After months of attacks on their property and person, the Chapman family finally cracked and decided to flee their home.  Having endured physical assault, verbal abuse and vandalism, Kevin and Barbara Chapman were too worried about what could happen to their four children to remain in the Newcastle property. Recounting the abuse, they said: 

"[Our kids] have been punched and kicked and thrown over a hedge. Every time they go out these gangs get to them.  We can't even go to the local shops which are only two minutes away. The kids get all their stuff taken off them.

Whilst their plight bears similarities to the vigilante violence directed at the homes of rapists and paedophiles, the reason for the abuse couldn't be more different.  The Chapmans were forced out of their home simply because they had red hair: 

Teasing red haired friends and relatives is a rite of passage for many, with "Fanta Pants," "Irn Bru Shampoo" and "Duracell" numbering amongst the most common insults.  Redheads' relative rarity renders them ripe for such ribbing.  It is estimated that only 2-6 percent of the Western European population is naturally ginger, with that number set to plummet as the recessive gene that causes red hair dies out over the next few centuries. 

Most gingers take the insults on the chin and indeed most teasing stops once school finishes.  However, cases like that of the Chapman family highlight the disturbing lengths to which some "gingerphobes" take the joke.

A recent Facebook campaign to make November 22 National Kick A Ginger Day led to claims of children being attacked in schools.  Many question whether teasing someone because of their hair colour is any more acceptable than full-on racism.  2007 saw Patrick Mercer, then Conservative homeland security spokesperson sacked from his job over comments that red-haired soldiers faced "a far harder time" in service than their black colleagues.

Flame-haired photographer Charlotte Rushton was riled into publishing Ginger Snaps, a photographic celebration of red hair, after an unpleasant encounter with a gingerphobe:

"I was on the Tube, pregnant, and I was really humiliated by this drunk yob. He was shouting 'do the cuffs and the collars match?' He got right up into my face. You don't do that to other people."

Whilst such incidents highlight gingerphobia at its nastiest, most KU redheads have found their hair-colour less problematic. 

Laura Oakley, a 21 year-old Graphic Design student admitted to dying her hair ginger, saying:

“I’ve been every other colour except red, so I thought I’d give it a go.  It really works on some girls.  I’m not sure about ginger men, although Robert Pattinson had a ginger tinge in New Moon, and it looked good on him.”

Bethan Morgan, a 22 year-old Art, Design and Film student says:

“I really like my hair.  I’ve had an overwhelmingly positive reaction to it over the years, although the few negative comments that I got when I was younger didn’t bother me much.  I did dye it black once but it looked awful when the roots grew out.”

Asked about whether she’d date a fellow redhead, Ms. Morgan gave a controversial response:

“Definitely not – it’s a bit incestuous.  I’d be worried about what our children might turn out like.  Baby girls with red hair are really cute, but boys aren’t.  Ginger men tend to have a harder time of it than women anyway.”

Computer Science student Gary Hill, 21, confirmed this, saying:

“I wouldn’t change my hair colour – I’m happy with it, but people do tease.  ‘Ginga’ is probably the most common insult.  I heard it a lot at school and even now when I’m out jogging people roll down the windows of their cars and shout it at me.”    

Non-ginger students questioned about red hair confirmed this gender bias. 

Martin Kwako, a 20 year-old entrepreneur said:

 “If you style it properly, it looks hot.  I haven’t dated a red haired girl yet, but I’d like to.”

Business Studies student Aaron Muzna, 23, echoed these sentiments, saying:

“There’s definitely something about ginger girls.  They’re really sexy.  I’d happily date one.”

Cat Milne, a 21 year old Media, Culture and Dance student admitted to focusing her attention elsewhere: 

“When it comes to ginger men, I tend to say no, but sometimes their face and body can make up for the colour.”  

Francesca Rawlins, a 23 year-old Dance and Drama student was similarly circumspect:

“ It’s a generalisation to say all gingers are ugly.  If I ever saw a hot guy wearing a hat and he took it off to reveal he was ginger, it wouldn’t put me off him at all, I don’t think.”

In spite of the criticism and controversy that something as trivial as hair colour can cause, most ginger men and women admit to being very happy with their follicles.  Many enjoy the individuality that it affords them.  Shawn Mitchell, a 26 year-old Comics buyer sums it up, saying: 

“I’m the only ginger in my generation of the family and used to wish I had hair like everyone else.  Since then I’ve grown to love it.  Pulling isn’t a problem at all – I get hit on by scores of people who are crazy for redheads, although I’d like to know where they were when I was 17.  Given the chance, I’d never change my hair colour – red or dead!”