Redheads--Fact and Fiction by Zina Abbott

 

My book I featured this week on the Facebook group Wild West Readers Challenge was Sabrina, a heroine with red hair and a fiery temper—the stereotypical redhead. So, just how typical is her personality when it comes to redheads? Having been born with auburn hair myself and having given birth to five redheaded children (out of six), I have a vested interest in the question. This is why I found the following map showing the areas of greatest concentration of people born with red hair to be interesting.

Based on my pedigree chart, I am not Irish or Scottish. My DNA shows a smidgen of those two ethnicities, but I am mostly English. I show a greater portion of German, and Swedish/Norwegian in my DNA than what shows up on my pedigree chart. I suspect my auburn hair from my ENGLISH ancestors might have been influenced by the redheaded Danes and Saxons who invaded England centuries ago. On my father's line, a great-grandfather had auburn hair. I'm not sure which ancestor on my mother's line was a redhead, but my maternal grandmother assured me there was one.

Then again, my mtDNA—the DNA of my mother’s-mother’s-mother’s-ad finitum—is Celtic. Except for those women whose Scandinavian ancestors migrated to the northern islands of Great Britain, most women from the British Isles have Celtic ancestry. All I know is, there are three generations between me and my next closest red-haired ancestor.

Four of my six children inherited their ginger to bright red hair trait from their father due to his strong Scottish ancestry mixed with his English. My fifth child with red hair was born with auburn hair darker than mine. My six child, like her father, was born with brown hair.

13% of all Scots are born with red hair. 10% of all Irish are born with red hair.

from "Why did The Anglo Saxons Migrate to Britain?"  You-Tube

 

Please, those of you who are Irish, when you see this map, do not send a firestorm my direction. It is not my map. Although Scots and Irish have been at odds over the years, they do have common Celtic origins, as did the Britons and the Welsh.

One source claims only about 2% of the world’s population are redheads. Another stated that one out of every thirty-three people (0.03%) is a natural redhead.  In the United States—with its mix of so many nationalities and ethnic groups—the percentage of natural redheads is lower, but still a respectable  2%-5% of the population.

In spite of natural redheads being in the minority as far as hair color goes, they are not at risk for going extinct.

One source claims that, world-wide, there are more natural redheads than there are natural blonds/blondes.

The melanocortin 1 receptor (MC1R) is responsible for red hair. Melanin helps determine a person’s skin, hair, and eye color.

MC1R is a recessive trait. It comes from both parents. In humans, it is primarily linked to those of European origin.

MC1R is a very old receptor. Fragments have been found in Neanderthal skeletons, although both identified samples had mutations not found in modern humans. This receptor has also been found in other ancient species—in one case, in a frog dated millennia ago. 80% of the world’s population carries the gene.

Red hair and blue eyes are the rarest combination. With redheads, the MC1R gene has a mutation—or possibly several—the reason why redheads are so rare. A person who has red hair and blue eyes, is dealing with two sets of recessive genes. The odds of one person having both traits are around 0.17%.

There might be something to that. I have a parent, two siblings, and a daughter with blue or blue-gray eyes, but neither I nor any of my redheads have blue eyes.

Parents of redheads do not need to be redheads, but both must carry MC1R

Some people who carry variants of the MC1R gene are more susceptible to skin cancer. Unlike other hair colors, redheads carry two copies of the MC1R gene, which governs the production of melanin. It not only helps determine the color of hair, skin and eyes, it informs the cells that create melanin to make eumelanin (usually associated with darker hair and skin) or pheomelanin (usually associated with lighter hair and fairer skin). In redheads, the MC1R gene mutates and causes melanocytes to primarily make the reddish pigment pheomelanin, which makes redheads more susceptible to damage from the sun.

Also, female redheads have a higher risk of gynecological cancers, such as cervical, uterine and ovarian cancer. Redheads are exposed to higher levels of estrogen before birth, due to prenatal estrogen influence either to certain medical conditions as well as the development of certain hair and eye colors, particularly red hair, in the fetus.

Redheads might appear to age faster than those with other hair, eye color, and skin types. As redheads age, they can appear up to be up to two years older, the same as those with a history of smoking.

Unfortunately, I know that well. The reason is not as related as much to sun exposure as to sagging skin. (*sigh*)

The good news is, redheads produce more vitamin D, which is essential for bone health. Vitamin D is synthesized when you’re exposed to ultraviolet B (UVB) rays from the sun. One study determined that, among redheads, gingers could produce more of Vitamin D than people with other hair colors, including those with darker red hair. The level of created corresponded to how red the hair was.

Redheads are more likely to be left-handed than any other hair color.

Redheads are believed to be the least shy of hair color types and the most outspoken.

Okay, let’s get to the juicy part—the trait I played to the maximum in my redheaded heroine, Sabrina Duncan—a product of a Scottish father and English-origin American mother. She takes after her father both in appearance and in personality. In other words, she has a hair-trigger temper and is a scrapper. Just how deserving are redheads of being stuck with the reputation of having that particular personality trait?

Redheads are often accused of being hot-headed and having bad tempers. A tendency to be quick to act, bold, and brash—all qualities blamed on being red headed. In reality, none of those traits are proven to be exclusively a redhead thing.

That fiery temper may actually be intolerance to pain. Although general pain tolerance might be higher than many non-redheads, red-haired people are more sensitive to certain types of pain, which can require higher doses of some pain killing medication like lidocaine. On the other hand, most redheads respond well to opioid pain medications, which means they require lower doses.

Another factor that many people overlook that can contribute to the myth of the redheaded temper is that they tend to be subjected to more teasing than those with different hair colors. In England the term “ginger” is used to single out redheads and to mock them. Being subjected to repeated ridicule over a trait one cannot control can put many in a bad temper.

Do all redheads have a fiery temper? I would say, NO.

I, for one, do not have a hair-trigger temper. Some might claim it is because I was born with auburn hair, not the classic Celtic lighter, brighter red hair. Although I am outspoken, my anger tends to be of the slow-burn variety—one that builds up and then erupts like a volcano. It keeps on erupting until the pressure is released. Some of my redheaded children are mild-mannered—for the most part—although they do have their moments.

When we get down to it, there is nothing wrong with being viewed as having a fiery temper. It helps to keep people in line—as readers will learn about Hugh as the relationship between him and Sabrina developed. He went from a man who did not like redheaded women to becoming quite attracted to her. What might have contributed to that? Another trait associated with redheaded women.

It has been proven that red headed females have more sex than their blonde and brunette counterparts. (Please do not ask me how someone proved it.) Blondes might have a reputation for having more fun. However, red hair is often associated with youth and passion. They tend to have more children.

There are many men who dislike redheaded women—trust me, I have run into a few. In my younger years, I ran into more than one young man who refused to date a redhead. However, there are even more who are attracted to red heads—perhaps due to the relative rarity of the hair color. (I am married to one. His paternal grandmother was a redhead, and he always liked red hair.)

 

Sabrina—fiery tempered but particular about making life better for those around her—worked her way Hugh’s heart. Sabrina is on a Kindle Countdown sale through Saturday, May 29, 2024. To find the book description and link, please CLICK HERE.

   

 

 

 

Sources:

“Why did The Anglo Saxons Migrate to Britain?”, Knowledgia; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4bwPzxaNTaU&list=LL&index=4

 ‘Why Red Hair?” What Is the Origin and Reason for Red Hair?” By Celtic History Decoded; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8IN2FFV_iU

“How DNA reveals Vikings never left Scotland” – BBC REEL, BBC Global; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dw3VbJ0RTcQ&t=1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmj_G6VxgT4

https://www.rd.com/list/facts-about-redheads/

https://healthresearchfunding.org/12-redhead-personality-traits/