On red hair and freckles

[NuclearFairy]

I often see red hair being used as a short hand for Irish/Irish descent in fiction. When all of the redheads I've personally known have been of Scottish or Scandinavian descent. I don't get it, it's like everyone think that Ireland is full of redheads and they exist no where else.

And then there's freckles, which seems to only exist on redheads in fiction. When the majority of people I've known with freckles have had brown or blond hair. Heck, I even knew a black guy once with freckles. His girlfriend liked to make him blush by counting them. It was actually pretty adorable.

So where did these (and possibly other) stereotypes come from? And if you're writing something that ignores them, is it worth it to call attention to it?

 

[AG31]

I have an Irish background, and I had red hair and freckles. (Gray now.)

 

[dirk2024]

So where did these (and possibly other) stereotypes come from? And if you're writing something that ignores them, is it worth it to call attention to it?

I think our characters should be based on what we see in the real world. I agree with your take on the "irish" connection, knowing full well how many are in Scotland.

I admit to not writing about freckles. No reason why as I do find them attactive. I just hadn't thought about it.

 

[TheLobster]

If redheads with freckles are a stereotype, it’s only because it’s true. If you find it odd, you probably have a limited conception of what red hair means. It’s not just literal grated carrot on one’s head; there’s plenty of darker shades.

 

[NotWise]

I think that's a stereotype, and that's all it is. Not sure where it came from.

 

[NuclearFairy]

If redheads with freckles are a stereotype, it’s only because it’s true. If you find it odd, you probably have a limited conception of what red hair means. It’s not just literal grated carrot on one’s head; there’s plenty of darker shades.

I'm aware that redheads have freckles, I'm also aware that you'll find the occasional redhead without freckles.

However, not all freckled people have red hair. Unless you consider chocolate, teak, dirty blond and dandelion shades of red. Not to mention the black guy, with black hair. Although freckles can sometimes be harder to see on blonds as they tend to have paler freckles.

 

[dirk2024]

If redheads with freckles are a stereotype, it’s only because it’s true. If you find it odd, you probably have a limited conception of what red hair means. It’s not just literal grated carrot on one’s head; there’s plenty of darker shades.

I thought her concern had more to do with the "only from Ireland" connection.

 

[NuclearFairy]

I thought her concern had more to do with the "only from Ireland" connection.

The second half of my concern was that redheads were the only ones ever portrayed with freckles.

 

[djrip]

People of Irish descent do often have red hair and freckles. But I have read stories about petite blondes with freckles.

 

[KittyOfSteele]

I think that's a stereotype, and that's all it is. Not sure where it came from.

It is a stereotype, and it's quite annoying when dealing with people from the United States.

There are redheads all over Central and South America that don't even have European roots, let alone Germanic. They are as Latinos as anybody else around here, just like the white and black folks. In my country the people who are more likely to have foreign roots are Middle-eastern, with Asians being in second place. In fact, families tend to be very diverse. It isn't unusual to see blacks, whites, or Asians in a household full of Latinos.

I really don't get race, so I don't usually focus on it when I write. I already come from such a diverse place that it isn't a huge deal for us, really. Even my family is very diverse.

 

[ShelbyDawn57]

I often see red hair being used as a short hand for Irish/Irish descent in fiction. When all of the redheads I've personally known have been of Scottish or Scandinavian descent. I don't get it, it's like everyone think that Ireland is full of redheads and they exist no where else.

And then there's freckles, which seems to only exist on redheads in fiction. When the majority of people I've known with freckles have had brown or blond hair. Heck, I even knew a black guy once with freckles. His girlfriend liked to make him blush by counting them. It was actually pretty adorable.

So where did these (and possibly other) stereotypes come from? And if you're writing something that ignores them, is it worth it to call attention to it?

A quick internet search(it must be true, right... LOL) shows that the three countries with the highest instance of red hair and/or freckles are Ireland, Scotland, and Wales.

As someone else said, if it's a stereotype, it's based in truth to enough of an extent that it became a stereotype.

 

[NotWise]

Thinking back on some redheads I've known, and using a broad definition of redhead...

There was the carrot top from an Irish family. She didn't have freckles. Neither did her mother.
There was a Scotsman. He had freckles.
There was a girl from a German family. She had freckles and auburn hair.
There was girl from a Swedish family. She had strawberry blond hair and no freckles that I remember. I mostly remember that her skin was translucent.

Then there's my daughter. She's had dark red or auburn hair since she was in high school, but it doesn't come naturally. She doesn't have freckles.

 

[Nynah]

I often see red hair being used as a short hand for Irish/Irish descent in fiction. When all of the redheads I've personally known have been of Scottish or Scandinavian descent. I don't get it, it's like everyone think that Ireland is full of redheads and they exist no where else.

There's some research on why Ireland, Scotland and the Scandanavian countries have such a high prevalence of red-headed people relative to the rest of the world and I think for the most part it comes down to red-headedness being some sort of adaptation to account for the lack of sunlight in those places. This makes sense when you consider that most of Asia and Africa are inundated with sunlight, so most Asians and Africans have darker hair pigmentation for better UV protection.

And then there's freckles, which seems to only exist on redheads in fiction. When the majority of people I've known with freckles have had brown or blond hair. Heck, I even knew a black guy once with freckles. His girlfriend liked to make him blush by counting them. It was actually pretty adorable.

Freckles are just skin pigmentation and can occur for anyone. I think they are more obvious on lighter skinned people because it's a sharper contrast.

And if you're writing something that ignores them, is it worth it to call attention to it?

I would say only call attention if it serves some sort of purpose in your narrative. As many other responders here have said, not all people of Irish extraction fit the red-headed freckled stereotype so neatly.

 

[XerXesXu]

My teen girlfriend was from Dublin, and she had curly, ginger hair, freckles and pale skin. My third girlfriend had wavy red hair, freckles, pale skin and came from Islay, off the west coast of Scotland. I also had a girlfriend who had freckles, pale skin and straight black hair; she came from England.

 

[Rustyoznail]

As Dirk said, it's probably a result of what you see around you. Here, redheads usually have an Irish or Scottish background. As for freckles and redheads, I rarely mention them. I usually go for other things, like their cute, pink nipples and propensity to throw things at you when they're mad...

 

[Nynah]

propensity to throw things at you when they're mad...

Behavioral stereotypes are an entirely different ball of wax. As someone with red hair and freckles, I don't throw things at people when I'm mad.

 

[Five_Inch_Heels]

Back in the 80s, I knew a guy whose last name was Whiteagle. He claimed to be and apparently had the papers to prove he was full blooded Native American, but I can't recall which tribe or nation. He was as pale pasty white and flaming red haired as you'd expect any Ginger to be.

 

[Five_Inch_Heels]

Behavioral stereotypes are an entirely different ball of wax. As someone with red hair and freckles, I don't throw things at people when I'm mad.

Do you throw the people at things?

 

[NuclearFairy]

Behavioral stereotypes are an entirely different ball of wax. As someone with red hair and freckles, I don't throw things at people when I'm mad.

I think it's because the pale skin makes the veins pop more visibly and so it's rather scary to have a redhead mad at you. Especially if they're a flaming redhead and have the habit of running their fingers through their hair and making it disheveled and then you have the whole visual contrast of those pulsing, bulging, blue veins, pale skin, and wild bright hair, which all together makes their anger scarier and more memorable.

So, since people remember the red head getting angry more often, they think that they have a bigger temper than the brunette that no one is afraid to anger and so is actually getting angry more often.

 

[NotWise]

As Dirk said, it's probably a result of what you see around you. Here, redheads usually have an Irish or Scottish background. As for freckles and redheads, I rarely mention them. I usually go for other things, like their cute, pink nipples and propensity to throw things at you when they're mad...

I wrote two stories with freckle-faced redheads as my main female character. I didn't get into their national origin.

I did both of them for TxRad, because that was his thing. The first (Twyla in Hurricane Twyla ) was on TxRad's request. The second (Celeste in Deal is a Deal ) was in his memory.

 

[ShelbyDawn57]

My teen girlfriend was from Dublin, and she had curly, ginger hair, freckles and pale skin. My third girlfriend had wavy red hair, freckles, pale skin and came from Islay, off the west coast of Scotland. I also had a girlfriend who had freckles, pale skin and straight black hair; she came from England.

A distillery tour of Islay is on my bucket list. Perhaps I'll find a cute red head with freckles to guide me.

 

[XerXesXu]

A distillery tour of Islay is on my bucket list. Perhaps I'll find a cure red head with freckles to guide me.

You'll love her accent. The epitome of aural sex.

 

[AchtungNight]

None of the most prominent redheads in my stories have freckles. An Aussie brunette I’ve featured a few times does.

 

[iwatchus]

the three countries with the highest instance of red hair and/or freckles are Ireland, Scotland, and Wales.

My understanding is that red hair (at least the European form of it) comes from a line of the vikings and is prevalent in the areas where they settled. I was wondering if Iceland would be on the list as well (I am assuming Eric the Red was named for his hair).

My sense of redheads is also colored by the traditional English view of them being inferiors in some typical snooty English way. See red-headed step child for an example.

While I do associate red heads with Ireland (and to a lesser extent Scotland), I do not closely associate them with freckles. I just associate that with paler skin, although the mention of a black with freckles clearly argues against that completely. And I think of lighter colors of hair (blonde through red) going with paler skin.

One of my main characters in my original series, Audrey O'Rourke, had fiery red hair but I never imagined her with freckles.

 

[Djmac1031]

If the cute redhead with freckles is a trope, so be it.

I wrote a 30 chapter series featuring one that's still some of my most popular stories, so...