Not All Irish People Have Red Hair & Freckles & Other Sterotypes

[Poohforyou]

Yes, for starters! It's a well/known fact that sunscreen providers jack up their prices to take advantage of the solar-challenged!

I don't have a drop of Irish blood in me (but I've been to Ireland twice). I have very fair skin and freckles. I joke that I don't really tan, my freckles just multiply.

 

[minniebeth]

Huh? Who says this stuff? I don't have people in my life who say this stuff!

I know, right?! My kids go/went to a very Irish/Catholic school and they have several red head/freckles friends each. Every once in a while that pops up in conversation. They've learned to laugh it off, but I honestly don't think it's funny at all. I have no idea where it derives from?

 

[katie01]

I have fair skin (without freckles), dark hair, and blue eyes, and on more than one occasion I've had people tell me I must be Irish based on my looks alone.

On a side note, I've always wondered why we eat corned beef on St. Patrick's Day, I've been to Ireland and pretty much never saw corned beef on the menus. Did this tradition originate in America?

 

[wenrob]

I am sure this was sparked by my post on the DNA thread.

It really doesn't bother me. I have red hair, freckles, and I am Irish. So what? I actually LIKE it. I think it is very odd to even try to bleach out freckles. This Rodan and Fields seller tried to get me to buy some nasty stuff to bleach out my freckles and showed me a bunch of "before and after" photos. I told her the before photos looked better. She stopped trying to sell it to me.

I ADORE my red headed, blue eyed DD's freckles. As a hobbyist photographer I will purposefully under expose a titch and convert to black and white to emphasize them. We're not Irish though. I've heard Scottish but I don't really know. We have redheads sprinkled throughout my mom and dad's side.

Huh? Who says this stuff? I don't have people in my life who say this stuff!

I have a friend from New Zealand who made a post about Rangas and when I asked her what it meant (a derogatory term for redheads) she was SO embarrassed because she adores my DD. I've also heard redheads are looked down upon in England (have no idea if it's true) and the no soul thing.

The stereotype that bugs me is the "all Americans" one, hands down.

 

[bcla]

I am Irish, don't have red hair. I never thought about heritage, color of people. People are people.

More people claim to be Irish in the US than the total population of Ireland. I guess that's the power of immigration. Heck, I think there are more in Australia who claim to be Irish than the total population of Ireland.

Still, a lot of people have freckles and dark hair, including people of Asian and African ancestry. I have freckles and zero Irish ancestry.

 

[Bilberry]

Say it isn't true! An American friend would be crushed that the Irish stereotype isn't so. The friend with a dyslexic Irish name worships red heads, much to the amusement of his wife. She knew the trouble she was getting into when she married him.

 

[sunshinehighway]

The gingers have no soul thing is just a joke. Its from South Park.

 

[mjkacmom]

Irish, my mom and grandma had red hair. Most of the really Irish I know (first/second generation American) have dark hair, pale skin, freckles and full faces.

 

[Magpie]

Speaking of stereotypes...

While visiting my cousin in Tennessee, one of her neighbours asked me, "Where y'all from?"

"Canada," I said.

"Oh!" she exclaimed, "You speak English so well!"

I hated to break it to her that English was the only language I spoke well.

 

[pat fan]

I know, right?! My kids go/went to a very Irish/Catholic school and they have several red head/freckles friends each. Every once in a while that pops up in conversation. They've learned to laugh it off, but I honestly don't think it's funny at all. I have no idea where it derives from?

Don't quote me, but maybe Dr Who?

My son has said this to me (completely in jest) about "gingers" while watching Dr Who, so I assumed it was from there. No one really thinks it's true, or does just the saying bug you?

 

[Vijoge]

ok, so this has been bugging me, WHY do American people think that all Irish have red hair and freckles??? Seriously now, Im Irish, and hardly anyone in my family looks like this, and very few people I see on a day to day basis, on the bus, in the mall, at work have red hair and freckles.

So are their stereotypes that bug you, that you know are not true that are in common use?

Actually, I've red that most Irish people have dark hair and pale skin-that the red hair and freckles thing was not a predominant trait. Norewegians, on the other hand, do have a lot of freckled redheads.

 

[jevs]

I thought all Americans carried a firearm and were happy with the current gun regulations.

I was very wrong, sorry guys

 

[bcla]

Actually, I've red that most Irish people have dark hair and pale skin-that the red hair and freckles thing was not a predominant trait. Norewegians, on the other hand, do have a lot of freckled redheads.

Red hair genes aren't a predominant trait anywhere. However, the following was a survey of the genes for red hair in the UK and Ireland. This isn't a survey of who has red hair though, just about the genetics where red hair might be passed on.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...N-red-hair-gene-carriers-Britain-Ireland.html

I found this map, which claims that parts of Ireland, Scotland, and Wales has over 10% red hair, but not in Scandinavia. There's also that odd pocket near Russia.

That area of Russia is called Udmurtia, and it supposedly has the highest proportion of red hair anywhere in the world.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Udmurt_people
http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-29950844

 

[Vijoge]

Red hair genes aren't a predominant trait anywhere. However, the following was a survey of the genes for red hair in the UK and Ireland. This isn't a survey of who has red hair though, just about the genetics where red hair might be passed on.

I found this map, which claims that parts of Ireland, Scotland, and Wales has over 10% red hair, but not in Scandinavia. There's also that odd pocket near Russia.

That area of Russia is called Udmurtia, and it supposedly has the highest proportion of red hair anywhere in the world.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Udmurt_people
http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-29950844

Well, don't discount Erik the Red lol. My ancestry is Norwegian on my maternal grandmother's side. Her father was a red headed, freckled Norwegian, as were his brothers. My grandma had the same red hair and freckles and so did her siblings (their mother was a brunette). My mother, my aunt, and one of my mother's brothers was red haired and freckled. I had strawberry blonde hair and freckles before my hair started turning gray. I have several red haired cousins. The Norwegian part of our family has a lot of redheads.

 

[Diznygrl]

I have fair skin (without freckles), dark hair, and blue eyes, and on more than one occasion I've had people tell me I must be Irish based on my looks alone.

On a side note, I've always wondered why we eat corned beef on St. Patrick's Day, I've been to Ireland and pretty much never saw corned beef on the menus. Did this tradition originate in America?

Yes, it's a tradition that Irish immigrants started when they came to America.

 

[bcla]

Well, don't discount Erik the Red lol. My ancestry is Norwegian on my maternal grandmother's side. Her father was a red headed, freckled Norwegian, as were his brothers. My grandma had the same red hair and freckles and so did her siblings (their mother was a brunette). My mother, my aunt, and one of my mother's brothers was red haired and freckled. I had strawberry blonde hair and freckles before my hair started turning gray. I have several red haired cousins. The Norwegian part of our family has a lot of redheads.

Erik the Red did come to mind. There's certainly many people with red hair in Norway, but it's probably not like Ireland or Scotland.

 

[Vijoge]

Erik the Red did come to mind. There's certainly many people with red hair in Norway, but it's probably not like Ireland or Scotland.

Many historians believe it was actually the conquering Vikings that spread the red hair throughout the rest of Europe and the British Isles.

 

[bcla]

Many historians believe it was actually the conquering Vikings that spread the red hair throughout the rest of Europe and the British Isles.

Sure. However, some believe that red hair may have existed in the area before the Vikings arrived. Regardless of all that, the current proportion of red hair is demonstrably higher in the British Isles for whatever reason.

 

[CPanther95]

There's also that odd pocket near Russia.

That area of Russia is called Udmurtia, and it supposedly has the highest proportion of red hair anywhere in the world.

Probably Chernobyl.

 

[bcla]

Probably Chernobyl.

Chernobyl isn't in Russia though.