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Friday, March 29
The Indiana Daily Student

opinion

COLUMN: Gingers may experience prejudice but aren't marginalized

Several nights ago, I was with my roommate at the Upstairs Pub. As we were about to leave, a guy approached us and, without saying hello, told us we “really should smile more.”

While my roommate 
replied with an awkward, “Um, OK,” I told him curtly, “I’ll do what I want, thanks.”

He scoffed and said, “Damn, redheads every time!” before stomping off. Now, that made me laugh.

Redheads are branded as short-tempered, fiery beings who likely have ties with Satan. “Red: A History of the Redhead” by Jacky Colliss Harvey, a ginger, 
explores the history of red hair and red-headedness around 
the world.

Though I think a book like this is fascinating, Harvey claims redheads are the “white-skinned other” of the world and biases against them represent “one of the last great social prejudices.”

Whoa, dude.

It would be wrong to say redheads are not stereotyped or don’t experience some prejudice. Redheaded children have unfortunately been taunted and bullied to the point of contemplating suicide for their fiery locks.

Harvey asks, “Would it be acceptable for a child to be bullied at all, let alone to death, because of their skin color? Their religion? Their own or their parents’ race, their own or their parents’ sexuality?”

No, obviously that has never been acceptable.

But to say redheads are othered in the same way as actual minority groups, and then further equating that with racism is overreaching at its best and despicably 
offensive at its worst.

Though I am sure 
Harvey’s book has so much more to offer than her analyses of the discrimination redheads have faced throughout history, we really don’t have it that bad.

Harvey references websites on the Internet that “typify redheads as impulsive, irrational, quick-tempered, passionate and iconoclastic.” Let’s be honest, I am all of those things, but whether those characteristics are truly associated with my hair or not doesn’t 
matter.

Biases against red-haired people are not the worst discrimination our world has ever seen. There is no wage gap for redheads, and I do not struggle to find a job because my ancestors were thought to be witches.

I do not walk alone at night and fear for my safety because I am a redhead. I fear for my safety because I am a woman.

Buzzfeed compiled a list, “The 18 Most Offensive Things People Say to Redheads,” and not a single one could compare to half of the racial slurs that exist for actual minorities. It just made me roll my eyes.

My red hair is my most distinctive feature. It is my identity. It sets me apart from the rest of the world, and I thrive on that. Sure, a kid on the bus called me a tomato for wearing a red sweater in grade school, but I got over it.

In no way have I ever felt “othered” because, quite simply, I am not.

The majority of the 
attention I receive for my hair is positive. Any negative 
attention I do receive is easy enough to ignore.

Redheads should be proud of their rare hair color instead of complaining about being stereotyped.

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