Red hair
This article is about
people with red hair, who are sometimes called "redheads".
Cultural reactions have
varied from ridicule to admiration; many common stereotypes exist regarding
redheads and they are often portrayed as fiery-tempered.
In various times and
cultures, red hair has been prized, feared, and ridiculed.
Beliefs about temperament
A common belief about
redheads is that they have fiery tempers and sharp tongues. In Anne of Green
Gables, a character says of Anne Shirley, the redheaded heroine, that "her
temper matches her hair", while in The Catcher in the Rye
During the early stages of
modern medicine, red hair was thought to be a sign of a sanguine temperament.
In the Indian medicinal practice of Ayurveda, redheads are seen as most likely
to have a Pitta temperament.
Ayurveda is suppose to be very old,
from 1200 years up to (some say) 5000 years old
if it comes from India which varies only in range of dark colouring
how come they have records on redheads?
from 1200 years up to (some say) 5000 years old
if it comes from India which varies only in range of dark colouring
how come they have records on redheads?
In several countries such as India , Iran , Bangladesh and Pakistan
This is because Aryan gods in Rig Veda are described as blond and redhead.
They know it.
They know it.
Demonisation of Red
Another belief is that
redheads are highly sexed; for example, Jonathan Swift satirizes redhead
stereotypes in part four of Gulliver's Travels, "A Voyage to the Country
of the Houyhnhnms," when he writes that: "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." Swift goes on to write
that "neither was the hair of this brute of a red colour (which
might have been some excuse for an appetite a little irregular) but black as a
sloe". Such beliefs were given a veneer of scientific credibility in the
19th century by Cesare Lombroso and Guglielmo Ferrero. They concluded that red
hair was associated with crimes of lust, and claimed that 48% of "criminal
women" were redheads.
In the novel and film
Red-Headed Woman, the titular protagonist is a sexually aggressive home-wrecker
who frequently throws violent temper tantrums.
Medieval beliefs
Barbarossa (Redbeard),
Ottoman Admiral
Red hair was thought to be
a mark of a beastly sexual desire and moral degeneration. A savage red-haired
man is portrayed in the fable by Grimm brothers (Der Eisenhans) as the spirit
of the forest of iron. Theophilus Presbyter describes how the blood of a
red-haired young man is necessary to create gold from copper, in a mixture with
the ashes of a basilisk.
Montague Summers, in his
translation of the Malleus Maleficarum, notes that red hair and green eyes were
thought to be the sign of a witch, a werewolf or a vampire during the Middle
Ages;
Those whose hair is red, of
a certain peculiar shade, are unmistakably vampires. It is significant that in
ancient Egypt, as Manetho tells us, human sacrifices were offered at the grave
of Osiris, and the victims were red-haired men who were burned, their ashes
being scattered far and wide by winnowing-fans. It is held by some authorities
that this was done to fertilize the fields and produce a bounteous harvest, red-hair
symbolizing the golden wealth of the corn. But these men were called
Typhonians, and were representatives not of Osiris but of his evil rival
Typhon, whose hair was red.
Modern-day discrimination
"Carrot head"
redirects here. For the French novel, see Poil de carotte.
In his 1885 book 'I Say No',
Wilkie Collins wrote
"The prejudice against habitual silence, among the lower order of the people, is almost as inveterate as the prejudice against red hair."
"The prejudice against habitual silence, among the lower order of the people, is almost as inveterate as the prejudice against red hair."
In his 1895 memoir and
history The Gurneys of Earlham, Augustus John Cuthbert Hare described an
incident of harassment: "The second son, John, was born in 1750. As a boy
he had bright red hair, and it is amusingly recorded that one day in the
streets of Norwich a number of boys followed him, pointing to his red locks and
saying, " Look at that boy ; he's got a bonfire on the top of his
head," and that John Gurney was so disgusted that he went to a barber's,
had his head shaved, and went home in a wig. He grew up, however, a remarkably
attractive-looking young man."
In British English, the
words "ginger" or "ginga" are sometimes used to describe
red-headed people (and are at times considered insulting), with terms such as
"gingerphobia" and "gingerism" used by the British media.
In Britain
"Gingerism" has been compared to racism, although this is widely disputed, and bodies such as the UK Commission for Racial Equality do not monitor cases of discrimination and hate crimes against redheads.
On this note of legal discrimination of discrimination of redheads
it is obvious that in entire recorded His-Story redhead was persecuted, tortured and brought to a level of extinction trough "persecution of Jews" and "Church inquisition".
"Gingerism" has been compared to racism, although this is widely disputed, and bodies such as the UK Commission for Racial Equality do not monitor cases of discrimination and hate crimes against redheads.
On this note of legal discrimination of discrimination of redheads
it is obvious that in entire recorded His-Story redhead was persecuted, tortured and brought to a level of extinction trough "persecution of Jews" and "Church inquisition".
To all that studied persecution of witches it must be clear that it was about redheads because it was obvious imidiate mark of the witch with no possibility to save her/himself nor those around them like family and friends.
Same case is with so called persecution of Jews, at least in Europe when you talk about Jews you do not talk about Semites from deserts nor Israel, you talk about specific "race" that probably inhabited entire Europe once upon a time and most likely stems from Neandertalers.
Regardless of what science is trying lately to depict Neandertalers as dark, tons of red curls are still hanging on the walls of the European caves, colour is bright orange-red.
Same case is with so called persecution of Jews, at least in Europe when you talk about Jews you do not talk about Semites from deserts nor Israel, you talk about specific "race" that probably inhabited entire Europe once upon a time and most likely stems from Neandertalers.
Regardless of what science is trying lately to depict Neandertalers as dark, tons of red curls are still hanging on the walls of the European caves, colour is bright orange-red.
Ancient Ashkenazi are European, same is for Sephards.
Name of Europe self stems from Goddess Europa who's etymology is "unknown".
South Slavic use to call Europe Jevropa and in old Russian it was Yewroba
around 14th century name of Europe was Jevrodba in Church Slavonic.
Slavic words are branching; if you except obvious "Jew" in begin
you are left with "ROPA"-(P=T=D interchanganble slavic)=ROD or family
"ROBA"- ROB means a slave
and "RODBA" is full old slavic word for family
RODB-INA (ina- feminine possesive sufix in plural form)
How come that Slavic word for family ROD or RODB
have been separated into such contradictory MEANings?
(trough grammar made by church)
Name of Europe self stems from Goddess Europa who's etymology is "unknown".
South Slavic use to call Europe Jevropa and in old Russian it was Yewroba
around 14th century name of Europe was Jevrodba in Church Slavonic.
Slavic words are branching; if you except obvious "Jew" in begin
you are left with "ROPA"-(P=T=D interchanganble slavic)=ROD or family
"ROBA"- ROB means a slave
and "RODBA" is full old slavic word for family
RODB-INA (ina- feminine possesive sufix in plural form)
How come that Slavic word for family ROD or RODB
have been separated into such contradictory MEANings?
(trough grammar made by church)
Etymology of Europe
The etymology of Europe is uncertain.
One theory suggests that it is derived from the Greek εὐρύς (eurus), meaning "wide, broad" and ὤψ/ὠπ-/ὀπτ- (ōps/ōp-/opt-), meaning "eye, face, countenance", hence Eurṓpē, "wide-gazing", "broad of aspect" (compare with glaukōpis (γλαυκῶπις 'grey-eyed') Athena or boōpis (βοὠπις 'ox-eyed') Hera). Broad has been an epithet of Earth herself in the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European religion. Another theory suggests that it is based on a Semitic word such as the Akkadian erebu meaning "to go down, set" (in reference to the sun), cognate to Phoenician 'ereb "evening; west" and Arabic Maghreb, Hebrew ma'arav (see also Erebus, PIE *h1regʷos, "darkness").
One theory suggests that it is derived from the Greek εὐρύς (eurus), meaning "wide, broad" and ὤψ/ὠπ-/ὀπτ- (ōps/ōp-/opt-), meaning "eye, face, countenance", hence Eurṓpē, "wide-gazing", "broad of aspect" (compare with glaukōpis (γλαυκῶπις 'grey-eyed') Athena or boōpis (βοὠπις 'ox-eyed') Hera). Broad has been an epithet of Earth herself in the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European religion. Another theory suggests that it is based on a Semitic word such as the Akkadian erebu meaning "to go down, set" (in reference to the sun), cognate to Phoenician 'ereb "evening; west" and Arabic Maghreb, Hebrew ma'arav (see also Erebus, PIE *h1regʷos, "darkness").
From countries in the East it is obvious that Europe is as opposite to Japan as it can be.
Sun sets in Europe from their point of view.
Sun sets in Europe from their point of view.
Most major world languages use words derived from "Europa" to refer to the continent.
Japanese name of the European Union, Ōshū Rengō (欧州連合?), despite the katakana Yōroppa
(ヨーロッパ?) being more commonly used.
Japanese name of the European Union, Ōshū Rengō (欧州連合?), despite the katakana Yōroppa
(ヨーロッパ?) being more commonly used.
Yōroppa - there it is again!Ōshū Rengō sound much like "Ox Reign",
well Europe IS equated with a cow. (bovine or βοὠπις)
well Europe IS equated with a cow. (bovine or βοὠπις)
Europa's mother Queen Telephassa ("far-shining") but elsewhere her mother is Argiope ("white-faced"). Other sources, such as the Iliad, claim that she is the daughter of Agenor's son, the "sun-red" Phoenix..
Far shinning and white faced is usually Moon
Sun red Phoenix is Dawn or Venus-referal to a sunset time, evening star.
Venus is bringer of Dawn and Dusk, shines bright and is red planet with it's own source of light that is due to it's volcanic nature.
Venus sound like Phoenix and Phoenicia and Vinca which does have a red-haired Goddess or few.
Here we are, Demonising of the Venus and the Goddess and all women
once again turning her into a Lucifer.
Far shinning and white faced is usually Moon
Sun red Phoenix is Dawn or Venus-referal to a sunset time, evening star.
Venus is bringer of Dawn and Dusk, shines bright and is red planet with it's own source of light that is due to it's volcanic nature.
Venus sound like Phoenix and Phoenicia and Vinca which does have a red-haired Goddess or few.
Here we are, Demonising of the Venus and the Goddess and all women
once again turning her into a Lucifer.
Nonetheless, individuals
and families in Britain 2003, a 20-year-old was
stabbed in the back for "being ginger". In 2007, a UK woman won an
award from a tribunal after being sexually harassed and receiving abuse because
of her red hair; in the same year, a family in Newcastle upon Tyne, was forced
to move twice after being targeted for abuse and hate crime on account of their
red hair. In May 2009, a
schoolboy committed suicide after being bullied for having red hair. In 2013, a fourteen-year-old
boy in Lincoln
This prejudice has been
satirised on a number of TV shows. The British comedian Catherine Tate (herself
a redhead) appeared as a red-haired character in a running sketch of her series
The Catherine Tate Show. The sketch saw fictional character Sandra Kemp, who
was forced to seek solace in a refuge for ginger people because she had been
ostracised from society. The British comedy Bo' Selecta! (starring redhead
Leigh Francis) featured a spoof documentary which involved a caricature of Mick
Hucknall presenting a show in which celebrities (played by themselves) dyed
their hair red for a day and went about daily life being insulted by people.
(Hucknall, who says that he has repeatedly faced prejudice or been described as
ugly on account of his hair colour, argues that Gingerism should be described
as a form of racism. Comedian Tim Minchin, himself a redhead, also covered the
topic in his song "Prejudice".
Film and television
programmes often portray school bullies as having red hair.
The pejorative use of the
word "ginger" and related discrimination was used to illustrate a
point about racism and prejudice in the "Ginger Kids", "Le Petit
Tourette", "It's a Jersey Thing" and "Fatbeard"
episodes of South Park. However, children with red hair are often themselves
targeted by bullies; "Somebody with ginger hair will stand out from the
crowd," says anti-bullying expert Louise Burfitt-Dons.
I say this is downplaying of the problem.
I say this is downplaying of the problem.
In Australian slang,
redheads are often nicknamed "Blue" or "Bluey". More
recently, they have been referred to as "rangas" (a word derived from
the red-haired ape, the orangutan), sometimes with derogatory connotations. The
word "rufus" has been used in both Australian and British slang to
refer to red-headed people; based on a variant of rufous, a reddish-brown
color.
In November 2008 social
networking website Facebook received criticism after a 'Kick a Ginger' group,
which aimed to establish a "National Kick a Ginger Day" on 20
November, acquired almost 5,000 members. A 14-year-old boy from Vancouver
In December 2009 British
supermarket chain Tesco withdrew a Christmas card which had the image of a
child with red hair sitting on the lap of Santa Claus, and the words:
"Santa loves all kids. Even ginger ones" after customers complained
the card was offensive.
In October 2010, Harriet
Harman, the former Equality Minister in the British government under Labour,
faced accusations of prejudice after she described the red-haired Treasury
secretary Danny Alexander as a "ginger rodent". Alexander responded
to the insult by stating that he was "proud to be ginger". Harman was
subsequently forced to apologise for the comment, after facing criticism for
prejudice against a minority group.
In September 2011, Cryos
International, one of the world's largest sperm banks, announced that it would
no longer accept donations from red-haired men due to low demand from women
seeking artificial insemination.
Use of term in Singapore and Malaysia
-trough invading English ,no doubt.
-trough invading English ,no doubt.
Unspeakable attrocities are done to Irish especialy!
(Irish women was sold as a cattle on market in New World, todays America)
The term ang mo (Chinese: 红毛; pinyin: hóng máo; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: âng-mo͘) in Hokkien (Min Nan) Chinese means "red-haired", and is used
in Malaysia and Singapore
The Chinese characters for ang mo are the same as those in the
historical Japanese term Kōmō (紅毛), which was
used during the Edo period (1603–1868) as an epithet for Dutch or Northern
European people. It primarily referred to Dutch traders who were the only
Europeans allowed to trade with Japan
Dutch are primarily blonde to brown, only some are ginger.
Middle English gingere, alteration of gingivere, from late Old English gingifer, gingiber (influenced by Old French gingibre), from Medieval Latin gingiber, zingeber, from Latin zingiberi, from Late Greek ζιγγίβερις (zingíberis), from Middle Indic (compare Pali siṅgivera, Sanskrit शृङ्गवेर (śṛṅgavera)) (influenced by शृङ्गं (śṛṅgaṃ) ‘horn’), from Old Tamil [script needed] (iṅci) [script needed] (vēr), literally, ‘ginger root’ (mod. Tamil இஞ்சி (iñci, “ginger”) வேர் (vēr, “root”))
Cockney rhyming slang: ginger beer = queer
(Britain, Cockney rhyming slang) a homosexual.
śṛṅgavera is AKBAR which is achiever or someone that aspires -in short it would be breatheµ
Ginger in sanskrit;
आर्द्रक Ardraka n. ginger
शुण्ठी Zunthi f. dry ginger
Ardraka is a star in Orion belt, Betelgeuse, i
n Rig Vedas Ārdrā translates to "green" or "the moist one"
(this is Earth self, red clay of creation rings any bells?)
n Rig Vedas Ārdrā translates to "green" or "the moist one"
(this is Earth self, red clay of creation rings any bells?)
Zunthi is a same word as Xanta which is very similar to Xanthoi-ancient term for redhaired.
Akbar
An arabic word which literally translates to mean Great; The root word for Akbar is Kabir which means the same thing but is particularly applied towards one of the attributes of God, and means "The Greatest." Akbar on the other hand simply means Great.
Kabir
Kabiri in ancient world have been ginger priests in the Temple of Artemis and Kybele.
This temples of old Mother Goddess have been called " Synagogues of Satan"
The synagogue of Satan is mentioned twice in Revelation, once in Jesus’ letter to the first-century church in Smyrna and once to the church in Philadelphia. In both cases, the synagogue of Satan is opposed to the mission and message of the church.
To the church in Smyrna, Jesus says, “I know your afflictions and your poverty—yet you are rich! I know about the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan” (Revelation 2:9).
To the church of Philadelphia in Asia Minor, Jesus says, “I will make those who are of the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews though they are not, but are liars—I will make them come and fall down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you” (Revelation 3:9).
In short, the synagogue of Satan was a group of unbelieving Jews who were persecuting Christians. These groups were guilty of slandering the church in Smyrna and opposing the church in Philadelphia in some way.
Well, yay for these ancient Jews!
I wish they succeded in destruction of Christianity. (as we know it today)
Well, yay for these ancient Jews!
I wish they succeded in destruction of Christianity. (as we know it today)
Red is colour of blood, do not forget this.
As redhead myself of christian family first time I realised I'm different and targeted was when I was a small child. From being compared to a pink worm to a freak and fury, devil, witch that should be killed at birth "if I was born only 100 years ago"!
Sure I was admired too,
old aunties called on Menrva (Minerva) to protect me,
other children called me for protection from bullies, fearless, right that! :)
Sure I was admired too,
old aunties called on Menrva (Minerva) to protect me,
other children called me for protection from bullies, fearless, right that! :)
and men was always intrigued with my looks and temper.
Truth is I had always had redhaired friends because we do have unmatched temper!
Walking, climbing, rocking and rolling all over, restless and curious, fearless to some extend too, fear tends to grow on you with age, after some unpleasant experiences, normal, I guess...
I started reading at age of 9 everywhere...anything and as far as I can recolect my memories a lot have been written on redheads, some books stated that we stink even!
I don't know why are we so demonised but I will be damned if I don't try to find out!
Yours,
Red Echo!
Truth is I had always had redhaired friends because we do have unmatched temper!
Walking, climbing, rocking and rolling all over, restless and curious, fearless to some extend too, fear tends to grow on you with age, after some unpleasant experiences, normal, I guess...
I started reading at age of 9 everywhere...anything and as far as I can recolect my memories a lot have been written on redheads, some books stated that we stink even!
I don't know why are we so demonised but I will be damned if I don't try to find out!
Yours,
Red Echo!
Funeral scene
redhaired in the middle
1700 mummies found near Cairo.
All of them are white skinned, blondes and redheads, but buried separately!
www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2877855/Cemetery-one-MILLION-mummies-unearthed-Egypt-1-500-year-old-desert-necropolis-largest-found.html
Religious and mythological traditions
In the Iliad, Achilles' hair is described as ξανθῆς (ksanthēs), usually
translated as blonde, or golden[91] but sometimes as red or tawny. His son
Neoptolemus also bears the name Pyrrhus, a possible reference to his own red
hair.
The Norse god Thor is usually described as having red hair.
Mary Magdalene is commonly portrayed with long red hair, as in this
painting by Anthony Frederick Augustus Sandys
The Hebrew word usually translated "ruddy" or
"reddish-brown" (admoni אדמוני,
from the root ADM אדם, see also Adam and Edom
Early artistic representations of Mary Magdalene
usually depict her as having long flowing red hair, although a description of
her hair color was never mentioned in the Bible, and it is possible the color is
an effect caused by pigment degradation in the ancient paint.
Judas Iscariot is also represented with red hair in
Spanish culture and in the works of William Shakespeare, reinforcing the
negative stereotype.
Redhaired Thracian
Unique Thracian mask, that was stolen from Plovdiv museum in 1996 was discovered and returned back. The mask belonged to a Thracian nobleman and is made from silver. It was found inside his tomb in Kamenitsa Bulgaria in 1905. There are only three such masks in the world, one is kept in the Louvre museum and one in the national museum in Italy.
Red hair occurs naturally in 1–2% of the human population. It occurs more frequently (2–6%) in people of northern or western European ancestry, and less frequently in other populations. Red hair appears most commonly in people with two copies of a recessive allele on chromosome 16 which produces an altered version of the MC1R protein.
Red hair varies from a deep burgundy through burnt orange to bright copper. It is characterized by high levels of the reddish pigment pheomelanin and relatively low levels of the dark pigment eumelanin. The term redhead has been in use since at least 1510. It is associated with fair skin color, lighter eye colors (gray, blue, green, and hazel), freckles, and sensitivity to ultraviolet light.
Woman with red hair, Papua New Guinea
Several accounts by Greek writers mention redheaded people. A fragment by the poet Xenophanes describes the Thracians as blue-eyed and red-haired.
In Asia, red hair has been found among the ancient Tocharians, who occupied the Tarim Basin in what is now the northwesternmost province of China
Red hair is also found amongst Polynesians, and is especially common in some tribes and family groups. In Polynesian culture red hair has traditionally been seen as a sign of descent from high-ranking ancestors and a mark of rulership.
Modern
North and West Europe
Today, red hair is most commonly found at the northern and western fringes of Europe ?
it is associated particularly with people in the British Isles (although Victorian era[citation needed] ethnographers consider the Udmurt people of the Volga to be "the most red-headed men in the world").
In Scotland Ireland
Eastern and Southern Europe
Carleton Coon's 1939 book The Races of Europe stated that rufosity often occurred in Montenegrins. At the time around 26% of Montenegrins had reddish brown hair with noticeably lighter beards: around 43% of them had reddish brown beard, while 8% of them had pure red beards. Noticeable freckling (trait associated with red hair and rufosity) occurred in about 25% of the population.
In Southern Italy he wrote that 16% of the population at that time had red, reddish brown or auburn hair. Noticeable freckling occurred in about 10% of the population.
The Berber populations of Morocco and northern Algeria Morocco and Kabyles from Algeria
Red hair is also found amongst the Ashkenazi Jewish populations. In European culture, prior to the 20th century, red hair was often seen as a stereotypically Jewish trait: during the Spanish Inquisition, all those with red hair were identified as Jewish. In Italy Russia
In Asia, genetic red hair is rare, but can be found in the Levant (Cyprus , Syria , Lebanon , Jordan , Israel and Palestine ), in Turkey , in Caucasia, in Northern Kazakhstan , among Uighurs and among Indo-Iranians. The use of henna on hair and skin for various reasons is common in Asia . When henna is used on hair it dyes the hair to different shades of red.
Emigration from Eurasia and North Africa added to the population of red haired humans in the Americas , Australia , New Zealand and Southern Africa . In the United States U.S. the largest population of redheads in the world, at 6 to 18 million, compared to approximately 650,000 in Scotland and 420,000 in Ireland
Udmurt resettlement area in the Volga-Ural region of Russia are the "most red-headed" people in the World.
The Udmurts are a people who speak the Udmurt language. In the course of history, Russian-speakers have referred to them as Chud Otyatskaya (чудь отяцкая), Otyaks, Wotyaks or Votyaks (the most-known name). Tatar-speakers call the Udmurts Ar.
The ancient Macedonian historian Herodotus described the long-extinct Budini tribe, possible relatives of the modern Udmurts, as predominantly red-headed.
Genetics
The pigment pheomelanin gives red hair its distinctive color. Red hair has far more of the pigment pheomelanin than it has of the dark pigment eumelanin.
The genetics of red hair, discovered in 1997, appear to be associated with the melanocortin-1 receptor (MC1R), which is found on chromosome 16. Red hair is associated with fair skin color because low concentrations of eumelanin throughout the body of those with red hair caused by a MC1R mutation can cause both. The lower melanin concentration in skin confers the advantage that a sufficient concentration of important Vitamin D can be produced under low light conditions. However, when UV-radiation is strong (as in regions close to the equator) the lower concentration of melanin leads to several medical disadvantages, such as a higher risk of skin cancer.
The MC1R recessive variant gene that gives people red hair and non-tanning skin is also associated with freckles, though it is not uncommon to see a redhead without freckles. Eighty percent of redheads have an MC1R gene variant, and the prevalence of these alleles is highest in Scotland and Ireland
Red hair can originate from several changes on the MC1R-gene. If one of these changes is present on both chromosomes then the respective individual is likely to have red hair. This type of inheritance is described as an autosomal recessive mode of inheritance. Even if both parents do not have red hair themselves, both can be carriers for the gene and have a redheaded child.
Genetic studies of dizygotic (fraternal) twins indicate that the MC1R gene is not solely responsible for the red hair phenotype; unidentified modifier genes exist, making variance in the MC1R gene necessary, but not always sufficient, for red hair production.
The alleles Arg151Cys, Arg160Trp, Asp294His, and Arg142His on MC1R are shown to be recessives for the red hair phenotype. The gene HCL2 (also called RHC or RHA) on chromosome 4 may also be related to red hair.
In species other than primates, red hair has different genetic origins and mechanisms.
Origins
Red hair is the rarest natural hair color in humans. The non-tanning skin associated with red hair may have been advantageous in far-northern climates where sunlight is scarce. Studies by Bodmer and Cavalli-Sforza (1976) hypothesized that lighter skin pigmentation prevents rickets in colder climates by encouraging higher levels of Vitamin D production and also allows the individual to retain heat better than someone with darker skin. In 2000, Harding et al. concluded that red hair was not the result of positive selection and instead proposed that it occurs because of a lack of negative selection. In Africa , for example, red hair is selected against because high levels of sun would be harmful to untanned skin. However, in Northern Europe this does not happen, so redheads come about through genetic drift.
Estimates on the original occurrence of the currently active gene for red hair vary from 20,000 to 100,000 years ago.
A DNA study has concluded that some Neanderthals also had red hair, although the mutation responsible for this differs from that which causes red hair in modern humans.
Extinction hoax
See also: Disappearing blonde gene
A 2007 report in The Courier-Mail, which cited the National Geographic magazine and unnamed "geneticists", said that red hair is likely to die out in the near future. Other blogs and news sources ran similar stories that attributed the research to the magazine or the "Oxford Hair Foundation". However, a HowStuffWorks article says that the foundation was funded by hair-dye maker Procter & Gamble, and that other experts had dismissed the research as either lacking in evidence or simply bogus. The National Geographic article in fact states "while redheads may decline, the potential for red isn't going away".
Red hair is caused by a relatively rare recessive gene, the expression of which can skip generations. It is not likely to disappear at any time in the foreseeable future.
Medical implications of the red hair gene
Melanoma
Melanin in the skin aids UV tolerance through suntanning, but fair-skinned persons lack the levels of melanin needed to prevent UV-induced DNA-damage. Studies have shown that red hair alleles in MC1R increase freckling and decrease tanning ability. It has been found that Europeans who are heterozygous for red hair exhibit increased sensitivity to UV radiation.
Red hair and its relationship to UV sensitivity are of interest to many melanoma researchers. Sunshine can both be good and bad for a person's health and the different alleles on MC1R represent these adaptations. It also has been shown that individuals with pale skin are highly susceptible to a variety of skin cancers such as melanoma, basal cell carcinoma, and squamous cell carcinoma.
Pain tolerance and injury
Two studies have demonstrated that people with red hair have different sensitivity to pain compared to people with other hair colors. One study found that people with red hair are more sensitive to thermal pain (associated with naturally occurring low vitamin K levels), while another study concluded that redheads are less sensitive to pain from multiple modalities, including noxious stimuli such as electrically induced pain.
Researchers have found that people with red hair require greater amounts of anesthetic. Other research publications have concluded that women with naturally red hair require less of the painkiller pentazocine than do either women of other hair colors or men of any hair color. A study showed women with red hair had a greater analgesic response to that particular pain medication than men. A follow-up study by the same group showed that men and women with red hair had a greater analgesic response to morphine-6-glucuronide.
The unexpected relationship of hair color to pain tolerance appears to exist because redheads have a mutation in a hormone receptor that can apparently respond to at least two types of hormones: the pigmentation-driving melanocyte-stimulating hormone (MSH), and the pain-relieving endorphins. (Both derive from the same precursor molecule, POMC, and are structurally similar.) Specifically, redheads have a mutated melanocortin-1 receptor (MC1R) gene that produces an altered receptor for MSH. Melanocytes, the cells that produce pigment in skin and hair, use the MC1R to recognize and respond to MSH from the anterior pituitary gland. Melanocyte-stimulating hormone normally stimulates melanocytes to make black eumelanin, but if the melanocytes have a mutated receptor, they will make reddish pheomelanin instead. MC1R also occurs in the brain, where it is one of a large set of POMC-related receptors that are apparently involved not only in responding to MSH, but also in responses to endorphins and possibly other POMC-derived hormones. Though the details are not clearly understood, it appears that there is some crosstalk between the POMC hormones; this may explain the link between red hair and pain tolerance.
There is little or no evidence to support the belief that people with red hair have a higher chance than people with other hair colors to hemorrhage or suffer other bleeding complications. One study, however, reports a link between red hair and a higher rate of bruising.
Red hair of pathological origin
Most red hair is caused by the MC1R gene and is non-pathological. However, in rare cases red hair can be associated with disease or genetic disorder:
In cases of severe malnutrition, normally dark human hair may turn red or blonde. The condition, part of a syndrome known as kwashiorkor, is a sign of critical starvation caused chiefly by protein deficiency, and is common during periods of famine.
One variety of albinism (Type 3, aka rufous albinism), sometimes seen in Africans and inhabitants of New Guinea
Red hair is found on people lacking pro-opiomelanocortin.
Fashion and art
"The Accolade" by Edmund Blair Leighton
Queen Elizabeth I of England was a redhead, and during the Elizabethan era in England
Sometimes, red hair darkens as people get older, becoming a more brownish color or losing some of its vividness. This leads some to associate red hair with youthfulness, a quality that is generally considered desirable.
Many painters have exhibited a fascination with red hair. The hair color "Titian" takes its name from the artist Titian, who often painted women with red hair. Early Renaissance artist Sandro Botticelli's famous painting The Birth of Venus depicts the mythological goddess Venus as a redhead. Other painters notable for their redheads include the Pre-Raphaelites, Edmund Leighton, Modigliani, and Gustav Klimt.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's story The Red-Headed League involves a man who is asked to become a member of a mysterious group of red-headed people. The 1943 film DuBarry Was a Lady featured red-heads Lucille Ball and Red Skelton in Technicolor.
