It’s Not Easy Being Red

I was a happy go lucky little girl, not a care in the world. In spite of the fact that Mom had an aversion to stylish hair cuts and a preference for odd shaped glasses, life was good. Almost all of my siblings ( Middle Sis being the exception) had red hair too, so I fit right in. These were my people!

It wasn’t until I started school that I realized I had red hair and I was different than the other kids. Suddenly, I was a redhead in a sea of blondes and brunettes and my world turned upside down in a heartbeat! This is the story of my “redhead journey.”

I lived my entire elementary school life as the “Lone Redhead” until Grade 7 when there were three of us. There was some comfort in numbers as we were all called Rusty Brains,( you know, because our parents left us out in rain to rust.) My personal favourite was Copper Top and lastly Danny Partridge. After a while, you just get used to it. I have two brothers whose mission in life was to make my life miserable anyway, so being called names because my hair was red, was nothing more than a slight irritation.

On to Junior and Senior High. I participated in various sports in high school. I played Basketball and ran track, and again I was the only red head. But I do have a vivid “redhead”memory. It was in a square dancing class we had to take for PE when I was paired with the only other red head in the school. Picture this: Not only did we both have bright red hair but he was about 6ft 3, and I was about 5ft 2. Needless to say we made an impression!

After graduation and into the working world, I was consistently the only red head. At one of my jobs, as a team building exercise, we had to bring pictures of our self as a baby. The pictures would be put into a collage and you would have to guess who was who. Right out of the gate I was at a disadvantage. Since I was the only red head, a colour picture would be a dead give away, so I brought a black and white picture. I still was easily identified as I was the only one who brought in a black and white picture. So much for trying to blend in .

It was not until I got older that I finally started to appreciate my red hair. The best part is we don’t go grey, we go a very light blond.

I have also realized that I am just fine with being different. I often see women with dyed red hair and it usually looks obviously fake. You just can’t duplicate the colour of a natural redhead. So, after the teasing and feeling insecure about my hair, I have to say that I am a proud member of the 2 percent red headed population. In fact, I am considering advocating for status as a visible minority. 🙂

With that in mind, I leave you with some fascinating background information to support my cause.

Famous Redheads

• Roz Kelly (Fonzies serious love interest on Happy Days, Pinky Tuscadaro)
• Rula Lenska (the VO5 hair spray model from the 1980’s…I’m digging deep here..)
• Carol Burnett (No explanation required)
• Lucille Ball (No explanation required)

Gingerphobia

Gingerphobia is the fear of red heads. Apparently, throughout history, red heads were thought capable of stealing people’s souls and thus were considered evil. I’m not sure about other redheads but I can honestly say that although there have been times I would have liked to steal a souI, I have never done it.

Fun Facts About Redheads

• Red headed people make up only 2 percent of the world population
• Red hair that is naturally curly/wavy is also unusual. Big Sis and I deal with this on a daily basis 🙂
• Red hair, and blue eyes are a rare combination. My siblings and I all have this rare combination (Middle Sis again being the exception).
• The rarest combination among red heads is blue eyes, and being left handed. This makes Big Sis the rarest of the rare.

I rest my case.

We plan to publish a new post every Monday, so stayed tuned for our next one entitled “You Say It’s Your Birthday.”