Forums > Social Discussion > More on British Culture... Gingers

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KyrianDreamer
4,308 posts
Location: York, England


Posted:
I hadn't even actually heard the term ginger haired used before I went there- in the US we are boring and say red. But what I missed was the apparently deragatory nature of it, and what a problem it can actually be. Talking to people, I've since learned that as a red-head in britain you expect to be abused about it all through school and in general even when you are out walking... this mystifies me, but after I started looking for it I found a lot of stories. So...

Brits, is it really that bad? Does it depend where you are?

Have any non brits seen it? Particuarly orange people might be called carrot top here, and are stereotyped to not like their hair, but... its certainly not much!

I know its essentially just another form of racism, and this one even has a gene seperating them from others, but.... how very strange! Any thoughts or explanations welcome...

Kyri ubbrollsmile

Keep your dream alive
Dreamin is still how the strong survive

Shalom VeAhavah

New Hampshire has a point....


SebPenguin of Mass Destruction and Tricky Bugger to the court of Claire the Askew
643 posts
Location: Check behind you.


Posted:
Definately, and there are differing degrees of how awful it is depending on the intent.

Chucks nuns
Property of mynci and blu_valley, and proud of it.


MynciBRONZE Member
Macaque of all trades
8,738 posts
Location: wombling free..., United Kingdom


Posted:
I believe it's other peoples perceptions of the degree of insult.
I agree if the "insulted" group has had terrible publicised suffering like black people and jews, people believe if you make a joke about them it is in terrible taste, but pick on another minority group with a less victimised past and people believe it's funny...
The old englishman, irishman and scotsman jokes perpetuated the belief the irish were stupid/backward when thats not true... they are no more stupid than any other nationality.
Laughter is important to everyone and imagine this joke:

This normal individual walked into an average pub and ordered a pint of non-generic lager. The barperson says hello that will be £2.50....and nobody bl00dy laughs!

The ability to use minor character foibles as jokes is not predujiced or awful if there is no evil intent. if a listener takes offense then sorry I'll smoke my cigarette away from their children and won't use their frying pan to cook my steak...offense is more often than not taken rather than given. soapbox

phew with that off my chest i can go home and beat the wife eek (no not really..crikey)

we need to be able to laugh at ourselves (and others) it makes life a bit more varied. If i offend people I apologise but trying not to offend people in some way is REALLY hard depending on who is about...nearly everything you do has the ability to offend someone. and if your ginger..well just smile when people are rude and remember your great in the sack biggrin

Everyone's great!!!

A couple of balls short of a full cascade... or maybe a few cards short of a deck... we'll see how this all fans out.


KyrianDreamer
4,308 posts
Location: York, England


Posted:
Lol... right mynci... i kinda like that.. get back at them because your a better lover...

And, erm, seb... its ok not to like someone for their haircolour, at least in a romantic sense. (Why else the obsession with blonds and swedes?) I mean, its shallow, but if gingers don't turn them on, they don't, and if you arn't attracted to someone than you won't be good to them....

Its important to think that your love is hot! So some people don't like gingers. more for me, (us) right? tongue

Keep your dream alive
Dreamin is still how the strong survive

Shalom VeAhavah

New Hampshire has a point....


DeepSoulSheepGOLD Member
Carpal \'Tunnel
2,617 posts
Location: Berlin, Ireland


Posted:
My ex is a ginger and she is a fox! Now I can't walk past a ginger without turning my head....



Generally like all people it's down to other things besides their hair, but a foxy ginger cannot be beaten....in the rating scale of foxiness of course! biggrin



It's like something you contract and then you can never look at them the same again.... yum! ubbrollsmile



I even had to click on that picture that's currently at the top of the page with that girl called little space bug at the top of the page as soon as I hit HOP today! Hey baby! wink



By the way. I'm currently reading a book by Tom Robbins called Still life with mockingbird which is brilliant and the plot is thick with redheads....

Anyone read it?



Written by:

hate red-headed patients.



Oh, they're nice enough...but they metabolize drugs more slowly than other people, and they don't scar well.



Something about red hair and poor healing and poor drug metabolism. I don't know what the connection is.








They're foxy aliens man... https://www.burlingtonnews.net/redhairedrace.html

EDITED_BY: DeepSoulSheep (1124329962)

I live in a world of infinite possibilities.


Thistleold hand
950 posts
Location: Nottingham UK


Posted:
I have a book of British superstitions and in the bad luck section it has:

'seeing a red head'

'having a red headed baby'

and 'people with red hair'

Are we nearly there yet?


MynciBRONZE Member
Macaque of all trades
8,738 posts
Location: wombling free..., United Kingdom


Posted:
thats probably coz many vikings had red hair and it meant

"seeing a red head - charging at you with an axe"

"having a red headed baby - coz it's probably not yours"

"people with red hair - have taken you prisoner"

ubblol

A couple of balls short of a full cascade... or maybe a few cards short of a deck... we'll see how this all fans out.


PyroWillGOLD Member
HoP's Barman. Trapped aged 6 months
4,437 posts
Location: Staines, United Kingdom


Posted:
ubblol ha ha nice one mynci

An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind

Give a man a fish and he'll eat 4 a day hit a man with a brick and you can have all his fish and his wife

"Will's to pretty for prison" - Simian


KyrianDreamer
4,308 posts
Location: York, England


Posted:
wow, nice mynci tongue

I especially like the..."having a red haired baby- coz its prolly not yours tongue"

On a slightly related note *chuckles* People have heard about that stidy in britain where 30% of children who were supposedly fathered by their fathers actually, well, wern't... and their mums had it all justified out and everything, even sayingt they'd never had an "affair"....

Maybe thats how we keep 10% of the population ginger there. Everyone gets all mad at their spouse and then runs out and has some of that superior ginger procreative practice activety... rowr.

Keep your dream alive
Dreamin is still how the strong survive

Shalom VeAhavah

New Hampshire has a point....


NOnactivist for HoPper liberation.
1,643 posts
Location: ffidrac


Posted:
wow!! i didn't know about the superstition thing, that puts gingers in the same category as black cats! how cool is that??... or does no-one else think that's cool...? i think i'd like to be bad luck, i feel special biggrin but i am a mere "strawberry blonde" go i guess i'm not so much a curse on your home and family, but a minor annoyance - the reason the double glazing salesman popped round during dinner......

Aurinko freedom agreement reached 10th Sept 2006

if it makes no sense that's because it's NOn-sense.


MynciBRONZE Member
Macaque of all trades
8,738 posts
Location: wombling free..., United Kingdom


Posted:
Written by: NOn


biggrin but i am a mere "strawberry blonde" go i guess i'm not so much a curse on your home and family,




NOn I feel your pain but come out as a true ginger we've already disscussed "strawberry blondes" are just gingers in denial... wink

A couple of balls short of a full cascade... or maybe a few cards short of a deck... we'll see how this all fans out.


JhingeBRONZE Member
member
110 posts
Location: my own little planet of gingerness, United Kingdom


Posted:
strwberry blonde i hate this phrase



its a conspiricy to get non gingers to by hair dye



it sounds more apealing to the consumer than ginger

to products sitting on a shelf one marked ginger the other strwberry blonde which one you guna by itll be the strawberry blonde ..............

but the long and short of it is no matter what name you give,red strawberry blond burgandy NO NO NO YOUR STILL GINGER hug hug
EDITED_BY: el ginger 1 (1124721188)

i dont get paid to belive i get paid to destroy things


JhingeBRONZE Member
member
110 posts
Location: my own little planet of gingerness, United Kingdom


Posted:
as we now have a thread dedicatied to the world that is ginger

i was wondering how many gingers there are hiding on hop

im just wondering if theres a link between fire and red heads ooops i mean gingers

-------------------------------
the futures bright the futures ginger ubbrollsmile

i dont get paid to belive i get paid to destroy things


MynciBRONZE Member
Macaque of all trades
8,738 posts
Location: wombling free..., United Kingdom


Posted:
I'm half ginger. And feel ginger regularly wink but affraid i'm probably a brunette if pushed...more a mongrel tabby. ubblol

A couple of balls short of a full cascade... or maybe a few cards short of a deck... we'll see how this all fans out.


JhingeBRONZE Member
member
110 posts
Location: my own little planet of gingerness, United Kingdom


Posted:
bloody half breeds tainting the ginger gene devil

i dont get paid to belive i get paid to destroy things


KyrianDreamer
4,308 posts
Location: York, England


Posted:
biggrin
I'm sure there's a few gingers from manchester, or somewhere northern....

Keep your dream alive
Dreamin is still how the strong survive

Shalom VeAhavah

New Hampshire has a point....


NOnactivist for HoPper liberation.
1,643 posts
Location: ffidrac


Posted:
ubblol yeah i know that, but if i call it ginger, other people say "no, it's strawberry blond".... if i say it's strawberry blond, everyone goes " no but it's ginger really..." so apparently i don't really know what colour my hair is, it shall be known as NOn-colour henceforth.... but i'd still like to know what percentage of bad luck that makes me.... devil

Aurinko freedom agreement reached 10th Sept 2006

if it makes no sense that's because it's NOn-sense.


PyroWillGOLD Member
HoP's Barman. Trapped aged 6 months
4,437 posts
Location: Staines, United Kingdom


Posted:
autumn bracken biggrin

An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind

Give a man a fish and he'll eat 4 a day hit a man with a brick and you can have all his fish and his wife

"Will's to pretty for prison" - Simian


DeepSoulSheepGOLD Member
Carpal \'Tunnel
2,617 posts
Location: Berlin, Ireland


Posted:
Every Irish person has a bit of ginger in them somewhere. My bad has a ginger mustache and I have red flecks in my stubble... smile

I live in a world of infinite possibilities.


NOnactivist for HoPper liberation.
1,643 posts
Location: ffidrac


Posted:
Written by: PyroWill


autumn bracken biggrin




ooohh.... getting a bit fancy now aren't we? biggrin original though, i like it.

Aurinko freedom agreement reached 10th Sept 2006

if it makes no sense that's because it's NOn-sense.


MynciBRONZE Member
Macaque of all trades
8,738 posts
Location: wombling free..., United Kingdom


Posted:
Not tainting.... "carrying" if not for people like me you gingers would have to search out your own kind to prevent extinction.
And i practice very hard at propogating the ginger gene, wink

Anyway el ginger 1... you know you love me. biggrin and know i support gingers everywhere..... especially after a few beerchug's

A couple of balls short of a full cascade... or maybe a few cards short of a deck... we'll see how this all fans out.


KyrianDreamer
4,308 posts
Location: York, England


Posted:
Yeah, and this way you can force a slightly unwilling ginger (or even two nons!) to have more beautiful ginger babies.... biggrin

Keep your dream alive
Dreamin is still how the strong survive

Shalom VeAhavah

New Hampshire has a point....


xsammyxnewbie
13 posts
Location: Newcastle, UK


Posted:
my ex boyfriend and current boyfriend are ginger as is my brother... they have all been bullied all the way through school...they all live in north uk...i think its hidious the way your hair coulour can be deemed a bullyable subject. My little brother was refered to for years as gwar and ginger minger...he hated it and Im sure it has effected him in later life with confidence ect.

Horrible people...this is no more right than picking on someone for their eye colour, skin colour ...infact there is never a reason to pick o anyone but certainly being ginger is not one of them! but it is true that the uk ginger has a stigma attached

A wise man said to me one day listen up child dont turn away you cant afford to miss what I have to say
Do what you can to open your eyes to a world that relies on us all being blind any way

But dont be afraid...;o)


KyrianDreamer
4,308 posts
Location: York, England


Posted:
I've noticed :/
It pains me so much how much my (friend/ love intrest) hates that about himself... again today I saw it, he just thinks so badly of it, he thinks himself unnatractive because of it... Its absolutly crushing, because first of all it just sucks to feel that way about something so unchangeable, but secondly I think it makes him so attractive... his gingerness, that is.

Keep your dream alive
Dreamin is still how the strong survive

Shalom VeAhavah

New Hampshire has a point....


MynciBRONZE Member
Macaque of all trades
8,738 posts
Location: wombling free..., United Kingdom


Posted:
PyroWill,... I swear that baby picture gets more ginger every day. are you playing in photo-shop? ubblol



I have to say at my school there was a ginger kid who also got bullied, but in fairness it was more because he was different in other ways, but kids did use the ginger taunt occasioanlly. I have never really had a bad issue with gingers... in fact my first crush and best friend were ginger so found it really hard when they got crap and sometimes got me in trouble standing up for them.

(I was 6ft at 13 years old so people tended to back away when I got a bit angry)

I dislike prejudices based on appearance... if someones a tosser then they're a tosser it doesn't matter what they look like so there is no need to bring appearance into taunts.



soapbox

A couple of balls short of a full cascade... or maybe a few cards short of a deck... we'll see how this all fans out.


PyroWillGOLD Member
HoP's Barman. Trapped aged 6 months
4,437 posts
Location: Staines, United Kingdom


Posted:
I think gingerness looks better on girls than on guys though

And no mynci im not playing with it in photoshop tongue

An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind

Give a man a fish and he'll eat 4 a day hit a man with a brick and you can have all his fish and his wife

"Will's to pretty for prison" - Simian


MynciBRONZE Member
Macaque of all trades
8,738 posts
Location: wombling free..., United Kingdom


Posted:
I seriously only just noticed the hair in the pic Will. sorry.

but I do agree it does look better on women, I have never fancied a ginger man... wink

A couple of balls short of a full cascade... or maybe a few cards short of a deck... we'll see how this all fans out.


JhingeBRONZE Member
member
110 posts
Location: my own little planet of gingerness, United Kingdom


Posted:
common mynci you now you like me really ubbloco hug
EDITED_BY: el ginger 1 (1124893745)

i dont get paid to belive i get paid to destroy things


MynciBRONZE Member
Macaque of all trades
8,738 posts
Location: wombling free..., United Kingdom


Posted:
NEVER sit on my lap again unless you want a bigger shock than you got last time (your timing was....awful) ubblol umm
bad ginge spank wink

A couple of balls short of a full cascade... or maybe a few cards short of a deck... we'll see how this all fans out.


JhingeBRONZE Member
member
110 posts
Location: my own little planet of gingerness, United Kingdom


Posted:
bounce2 sorry mate but i did'nt feel a thing mayby my gingerness deflated it the situstion some what

i dont get paid to belive i get paid to destroy things


PyroWillGOLD Member
HoP's Barman. Trapped aged 6 months
4,437 posts
Location: Staines, United Kingdom


Posted:
umm

An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind

Give a man a fish and he'll eat 4 a day hit a man with a brick and you can have all his fish and his wife

"Will's to pretty for prison" - Simian


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