PROVOKING THOUGHT

I truly believe that Gingerism is no different than racism in that what brings about the majority wrath is the colour we are born.
Many of the majority say that fat people and others get bullied as well, which is true but them bragging about the amount of bullying that goes on in British society is another debate.

I object to being likened to the fat, being ridiculed like the fat

a] Fat is not a minority - obesity is an epidemic

b] Fat is, for the most part, a lifestyle choice something that happens when you do something wrong like eat too many pies.

c] When the 'fat' tire of being ridiculed, loose weight and conform - the majority will hoop and holler and congratulate them. Can Redheads really conform when body hair is the most contentious issue.

The current Gingerism debate on Redheads dying their hair is whether that is conforming, or escaping from majority sniping, bullying - does it depend on how bad it gets - how isolated you are within the majority group?

I dye my hair not because I don't like it but because if I don't, the majority continue to kid themselves they are sharing a joke with me - and that it is OK for them to carry on?

I don't mind at all if you disagree - I like a good debate - maybe some of your thoughts have never occured to me - let me have them. madasahatar

PSYCHOLOGY

I find it interesting, not to say fascinating, how when everyone is the same under the skin that REDheads are considered to be so psychologically different.

Their colour and thus their physical image is often maligned, denigrated and ridiculed by the 64 billion majority yet this should not affect them psychologically

REDheads are not psychologically affected as Blacks are affected by having their colour disrespected and brought into disrepute.

REDheads are not psychologically affected as other people are psychologically affected by having their image constantly ridiculed

REDheads are not psychologically affected by the majority focusing solely on the difference between REDheads and the 64 billion majority. Hair colour is all they see ‘ginger’ is all they say when there is so much more to all of us

REDheads are not psychologically affected by strangers dismissing their individual identity and making them part of some ‘ginger collective’

STEREOTYPING is known to have a detrimental psychological effect on the individuals within the stereotyped group except when it comes to REDheads

Who has the answer? Why are REDheads so psychologically different?

Why are REDheads so different under the skin?

Bullied To Dye by Mad As A

BULLIED TO DYE or DIE

In truth I would prefer to break free

To escape the majority tyranny

They say I must wear a LABEL

An ill-fitting uniform

That I must not think freely

That I must bow down

And conform

That I must not say my hair is Red

Or any other fabulous shade

I must ‘admit’ I’m ‘ginger’ and ‘guilty’

But I cannot I’m afraid

I’m told I must join the collective

That individuality is not for me

That the majority want a great big joke

And the great big joke should be me

Well I want to be my own person

And choose the name I am called

But that’s not allowed in this fascist state

Where with laughter contempt they demonstrate

They say they are being friendly

But in truth they are a liar

I’m in war that I cannot win

Held down by ‘friendly fire’

Your label won’t be worn by this minger

I won’t be wrapped around your Oppressive finger

I can no more endure your HA! Ha! Ginger hype

I don’t want to live as a… stereotype

Off the street’s into the asylum and drugged

Yes the fascists have won I’ve been unplugged

I still live at the top of the rainbow… Here inside my head

But for fear of being sectioned I dare not say my hair is RED

THE WORDS THE SWORD

THE WORDS THE SWORD

The same word you want to use

Me to abuse…You to amuse

When you look at a postcard by the sea

It ain’t got nothing to do with me

That is humour in the abstract

On me it has no real impact

But when you paint me with a word

That as a ‘weapon’ has always been heard

That you still often use as such

There is only one emotion you touch

The word is enveloped in negativity

The sound waves of which are drowning me

You may not mean the contempt I hear

When what you have said reaches my ear

But the context, the tone, is always the same

The word is always used to defame

The visual and verbal don’t make a connection

The word does not translate as affection

Patronising condescension rings loud in my ear

The majority making their superiority eminently clear

It is they who use the word to berate and cut me down

So they must know to use it will only make me frown

It will always be a weapon that the majority use upon me

A big stick to beat me with carved from the ‘ginger’ tree

The Redhead Manifesto: One Ginger Snaps

Student and Princeton Redhead Society member Peter Tucci takes a tongue in cheek exploration of the issues facing modern day red heads, such as ozone depletion, discrimination and demographic decline.

Unbeknownst to most non-redheads, sunscreen can cost as much as $50 per ounce. At that price, a family of four that consumes four ounces of sunscreen per week will spend a total of $10,400 per year on the stuff. Middle-class redheads simply can’t afford sunscreen at those prices, and as a result, redheads are often faced with a stark choice: buy sunscreen and risk going bankrupt, or go without sunscreen and die.

Have a read of the full article.

Poll: Is gingerism as bad as racism?

Our "Is gingerism as bad as racism?" poll has come to an end. 535 people voted as follows:

Yes - 65%
No - 34%

Our new poll is "Should you dye your hair if you're being bullied for being a red head?". Make sure your vote gets counted.

BBC Three Looking for Red Head

We get a lot of press attention here at Gingerism HQ. Our latest email is from Nicola Asamoa, a producer for BBC Current Affairs. She writes:

I'm looking for a red head man to take part in a documentary for BBC 3. The man must be 16-24 and will have felt victimised for being a redhead.

If this sounds like you and you'd like to be involved in the show, let Nicola know by emailing nicola.asamoa@bbc.co.uk.

New Sponsor
You may have noticed the present at the top right of the page. In an effort to cover our running costs we've got a new sponsor here at Gingerism HQ called Wishlings.

Wishlings makes it easy for you to build a wish list and better still, your friends and family can see your list and buy stuff for you! My wish list is here :) Using Wishlings will really help us out. Thanks!

Redhead Day 2009

This year's Dutch Redhead Day (Roodharigendag) is happening on Sunday, September 6th 2009 at Breda, The Netherlands.


The event is free to attend and involves art, workshops, lectures, a red head themed dinner, competitions and a picnic. There is also a picture taken at the end of the event which will include you and the up to 4,000 other attendees.

Readhead Day is for everyone, but especially all men, women an children with natural red hair are invited: whether you have many red curls, short hair, a Mohawk haircut or red beard.

To read more about Redhead Day and reserve your place, check out the official website. Also please make a wish list and support our project :)

Ginger Be Beautiful by Richard Tuttle

Richard Tuttle, the Band Director at Ada-Borup School District in Minnesota has written and produced a song about being ginger. Here's a description from Richard himself:

Zach, my youngest step son, was tired of being called a ‘ginger’ at school. Ginger, a British slang for a person with red hair, is often used to tease people. After Zach listened to the mp3 of my song, he was proud of his red hair. This will be point of the video: to show that having red hair is just as cool as having any other color of hair….or no hair at all.

Lyrics

She A Ginger
He A Ginger
We A Ginger
Be A Ginger

We So Pride No Hide
We See Me As A Pretty
Join As All And Shout
Ginger Be Beautfiul
Ginger Be Beautiful
Ginger Pride

Teen A Ginger
Ween A Ginger
Gene A Ginger
Been A Ginger

We So Pride No Hide
We See Me As A Pretty
Join As All And Shout
Ginger Be Beautiful
Ginger Be Beautiful
Ginger Pride
Show Your Ginger Pride

Ginger Foot

Hey, sorry about the hiatus from new articles. Work and a holiday have kept me busy but I promise to get back on track with articles and emails next week. I am also excited to be bringing on board more writers for the blog. Keep checking back for more information.

For now, I will leave you with a video my Uncle made of me whilst we were hiking up a mountain in Mayrhofen, Austria at the beginning of this month.