The naked truth about being a redhead- from a redhead, herself.
Sure, we’ve all seen or heard of the South Park episode, where they rant about how “gingers have no soul.” Well, this particular episode happened to be rather popular while I was in highschool, and many of my fellow redheads really didn’t appreciate the “you have no soul” comments, along with many other crude, yet rather creative, comments related to redheads.
I, on the other hand, just went with it. What else is a redhead to do? Surprisingly, the choice to play along instead of getting defensive most likely changed my little high school world- and beyond. My sense of humor increased significantly, and I had chosen to not get upset. It was great! Other redheads were hurt, and I was laughing along painlessly, getting to be the “funny one” in school.
Also, interestingly enough, I read an article in New York Times recently that said that redheads were actually more susceptible to pain, and required higher doses of amnesia because of their genes, it says,
“Researchers believe redheads are more sensitive to pain because of a mutation in a gene that affects hair color. In people with brown, black and blond hair, the gene, for the melanocortin-1 receptor, produces melanin. But a mutation in the MC1R gene results in the production of a substance called pheomelanin that results in red hair and fair skin. The MC1R gene belongs to a family of receptors that include pain receptors in the brain, and as a result, a mutation in the gene appears to influence the body’s sensitivity to pain. A 2004 study showed the redheads require, on average, about 20 percent more general anesthesia than people with dark hair or blond coloring. ”
This encourages me to write my own press release, stating that although redheads might be more sensitive to physical pain, they are much more toughly built mentally, since pretty much all of us had to endure lots of bullying as kids. Of course, we all handled it differently, but pretty much all of us had to go through the pain of being told we have “no soul,” along with many other jokes.
