Redheads

This is my first non-serious post. This is a speech that I competed with in my senior year of high school.

"Anne Shirley, What have you done to your hair?"”
“"I thought nothing could be as bad as red hair, green is ten times worse."”

This scene was taken from the movie based off of Lucy Maud Montgomery's classic novel, Anne of Green Gables. In this story a young girl named Anne must endure many trials as she grows up, the main one being her red hair. So in one scene she buys hair dye hoping to change her cursed appearance, but in the end it only causes her more trouble. Her sentiments are shared by many young redheaded children. When we are little our hair is a source of unnecessary attention, so we wish it away. But generally we grow to love our red locks and somehow learn to take pride in them. Join me today as we observe the lives of that particular group of people, the redheads. As we do this we will examine the science behind red hair, significant redheads in history, and finally the stereotypes placed upon them.

It is obvious there is a small group of people in this world that posses red hair, but what causes this obscure pigmentation? This question leads me to the first point in my speech, an observation of genetics and the color red. Within our bodies we have DNA strands that dictate how we look, and these strands are based on our genes. In redheads there is a change on a specific gene, called the melanocortin 1 receptor, and this causes red hair. Jonathan Rees who is a Professor of Dermatology at the University of Edinburgh explained this change saying,

Six or seven years ago we identified the gene for red hair in humans. It is called the melanocortin 1 receptor. ... Everybody has two copies of the gene, one from the mother and one from the father, but there are differences.. which mean that some people have different copies from others. Surprisingly, this gene is very polymorphic (variable) with over 30 differences so far recognised ...

People who possess one 'different copy' of this gene do not usually have red hair but, if you inherit different copies from both mother and father, then you are very likely to have red hair.

All of this may sound confusing, because well, it is. The human body is a complex system of codes that produce very different results from person to person. But the main thing to remember is that everyone has two genes in them that are capable of producing red hair. Generally copper hair only comes with a mutation on both of these genes, although it is possible to have red hair with only one mutation.

So now that we know the basic principles behind red hair we are going to turn our focus from science to history. Now if I asked you to sit down and write a list of redheads throughout history you may come up with such names as Raggedy Ann, Anne of Green Gables or Ronald McDonald. But your list probably wouldn't be much longer than that. This is most likely because redheads comprise only a small percent of the population. National Geographic shows us just how rare redheads are when they say, “"... less than two per cent of the world's population has natural red hair, ..."”. But size doesn't matter, right? It is the actions and contributions from the men and women that we must consider, and Cort Cass did exactly that when he presented the following names in his book, "The Redhead Handbook." When we look into history we find that there are many redheads that have made significant contributions to our world. For example did you know that Christopher Columbus is said to have had red hair? That's right, the famous explorer who lead the way for colonization in the Americas is described as being a redhead. Looking to the arts and sciences as we add Galileo Galilei who is known for his contributions to astronomy, Antonio Vivaldi for his work in music composition, and Vincent Van Gogh for his paintings. Turning to politics, we can examine the list of American presidents and see that 7 out of 43 presidents are reported as having red hair. The list of these men is: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Martin Van Buren, Andrew Jackson, Ulysses S. Grant, Calvin Coolidge, and Dwight Eisenhower. That means that 16% of our presidents have had red hair. Compare that to the 2% of people worldwide. In the political realm we can also add Queen Elizabeth I and Henry VIII. These two people are some of the most influential royal names that are said to have had copper locks. Finally what list of redheads would be complete without mentioning America's favorite ginger, Lucille Ball. But did you know that this famous comedian did not have natural red hair? It's true. This star used a dye named henna to change her appearance from a brunette to a redhead. However, this amazing lady captured the heart and spirit that many redheads posses, and she opened the way for those with red hair in the entertainment industry. As you can see our world has been greatly influenced by the work of redheads and the accomplishments from these men and women will forever be written in history.

However, even though redheads have greatly added to our world, they are still certain perceptions about them. In our society there are stereotypes about people with every hair color, but with redheads there are some that are especially well-known. We are going to go through and look at some of these stereotypes in this last examination of Cort Cass' “"Three Biggest Myths About Redheads"”.

Stereotype #1: “"We are all related"”. I can speak from personal experience, if people see two redheads walking down the street together, they usually assume that these redheads are related to each other in some way. I have several redheaded friends and there have been countless times that we have been asked if we are siblings or cousins. There are many types of redheads, for instance you can have one with dark auburn hair, a beautiful tan, and brown eyes and then another one with strawberry blond hair, skin of alabaster, and blue eyes, but people will still think that they are related. No matter how different you look the red hair is enough for people to assume a connection, and while in some instances you will see a family of redheads this is not always the case.

Stereotype #2: “"We are all Irish"”. If I had a penny for every time an absolute stranger has come up and asked me if I am Irish, I would be a very rich girl. While I am part Irish, I am also English, Scottish, German, Dutch, and French. For many redheads this is the case, we have mixed genealogies. But why do people assume we are Irish? I don't know... Consider this though, in his book The Redhead Handbook the author Cort Cass presents the following statistic: “"Scotland boasts the highest number of redheads per capita, with thirteen percent of the population ... Ireland follows second with a ten percent. The United States falls in at a paltry four percent."”. So why don't people walk up and ask us if we are Scottish? I don't think I will ever find the answer to this question, but the fact remains that we are not all Irish. In fact some redheads don't have any Irish blood within them.

And last, but not least Stereotype #3: “"We are all crazy, excitable, hot-tempered..."” This is probably the biggest stereotype when it comes to redheads, and in my case it generally is true. When I was younger my family members and friends would tease me and then see how long it would take me to react, claiming that I was hot-tempered. In most cases it wouldn't take long for my temper to flare, proving this stereotype right. However even though I am generally an excitable person, I have many redheaded aunts and cousins who are very patient. Whenever someone would make the same type of remark to these family members, they would generally remain very calm. Many people believe that redheads are not born with a hot temper, but because of the constant teasing and attention that they receive, these people are shaped into an excitable person. Whatever the case is, there are redheads with tempers, but there are also calm and patient redheads, just like those with other hair colors.

In conclusion, we learned the science behind red hair. We then went on to discover some of the most significant redheads in history, and finally we examined the stereotypes placed upon these people. Redheads are a peculiar group of people, and comprise only a small percent of the population. But they have made their mark upon history and I believe they will continue to do so. I am certainly not saying that those with copper hair are more important than those with other hair colors, but you can see how even a small group of people can shape the future. I hope that you have enjoyed this brief look into the lives of redheads, and I would like to leave you with one last quote from Cort Cass, and he says, “"There could be any number of possible explanations for redheaded achievement. For whatever reason, we can be sure that redheads will continue the trend of success for many centuries to come. So what if we can't tan? I'll take my red hair over the ability to produce adequate amounts of melanin any day. Just pass me my SPF 50 sunscreen."”