Proud redheads unite in cyberspace

By SHELLEY HOWELLS

Despite starting life as a blonde, I always thought of myself as a redhead.

Maybe because of the pasty skin, freckles and the ability to get sunburn from a reading lamp.

More likely, it was formative-years' exposure to Ann-Margret in Viva Las Vegas. Yikes.

As soon as possible, I became a redhead and stayed happily and vibrantly that way for a very long time.

Then came a stint living overseas, in a land where hairdressers seemed capable of creating only purpleheads, so I became a greyhead, which confirmed a long-standing belief: redheads have more fun.

Unless, of course, they are born that way.

For starters, natural redheads actually feel pain more than the rest of us. Recent research has found that those of the auburn persuasion need more anaesthetic when going under the knife. This may explain the "fiery redhead" reputation - they're not bad-tempered, they're in pain.

A quick search online confirms that being a natural-born redhead does not make for an easy life.

Redheads United is "an organisation for redheads who feel that anti-redhead behaviour has gone on for far too long and should come to an end".

You can nominate "reddists" (those guilty of "reddism", including The Times and the sitcom Third Rock from the Sun), read about ginger issues, and share tales of carrot-top-type tauntings.

Ginger Nation, "the home of all gingernuts", is a more upbeat site until you reach the "ginger celebrities" section and find the Ginger Bread Man and the caption, "May only be a piece of cake, but it symbolises the fate of Gingers all over. One minute you're warm and content, the next you're being eaten alive by an anti-ginger individual". Ouch.

Red and Proud includes "red" recipes and headlines, such as the return of Basil Brush to British TV.

One of the larger fiery follicle sites is Realm of Redheads, set up in 1998 and has more than 2000 members. This site is unusual in that it allows bottle-reds to join. Their motto: "It's not just a hair colour, it's a state of mind".

It is possible to explore the red state of mind by taking a look at the Redhead Blogs webring where you may just discover that redheads are as dull and self-absorbed as the bulk of bloggers.

And there are the redhead jokes sites - for which many are not suitable for a family audience.

If blonde jokes are about stupidity, redhead jokes are about bad-tempers and prodigious sexual appetites. But there is the occasional oddly appropriate find:

Q: How do you know when a redhead has been using a computer?

A: There's a hammer embedded in the monitor.

Ann-Margret

Study showing redheads need more anesthesia

Redheads United

Ginger Nation

Red and Proud

Realm of Redheads

Redhead Blogs webring