A strange thing happens as redheads age. Even before our hair turns white, the tint of our hair darkens. I thought it was just me however in reading several articles on redheads I see that it is a common phenomenon. As my hair has gone from an orange-red hue in my youth to a more auburn-brown natural color, I have become more interested in the science behind red-heads.
Many of you who have only known me in recent years are saying to yourself, “but you’re a blonde not a redhead.” Not true, the blonde is fake, added in at first because I was tired of being a redhead. When you endure a childhood of redhead jokes you tend to aspire to different hair colors. The taunts range from the simple “Ronald McDonald” references to more vicious insults like “red on the head like the dick on a dog”. More recently as my hair darkens, I turn it blonde because I don’t like having dark hair either but that’s more of an aesthetic choice.
So what is the science behind red hair. It’s very interesting and actually far more than just a hair coloring. There are actual genetic studies behind the origins of the redhead which appears first as a recessive gene only 20,000-40,000 years ago. In evolutionary terms, this is very recent. This MC1R variant gene is most prevalent in Celtic countries but is also noted in many other locals in far lower percentages. Some researchers have cited this regionalism of the occurrences of the recessive gene to propose that redheads are the product of cross breeding between Neanderthal man and Cro-Magnon Man. This theory, while rather funny, has been largely debunked. To think, I could be closer genetically to Neanderthals. I’m not sure how I feel about that.
Beyond just the color of our hair, redheads are generally also the proud possessors of freckles, fair skin and have also been scientifically documented as having different reactions to anesthesia than the rest of the general population. The latter might explain why I can drink so much Wild Turkey at a sitting without adverse reaction. ;-)
So why the fascination with red-heads? I guess it starts from childhood. Most redhead kids wish they were anything but a redheaded kid and I would assume the jackasses making fun of them are probably glad that they are not redheaded. Is it just kids though? Apparently not. Ancient Romans considered red-heads to be unlucky however it is documented that Romans could at the same time command a higher price for red-headed slaves than your stock brown-haired Slav that littered their slave markets. Judus Iscariot is sometimes documented as a redhead. The British to this day are especially cruel to redheads despite the fact that Queen Elizabeth 1 of England was a redhead.
I was discussing redheads the other day with a coworker. We were laughing about the notion of a bright red-headed president. I proclaimed that this country would see a female president long before ever seeing a red-head in office. After some research though it would appear that my proclamation was incorrect. Calvin Coolidge was a redhead. I think it is safe to state however that, much like myself, while he still was a redhead, age had either turned what which was once bright red to a darker shade or depending on his age, white even.
To the young redhead, take these words of inspiration with you as you wade through the endless redhead jokes thrown at you in your youth. Much like your hair color, the jokes will fade away into the distant past. Your hatred for clowns will not fade. You can become president, at least when you don’t show any outward evidence that you really are a redhead anymore. Oh and also, if your hair color does darken or lighten, always let your anesthesiologist know that you are a redhead beneath it all.
Redheads. My maternal grandfather, whose given name was Lud, was a major redhead, known all his life as "Red" Burch. He was a virtual orphan, started working at around age twelve, after riding the rails for a period of time. He ended up as a railroad man himself, still working as a conductor for the Pennsylvania Railroad when I was a little guy. Lucky kid that I was, I got to ride in the locomotive and blow the whistle. When you're in the locomotive, looking out the windshield, the tracks in front of you twist and writhe like a snake. When you're standing outside, on the platform of the caboose, the track straightens itself out to infinity. It's too cool.
My grandfather was a redhead, but he had very thick arms and lived a tough life for a long time. I don't think he probably got teased much--at least not twice by the same guy.
My grandfather looked so much like Dwight David Eisenhower, who was POTUS during most of my grade school years, that many times I saw people do double-takes on the street as we walked along. One time, when I was staying at my grandparents' house in Grand Rapids, he had taken me into the neighborhood barbershop for a trim and a man who had seen him through the window came bursting into the shop. "Jesus! I thought I saw Ike in here!" he said.
I've always felt nothing but good things about redheads.
Love the visual reference of the tracks straightening out into infinity. I used to set my head down on the toy train tracks as a kid to try and get the same effect.
I think your grandfather's formidable size had everything to do with him not getting the usual redhead jokes. You could take a guy whos arm grew out of his head. If the arm was huge and could inflict serious pain, people would probably not make fun of the guy.
My #2 wife was also a redhead. So for me to have said "I've always felt nothing but good things about redheads" was not strictly true. But that conjures up different kinds of visuals...
Posted by: Rob at December 16, 2005 09:52 AMMy GOTEE is red so I feel your pain.
seth
I don't believe it Seth but if you truly do have a red gotee, then 'stay red my brother.'
Posted by: Keesey at December 21, 2005 09:33 AM