UK Gingers See Red Over Harassment

Hair-color discrimination a burning issue, say British carrot tops

By Dustin Lushing, Newser Staff

Posted Jun 6, 2007 4:13 PM CDT

(Newser) – The UK is ignoring a vicious form of discrimination, the BBC reports—one based not on skin color but hair color. Britain's red-headed schoolkids face bullying, women feel stereotyped, and auburn-haired Britons report harassment with epithets like carrot-top, copper-top, ginger-nut, and even Ronald McDonald.

Photographer Charlotte Rushton shot 300 British redheads for her book, Ginger Snaps, and says all but two have endured torment. The first anti-red hair hate crime may have occurred in 2003 when a 20-year-old was stabbed in the back. "There is nothing like this in the US," one commentator explains. In that enlightened country, "red hair is considered glamorous."

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UK Gingers See Red Over Harassment