I thought today it would be a nice idea to celebrate the beauty and history of redheads.
The 1% of the population of the world that carry the MC1R gene.
The Book of Genesis is perhaps the first book to have been written down and in the book
of Genesis we have the first celebrity redhead. Esau, who was tricked by his brother Jacob
into trading his first born status, his birthright for a bowl of soup, and so did Jacob go on
to become one of the Fathers of the Israelites.
Esau was born red all over like a hairy garment, and one interpretation is that Esau had some
recessive Neanderthal gene - the theory is that Neanderthals had red hair, although the
genetic mutation responsible is different to the one that which causes red hair in modern
humans.
Red hair occurs most commonly in people of Germanic or Celtic origin. Ireland has the
most red heads per capita at around 10%, but the highest density of red heads and thus
the red head capital of the world is actually Edinburgh.
And it’s thought that the reason red heads are more commonly found in colder climates
is that it is actually an advantage, where sunlight is sparse. The lighter skin improves
the absorption of sunlight, which is vital for the production of vitamin D by the body.
Red hair is also relatively common among Ashkenazi Jews. Many Jews in literature have been portrayed
with red hair. Shylock in Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice. And Fagin in Dickens’
Oliver Twist.
During the Inquisition in Italy and Spain, where red hair is less common, those with
red hair were identified as Jews, even if they weren’t actually Jewish. Judas the
betrayer of Christ was often portrayed as a redhead.
Today the commission for Racial Equality do not monitor cases of discrimination and hate
crimes against redheads
The Ancient Greeks seemed to be particularly admiring of red heads. In men red hair was
associated with honour and courage, while in women red hair was associated with beauty.
Homer says the heroes Menelaus and Achilles were both redheads. While Helen of Troy the
most beautiful woman that ever lived was also a red head.
Aphrodite, Goddess of beauty and love was also red headed. These paintings date to the
renaissance goes back to ancient times. Botticelli and especially Titian were always painting
beautiful women with red hair to the extent that titian now means auburn
The hair of female statues in Ancient Greece was often painted red - the Greeks loved the
colour red.
Redheads were first mentioned in literature by the Greek poet Xenophanes around 500BC
describing the Thracians. Who it seems were red headed and blue eyed.
Many slaves in ancient Greek as well as Rome northern territories and red headed slaves
would often fetch a higher price as they were thought to bring good luck. Red wigs were
given to actors depicting slaves in Greek and Roman theatre.
One fringe theory to explain modern mocking of redheads is that it stems from the Roman
subjugation and persecution of Celts after the Romans arrived in the British Isles.
Aristotle was not as keen as other Ancient Greeks is supposed to have said that "The
reddish are of bad character." "Those with tawny coloured hair are brave; witness the
lions. [But those with] reddish [hair] are of bad character; witness the foxes."
Romans seemed just as admiring of red heads as the Greeks, particularly among the firce
Gaulish tribes who Titus Levy said “stand first in reputation for war … with their
Tall bodies, long reddish hair, huge shields, very long swords, and songs and yells as they
go into battle, they terrify their foes.”
From the Thracians to the Gauls to the Vikings to the Celts there has always been this connection
between martial strength and flame-colored hair.
The English warrior queen Boudicaa was red head, and perhaps the greatest warrior of
the lot, Ghenghis Khan “long-bearded, red-haired, and green-eyed.”
Egyptian pharaohs were found to have hair with reddish pigments. Among them ‘Ramesses
the Great’, the most powerful of them all. Cleopatra.
Alexander the Great. Richard the Lionheart. The great Ottoman naval commander Hayreddin
Barbarossa. Queen Elizabeth I.
Mary Queen of Scots, Mary Magdalen. All depicted with red hair. Even the gods Bacchus and Hades.
The Prose Edda is one of the oldest Norse documents. Odin the All-Father, ruler of the
gods, is a wise and thoughtful ruler with blonde hair. But his quick-tempered son Thor,
God of Thunder, though, is possessed of a full head of red hair and an enormous bushy
red beard.
Red-headed men have often been stereotyped as temperamental and quick to violence, while
red headed women as loose, libidinal and wild.
IN Gullivers Travels, Jonathan Swift said "It is observed that the red-haired of both
sexes are more libidinous and mischievous than the rest, whom yet they much exceed in
strength and activity."
This might even be born out by science. A German sex researcher who found that women
with red hair had sex more often, and an English study found that redhead gals have sex an
average of three times a week, while blondes and brunettes only twice.
As for the temper stereotype a 2004 found that redheads feel pain and cold temperatures
more vividly, and get stung by bees moe often. Maybe there’s a reason for the anger.
A 1486 Treatise on Redheads Malleus Maleficarum declared that those whose hair is red, of
a certain peculiar shade, are unmistakably vampires. So now you know.
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