Pro ginger
I’m from the land of redheads and people hollering out their thoughts about that. There are hundreds of ginger lovelies in Scotland, I still notice it when I go home. And, who else was brought up on Charlie Brown books and remembers that Charlie was majorly in love with Little Red-Haired Girl? These two experiences alone make you pretty aware of how flame-haired folk seem to attract more ridicule or exoticising than the average blonde or brunette.
People have strong reactions to redheads is what I’m saying, and this is the subject of artist Marina Rosso’s project, The Beautiful Gene (as covered in the Sunday Times at the weekend).
Photograph Marina Rosso
Marina was inspired to start her project a few years ago when she heard that Danish sperm bank Cyros International – also the largest sperm bank in the world – started turning away red-haired donors due to lack of demand. On her own website, she states that, “I decided to act as a conservation geneticist who would classify the genetic variation of a species in the first step to preserve its diversity and components. I started by creating a matrix that would represent the red hair gene through 48 categories, each uniquely combining this feature with five more physical traits (gender, height, build, eye color and hair type). Then I set out on a journey looking for real people who could literally embody these categories.”
Beauties, all of them. We salute your quest Marina from our pro-ginger house.
I’m away to start a Redheads file on Pinterest.
I am – and this may well be because I am myself a ginger – fascinated with red hair. The myths that surround it and those who have it (who typically are: angry, sexy, angry and sexy) and how divisive it is. Hope the stories about gingers dying out are apocryphal…
Yeah go ginger go ginger go! My friends daughter has the most gorgeous red curly and shiny hair not a frizz in sight) it makes me sigh when I see it. Other loves, Rita Hayworth (real or fake, who cares she rocked it) Prince Harry,( far to cheeky for his own good haha) and Damien (homeland) Lewis ‘sigh’ and another for the girls Princess Merida (brave) yes she’s a cartoon but she’s amazing, all hair and attitude, love it!
Oh and my first crush when I was 10, John’s Evans, as ginger as they came with startling blue eyes, how could I forget!
I could list hundreds of beautiful redheads and also have a Hannah in my life who is one – thanks for commenting both. x