On red hair and freckles

[RachelWalsh]

I am not really into women but redheads are the prettiest.

I do like guys, but not redhead guys.

I am so weird.

 

[Nynah]

There is a difference between politically and geographically/statistically

Politically the UK and Ireland have been separate entities since 1922, please see the links I provided in my previous post for sources. Geographically, the UK shares a border with Ireland through their part of the island of Ireland that composes Northern Ireland. For the purposes of statistical tracking, they are considered separate entities and have been reported separately by all major news and data sources.

British Isles take precedence.

Source? I feel like some of our well-represented Australian contingent would disagree with this.

Some say Canada, Bermuda and Australia and a few other 'sovereign' places are part of the UK.

Canada hasn't been part of the UK since 1982. Austalia hasn't been part of the UK since 1986. Both nations were at one point part of the British Empire but are now separate, sovereign nations. They pay respect to their history as they are considered "Commonwealth realms" and Charles III is acknowledged as their king but in practice the UK has has no actual authority over either of them.

Bermuda is a British Overseas Territory and is still linked to the UK politically and economically, but for the purposes of tracking statistics and other things like Olympic representation, they are reported separately by most major news and data sources.

 

[Bamagan]

Okay, so, the map referenced several times above was from this study. The study only included statistically relevant samples from the countries indicated on the map. The paper does include an interpolated map predicting the prevalence of various hair and eye colors in Europe based on the data.
Here's the map of their prediction for red hair.

 

[Bramblethorn]

Ireland is part of the UK.

oh no you did NOT.

 

[Bramblethorn]

There is a difference between politically and geographically/statistically

British Isles take precedence.

"British Isles" and "United Kingdom" are not the same thing.

Some say Canada, Bermuda and Australia and a few other 'sovereign' places are part of the UK.

Nobody says this.

Well, maybe badly-informed people from other countries who don't understand the difference between "United Kingdom" and "Commonwealth", but nobody from Canada, Bermuda or Australia says this.

 

[Bramblethorn]

Source? I feel like some of our well-represented Australian contingent would disagree with this.

Bloody oath we would.

Australians will just laugh at being told we're part of the UK, but telling folk in the Republic of Ireland that they're part of the United Kingdom is likely to be met with a very poor response.

Canada hasn't been part of the UK since 1982. Austalia hasn't been part of the UK since 1986.

If that. The history is long and complex, and as that article discusses Australia didn't become fully independent until 1986. But I doubt many historians or regular Australians would have described Australia as being part of the UK post 1901, or not without heavy caveats.

Both nations were at one point part of the British Empire but are now separate, sovereign nations. They pay respect to their history as they are considered "Commonwealth realms" and Charles III is acknowledged as their king but in practice the UK has has no actual authority over either of them.

Easiest way to think of this is that "King of Australia", "King of Canada" and "King of the United Kingdom" are three separate titles which happen to be held by the one person - but that doesn't mean Australia is part of the UK any more than it means Australia is part of Canada.

 

[Britva415]

There is a difference between politically and geographically/statistically

British Isles take precedence.

Some say Canada, Bermuda and Australia and a few other 'sovereign' places are part of the UK.

Let's see an example of someone saying that in 2025. Like, a credible source.

 

[EmilyMiller]

Ireland is part of the UK.

Dude - I’m assuming you’re trolling. I have English relations and have spent time in the UK. Northern Ireland may be part of the United Kingdom (of Great Britain and Northern Ireland) but Eire? Not since 1922.

 

[TheLobster]

I am not really into women but redheads are the prettiest.

I do like guys, but not redhead guys.

I am so weird.

Female redheads are cheeky, playful, feisty, and a little mischievous.

Male redheads are goofy, clumsy, a little slow, and don’t know how to correctly stress “leviosa”.

Don’t @ me, these are just facts.

 

[TheLobster]

Easiest way to think of this is that "King of Australia", "King of Canada" and "King of the United Kingdom" are three separate titles which happen to be held by the one person - but that doesn't mean Australia is part of the UK any more than it means Australia is part of Canada.

“Happen to be” is doing quite a bit of work here. That the three are linked isn’t, say, an accident of heredity, where the same noble family held those titles independently and they were passed down jointly through the generations.

Rather, the first two are granted ex officio to the holder of the third one. As a result, those three countries are joined in a sort of personal union, and the main reason it doesn’t matter much in practice to their independence is that the titles themselves convey no real power.

This is of course much different than the situation with the UK and (the Republic of) Ireland, which have fully independent governments with different heads of state.

 

[ElectricBlue]

This is of course much different than the situation with the UK and (the Republic of) Ireland, which have fully independent governments with different heads of state.

You do know that Canada and Australia also have fully independent governments, their own constitutions? Sure, the countries share the same head of state (King Charles), because we're part of the Commonwealth, but you make these nations sound like vassals of the United Kingdom. They're not.

 

[Bramblethorn]

You do know that Canada and Australia also have fully independent governments, their own constitutions? Sure, the countries share the same head of state (King Charles), because we're part of the Commonwealth,

Not for that reason. Charles is head of the Commonwealth, but being a member of the Commonwealth doesn't automatically make Charles a country's head of state.

For many Commonwealth countries he is head of state, because it started out as an association of former members of the British Empire, and many such countries ended up as constitutional monarchies with Charles as head of state. But the Commonwealth also includes countries like India which became republics and no longer have a monarch, and more recently countries like Mozambique and Rwanda which were never part of the British Empire.

 

[TheLobster]

Sure, the countries share the same head of state (King Charles), because we're part of the Commonwealth, but you make these nations sound like vassals of the United Kingdom. They're not.

“Independent” in the sense of “distinct”, not “sovereign”; I probably should’ve made it clearer, given we’re talking about countries.

What I meant is that in case of CA, AU (and NZ, and others, but as @Bramblethorn said not India, for example) and UK, there are parts of the government—namely the head of state—that all those countries share. It is not the case for Ireland and UK.

Which means that going back to the original statement which spurred this whole tangent, there is actually an ever so slightly stronger case for CA and AU “being a part of” the UK, based on that shared head of state, than it is for Ireland to be so. But of course, these are all just varying degrees of nonsense from any practical point of view; for all intents and purposes, they are all independent countries.

 

[Bramblethorn]

“Happen to be” is doing quite a bit of work here. That the three are linked isn’t, say, an accident of heredity, where the same noble family held those titles independently and they were passed down jointly through the generations.

Rather, the first two are granted ex officio to the holder of the third one.

This is incorrect. When the UK's succession laws changed in 2013 to remove the preference for males in inheritance, Canada and Australia (and other Commonwealth monarchies) enacted corresponding legislation to ensure that our succession rules remained consistent with the UK's; in Australia this was quite a complex process. Had "King of Canada" and "King of Australia" merely been ex officio consequences of being King of the United Kingdom, there would have been no need for such legislation.

See also the Balfour Declaration of 1926, which established that "Great Britain" and the Dominions are considered equal in status without one being subordinate to another.

As a result, those three countries are joined in a sort of personal union,

It's similar to a personal union, but as discussed here not quite the same thing.

 

[TheLobster]

This is incorrect. When the UK's succession laws changed in 2013 to remove the preference for males in inheritance, Canada and Australia (and other Commonwealth monarchies) enacted corresponding legislation to ensure that our succession rules remained consistent with the UK's; in Australia this was quite a complex process. Had "King of Canada" and "King of Australia" merely been ex officio consequences of being King of the United Kingdom, there would have been no need for such legislation.

Oh, TIL. That is more complicated than I thought then. Thanks for the correction.

 

[StillStunned]

This thread has done the impossible. Made a discussion about redheads boring - not once, but twice.

 

[Bamagan]

This thread has done the impossible. Made a discussion about redheads boring - not once, but twice.

Has there been a redheaded writing exercise thread yet?

 

[StillStunned]

Has there been a redheaded writing exercise thread yet?

Hmm... I'll give it some thought.

 

[SimonDoom]

This thread has done the impossible. Made a discussion about redheads boring - not once, but twice.

It needs a healthy glass of Irish Whiskey to bring it back to life.

 

[lovecraft68]

This thread has done the impossible. Made a discussion about redheads boring - not once, but twice.

That's because the discussion has devolved into "This is how I, an amazing author, describe redheads in my amazing stories!"

 

[CliodhnaOB]

Ireland is part of the UK.

omg seriously read up on history xx

 

[AwkwardlySet]

Sure, the countries share the same head of state (King Charles), because we're part of the Commonwealth, but you make these nations sound like vassals of the United Kingdom. They're not.

Huh, there is a plot bunny for a D/s story right there. I am just not sure how to include Crocodile Dundee in it...
Wait, maybe he can overthrow Charles? A sort of a switch D/s story?!

 

[XerXesXu]

Whilst down this rabbit-hole, I've discovered that auburns carry the MCR1 gene variant also. My mother (Irish) had brown hair which appeared to have copper-coloured highlights in bright sunshine. Me too. Neither of us have freckles or are unusually sensitive to sunlight.

A great deal of the genetic history of the British Isles is explained by its topography. Incomers didn't bother to invade the hilly, unproductive, sparsely populated parts.

 

[SimonDoom]

Red hair in social media:

Facebook: I like this post on red heads.
Instagram: I'm a red head and here's a picture of me in a bikini along the Croatian coast.
Twitter/X: Elon likes red heads.
Bluesky: Who gives a shit if Elon likes red heads.
Pinterest: Here are 5 different methods of dying your hair red.
Youtube: Here's my TED talk on what it's like being a redhead.
OnlyFans: I'm a red head, and the carpet matches the drapes. Check me out.
Reddit: Can somebody tell me where I can find the website for the hot redheaded librarian from Sioux Falls?
4Chan: Redheads are stealing our children.
Literotica: Check out my story "Mom's hot red hair down there."
Chat group, American 1: I hear Ireland's full of red heads and it's because they're Brits.
Chat group, Irish: We are not fucking Brits.
Chat group, Brit: We'll see about that.
Chat group, American 2: Where's Ireland, exactly?
Chat group, Australian: Fuck it, mate. Let's drink.

 

[AG31]

Whilst down this rabbit-hole, I've discovered that auburns carry the MCR1 gene variant also.

Is that the gene that governs pain threshold? I'd heard, and an M.D. agreed with me, that red (auburn?) haired people have a high pain threshold. I do happen to have both.