Admit it, you've probably laughed at a ginger joke or two. Unless, as a natural redhead, you've been totally self-conscious of your hair color since you started grade school.
Even though I feel as though I've always been highly sensitive to minority issues, I've never given much thought to the plight of redheads. Clearly in the spectrum of natural hair colors, red is the least commonly occurring. Hair, for a lot of ethnic groups, has historically been a source of tension. I can definitely see how a young child's self-esteem could be damaged because he or she was excessively made fun of or made to feel different for having a less common hair color.
Too often, I have made light of the situation. Perhaps this is because the word "ginger" is so silly and rolls so nicely off the tongue in a pseudo-British accent. I have to admit: I'm not sure how offensive it would be to be labeled a "ginger." The BBC throws it around like it aint no thang but, I always thought the word carried somewhat of a negative connotation. Perhaps, as red hair is most common in the UK, the term has been re-claimed there, like "queer" but, to a lesser degree.
Regardless of how you feel about the word, check out this article from the BBC. It certainly made me rethink the definition of minority.
I had not realized that anti-ginger sentiment was so severe, or that people could be driven out of their neighborhoods based on the color of their hair. What can I say, humans are shallow creatures. At least, it's nice to see gingers stand up loud and proud.
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