Red-hair is not very common: only around 2% of the world population shares this trait, and most red-haired people share a North European background.
Italy for instance has a very small percentage of red-headed citizens, but despite the stereotype which sees Southerners as being generally darker, both in regards to hair and complexion, red-haired people can be found in all parts of the country.
"It was a true disgrazia (misfortune) to be born as a red head in Sicily."
Massimo Corsini, now a Melbourne resident, comes for instance from Palermo, Sicily. You might be forgiven for mistaking him for an Irishman when you first meet him: his freckles and unequivocally red hair wouldn’t make him look out of place in Dublin.
Massimo says it was "a true disgrazia (misfortune) to be born as a redhead in Sicily.”
Massimo and Sophie, an Italian-Australian "ginger family" Source: courtesy of Massimo Corsini
As he was growing up. he was given a few different nicknames, one being Rosso Malpelo (literally evil red hair) after the protagonist of a famous short story by Sicilian writer Giovanni Verga, a red-haired boy who is routinely mistreated for his assumed nastiness.
In the past this characteristic attracted prejudice and even persecution. Even today, in Australia, red hair can attract unwanted attention, and not only in the playground.
Traces of this prejudice are still alive in the language: as a relatively new Australian, born and raised in Italy, I first encountered the word ranga when it was used half-jokingly by an Australian friend who noted my daughter’s strawberry blond hair.
“Wow, she’s gotta a bit of ranga”, the Aussie friend quipped.
I took no offense because I realised only much later that the nuance of this term used to be quite negative and the origin of the word may in fact be the word orangutan…
Nowadays Ranga is a word that is being reclaimed by organisations like the Red and Nearly Ginger Association (R.A.N.G.A), which, as stated on its website was founded in 2009 “to represent the interests of Ginger primates everywhere."
Among its activities R.A.N.G.A is an official partner of the 2017 Ginger Pride March in Melbourne, which will be held on 29 April in the heart of Melbourne’s CBD. The rally will attract thousands of people of all ages, and not all of them will have a Northern European background.
As the Italian Massimo underlines - although rare, redheads are not that exceptional - even in his Mediterranean homeland.
“We red heads have a different energy compared to yours. Stronger and more intense."
Sicily is an island that over the centuries has been occupied by various peoples, including the Normans who have left behind a ‘fairer’ genetic pool. In fact, Massimo comes from a “ginger family."
Both his mum and dad are redheads and he has recently married a redheaded Australian. “To keep up the ginger power," he says jokingly. They have no kids yet, but even their dog is ginger too.
“We redheads have a different energy compared to yours," Massimo declares. "Certainly stronger and more intense."
Massimo has been in Melbourne for the last two years, and both here and in London, the city he lived in before, people often assume he is Scottish, at least until he speaks… He maintains that being ginger has been no hurdle for him as an adult, but thinks the Ginger Rally is a great concept and is planning to join the event this year.
Marco Sartori comes instead from the Northern Italian region of Veneto. In his hometown, Portogruaro, red-haired people are very rare. When he was growing up he was often singled-out because of his aspect, due to the fact that according to traditional lore red-haired kids are lively, nevertheless he did not feel he was targeted in a malicious way.
“Where I come from people with red hair are said to be more boisterous, a bit naughtier” Marco explains.
Irish or Scottish? Italian! Source: courtesy of Marco Sartori
He adds that “yes, a few urban myths about red-haired people circulate in my region!"
"I was indeed a lively kid, but I don’t think it had anything to do with my hair colour."
“When I first speak to them, [Australians] look at me a bit disconcerted, and ask me ‘Where are you from?’, because at first sight they assume I might be Irish or Scottish”
Marco however says he has never felt discriminated in Italy. On the other hand, since migrating to Australia as a young adult his hair colour has been the source of occasional misunderstandings, as locals are often taken aback when they first meet him and hear him speak, because of his strong Italian accent.
“When I first speak to them, [Australians] look at me a bit disconcerted, and ask me ‘Where are you from?’, because at first sight they assume I might be Irish or Scottish”, Marco tells us.
Coming from a little town where “red-haired people are six at most,” Marco has never been to a ginger rally, but now that he is a Melbourne resident he is tempted to go this year.
Minie Minarelli has a fair complexion and is naturally “almost ginger”, or strawberry blond.
Minie Minarelli, almost ginger from birth and red by choice Source: courtesy of Minie Minarelli
In her hometown, near Ferrara, red-haired people were not common, but she wasn’t aware of any discrimination. In fact, she decided to embrace her “gingerhood” as an adult, dyeing her hair red: she says she feels pride in having red hair, a trait she sees as a positive way of standing out, despite some widespread but benign stereotypes.
“No one expects a red-haired Italian here"
For instance, she explains that “in Italy there are stereotypes about red-haired women being ‘peperine’ (fiery, lively), but it is more of a joke, I have never felt discriminated against."
In Australia Minie has felt that being red-haired has often been a plus, which is part of the reason why she does not feel the need to take part in a Ginger Pride event.
In her jobs as a teacher and singer Minie has used her hair colour to establish a connection, using it as a bit of a game: “No one expects a red-haired Italian here, in fact I often use it as a playful way of establishing a connection at first, asking people I have just met where they think I could be from, and no one guesses."
