to avoid having the mickey taken at any stage in their life for any number of reasons."