My youngest son has the most amazing red hair.
Our first son was born with a full head of dark brown hair, like my own. So it came as a shock, when Oscar popped out, fiery red. I was thrilled! I'm no scientist, but I figured my genes (brown hair, brown eyes) had won over my husband's (auburn hair, blue eyes) Obviously, I was really wrong. What do I know? LOL. So we have two beautiful, smart, sweet boys, who, aside from their hair color, look very much alike.
Now, I'm sure anyone with a baby can attest, you can't go anywhere without people commenting, or giving advice on child-rearing, or "ooing" and "ahhing" and wanting to talk to your baby or young child. Most of the time, I don't really mind. It's a way that we connect with other people.
I had this elderly lady come up to us in the mall and tell me that her husband had always wanted a son with red hair, because his best friend that he had fought beside in WW2 had red hair. :)
It's stories like that that make me smile.
Recently, it's almost become a social experiment when we are out. I can actually time it, going into the mall, when we're going to get the first comment on his hair colour.
Now, I didn't really even pay attention to this, until I had grown adults coming up and saying, "Oh! You have a little Ginger!", like he's some type of other species. Then, I started hearing about "Kick a Ginger Day" and "Ginger Kids have no Souls" ?!?!
I thought that saying "Ginger" was like calling a red-head, "Carrot top" or something. But, it's not. It's derogatory. My son is three and he's being called "a Ginger" by adults. And, no, I don't think most people who say it are being rude or unkind. Some of them may be poking fun at his pale skin and red hair. Often people pose the question "Does he have a temper to match?" (the colour of his hair) - - All of that I can deal with - - but, he has a name and "That Ginger" isn't it.
This "Ginger" issue came up recently when a friend of mine was questioning the term. She kept hearing the phrase "A Ginger" being used to describe someone and had always thought of it as a spice and couldn't make the connection.
Someone else said that it's not a new term, that one of the girls on Gilligan's Island were named Ginger - - and she had red hair. Yes, that's true. She was the "movie star". People are not thinking about the Professor or MaryAnne or Ginger when they're talking about "Ginger Kids" We are far, far from the days of Gilligan's Island. It has more to do with South Park and is intended to make fun of a certain group of people.
It's really begun to annoy me a bit.
I'm actually concerned that my son is going to be picked on because of his hair colour and pale skin! Isn't that crazy and really sad?!
What do YOU think about the term "Ginger"?
