Gingers. I simply cannot get enough. I find my eyes drawn to red-heads and purposely seek them out to be friends, lovers, or simple pieces of eye candy. What draws me to gingers is not the lack of skin pigments, or the generous dose of hair pigments (I do not know if that is the correct terminology but this is my blog, I do what I want) it is their care-free attitude to life, often sprinkled with quirky characteristics which leave me fascinated and jealous.
Perhaps it is society's willingness to mock the red-haired population and their comical responses to the taunts and soulless driven jokes, but nearly every ginger I meet embraces their natural hair colour and takes on the jokes as part of their persona. I have a friend who deserves all the love in the world. Being one of the funniest people I know he is usually the first to crack a 'ginger joke' just to ease people into conversation. I sometimes wonder if he does this to break the ice in a "I'm ginger, we can laugh, it is okay" kind of way. The first time I met him I labelled him as a 'ginger ninja' in an attempt to win him over with my wit, only to be amazed by his wide vocabulary and knowledge of every ginger joke under the sun. His ability to make friends at the snap of a finger made me fall head over heels for him. But what made me love this boy was his red hair. It set him apart from everybody. He wasn't just a tall funny brunette, he was a tall, funny ginger who wore it with pride. I am still friends with this boy, and I hope that if I ever have children one day he can visit and teach them his wit and perhaps give them the comfort and confidence I sometimes lack so they can be as perfect as him.
One of my very best and dear friends is a natural red-head. Her entire family was blessed with the ginger gene and they remain as one of the most inviting families I have ever had the pleasure to meet. When we first met we were shy (her more than me) third years, both exploring alcohol and study. What drew me to this girl was her sweetness. Without having properly hung out before we both went to an Honours meeting at our University and she willingly drank departmental wine, asked questions about people, listened and replied with hilarious yet modest tales. Her modesty and can-do attitude has led to a tight friendship. When we were close enough (sleeping at each others houses, building forts, making dinner, sharing our deepest secrets) I finally worked up the courage to tell her to stop dying her beautiful locks shades of blonde and brown. To hide such beauty was placing her into the category of everyday girls, and when she finally returned to her natural red hair she was transformed into a ginger goddess. I count my lucky stars everyday that I am friends with this girl. She blows my mind with her ability to care about others and laugh at herself. If I have children who are half as amazing as this girl I will think myself the luckiest person on the planet.
Having a hairdresser for a sister (one of the best in the world by the way - that girl has talent rays beaming out of her) flicking through fashion magazines at the salon is a regular activity. I find myself flipping through pages of blonde bobs, black curls, and brown fringes and closely inspecting pages full of red, ginger, strawberry blonde and auburn styles wishing that I had been blessed with the ginger gene and not cursed with the mousy brown locks I naturally have. This obsession has led to hours scrolling through pages of famous red-haired celebrities thanks to my favourite IMDB page and Google Images. My undying love for gingers has led me to obsessions with ginger celebrities, of whom I have placed into my "would turn gay for" and "would die to meet" lists. I have compiled a list of red-haired celebrities who have given ginger locks the popularity it so badly deserves.
Emma Stone
Naturally a blonde, Emma Stone has increasingly popularised the red-haired trend on an international scale. Being a fresh and ever so popular celebrity, the dyed red locks both look stunning and add to her intelligent and quirky personality. I say personality based on assumptions which I have gained by watching countless interviews, behind the scenes segments and every single film she has been in. What draws me to Emma Stone apart from her hair and unusual beauty is her husky voice. Having a husky voice myself (not from years of smoking, but from a lifetime of constant yelling and talking) I felt drawn to her as somebody other than Scarlet Johansson (who has ditched the iconic blonde hair for a sophisticated red-do) did not have the baby voice, or dull middle aged typical female voice and was a voice for the minority of girls who can put on a very convincing male voice if the time ever arose.
Julianne Moore
This natural ginger is hands down one of the best actresses ever. If you have ever seen Boogie Nights (which I cannot recommend enough) , A Single Man, Children of Men, and Evolution (to name a select varied few) you would know that Julianne Moore is an actress who pushes the boundaries and delivers convincing performances time after time, meeting criteria of both genre and audience expectations. Being a similar age to my mother, Julianne's beauty is both breath taking and natural. I am not 100% sure if she has ever been under the knife like so many of our plastic loving celebrities out there, but her beauty appears to be ageless and captivating. What sets her apart from other celebrities is her long, stunning red hair. The red and auburn tones perfectly accentuate her milky white skin. It is in my opinion that if she had brown, blonde, or black hair she would still be the sensational actress yet she may have not made it to the title of Star as her red hair gives her a unique and recognisable trait, a necessity in Hollywood.
Amy Adams
The first time I saw this actress was in Drop Dead Gorgeous as a beauty pageant contestant, playing a supporting role against Kirsten Dunst, Denise Richards and Kirstie Alley. Her hair was strawberry blonde but the entertaining and sweet performance she gave intrigued me to follow her career. Amy Adams has blossomed into a internationally renowned celebrity who deserves awards and praised due to her outstanding collection of performances. Living in the media saturated world one of her most recent roles in the almighty Muppets film has, in my opinion, allowed her to become an icon to children, casting aside ginger jokes and making the hair colour fashionable and desirable.
Florence Welch
Not only can this woman wail, but by gosh is she stunning. Not a natural red-head, the famous 'Florence and the Machine' singer has made red-locks a fashion necessity. I remember when Florence and the Machine arrived on the music scene. Suddenly there was this funky red-head who wore elaborate outfits, sang her heart out and delivered unique singles time after time. Being an impressionable culture (me in particular, my adaptability and eagerness to please is no secret) brunettes and blondes were transforming themselves into Florence wannabes (I say wannabe in the most friendly way possibly, the negative connotations of this word are unnecessary in this context). After a long-time of South Park fuelled ginger jokes supported by angry gingers validating their soul's presence, the red-head community is finally being celebrated and advertised as a necessity.
Facebook and I have a weird relationship. I hate that people update their statuses with constant reminders of what they are cooking for dinner, when they last took a shit, what restaurant they are eating it, what they named their new car, and bitchy vague comments about people they hate. I am being a complete hypocrite here as I have updated my status ticking every box of 'hates' at least once or twice. What I do love, however, are people who post photos of new hairstyles, particularly those who have dyed theirs red. For the beautiful blondes who turn ginger, the brunettes who go crazy and lighten their hair red, and the dark haired people who relish in red tinges - I salute you.
This trend which has become increasingly popular is fantastic. What annoys me about the 'Hipster Generation' is that the anti-mainstream mindset means that talented musicians, actors, and fashion accessories get put down as soon as mainstream culture places it onto the ever changing band-wagon. Living in a city where mainstream is the minority and hipsters are the majority, I am pleased to see both groups jumping on the red-head train. What would break my heart if this trend were to reverse and in an attempt to go against the grain hipsters were to publicly announce their dislike for ginger, and in a vain attempt to copy the hipsters, mainstream followers were to copy this mindset. Although, in saying that, with Hollywood shoving red-haired celebrities down our throats and brainwashing Western society to love what they tell us to love we will simply comply and do as we are told.
One of the reasons I wrote this blog is that I need to reassure myself that I fit neither into hipster nor mainstream society. I have loved ginger hair since I was a young girl. I cannot remember mocking gingers until high school. Before then, ginger hair was nothing to be laughed at. For me, it was to be loved and cursed that I too could not grow such beautiful hair. When it became internationally cool to mock gingers I felt a sense of guilt if people were being overly mocked to the point where it was no longer about the hair colour, and more about the person instead. Being a person who hates personal attacks and bullying, taunting gingers was a chance for mediocre bullies to exercise their power over what became a minority. I think this is what caused me to love ginger people. Majority of the red-heads rose up against the personal attacks and retaliated with witty comebacks, ripping themselves out, or if it were personal enough, pointing out the mocking parties' flaws.
So in a tribute to the gingers of this world I have had my locks dyed ginger by the fabulous Elizabeth Sherriff of Glory Hair Salon. Here is me. I am a ginger for the win.
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