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Revision as of 03:31, 18 January 2007 by HalfOfElement29 (talk | contribs) (→Historical Distribution: added fact/ area of highest frequency)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff) This article is about people with red hair, also sometimes called Redheads. For Redhead (disambiguation), see Red hair (disambiguation).
File:Woman redhead natural portait.jpg
Woman with red hair.

Red hair (also referred to as auburn, ginger, or titian) is a hair color that varies from a deep red through to bright copper. It is characterized by high levels of the reddish pigment pheomelanin and relatively low levels of the dark pigment eumelanin. People with red hair are often referred to as redheads.

Red is an uncommon hair color among humans, found mainly in Northern and Western European populations (and descendants of these populations), although it occurs in low frequencies throughout other parts of Europe and Asia. Red hair appears to be caused by a recessive gene on chromosome 16 which causes a mutation of the MC1R protein. It is associated with fair skin color, freckles, and sensitivity to ultraviolet light. Cultural reactions have varied from ridicule to admiration, with a common stereotype being the “fiery-tempered redhead”.

As well as in humans, red hair can also be found in other mammalian species such as orangutans, squirrels, highland cattle, some breeds of dog (such as Irish setter) and cat (see cat coat genetics), and certain species of fox and deer.


Historical Distribution

Red-headed, blue-eyed Central Asian (Tocharian?) and East-Asian Buddhist monks, Bezaklik, Eastern Tarim Basin, 9th-10th century.

A fragment by Xenophanes describes the Thracians as blue-eyed and red-haired, and Herodotus described the "Budini" (probably Udmurts and Permyak Finns) as being predominantly redheaded. The Berber and Kabylie populations of northern Algeria have occasional red heads. Red hair was also found in Asia, notably among the Tocharians. The 2nd millennium BC Caucasoid Tarim mummies in China were found with red and blond hair.

Boudica, the famous Celtic queen of the Iceni, was said by the Greek historian Dio Cassius to: "be tall and terrifying in appearance ... a great mass of red hair fell over her shoulders". The Roman Tacitus commented on the "red hair and large limbs of the inhabitants of Caledonia " (The Life of Agricola, Ch. 11), which he linked with some red haired German/Belgic Gaulish tribes.

Today, red hair is most commonly found at both the west and eastern fringes of modern Europe. It is associated with those in Great Britain (more specifically the Scots, Welsh and Cornish) and Ireland. A high proportion of redheads is found in Scotland where 13% of the population has red hair. Ireland too has many redheads, as many as 10% of the Irish population have ginger or strawberry blond hair, while it is thought that up to 35% carry a recessive "ginger gene". Red hair is most common in northernmost England, in which it has a frequency of over 15 percent. However, red or reddish-tinged hair is also found in other Caucasian populations particularly in the Nordic countries, the Baltic States, Russia and Northern Germany.

In Asia, darker or mixed tinges of red-hair can be found today sporadically from Northern India, Iran and Pakistan, where it can be found most commonly amongst those of Iranian descent, such as the Pashtuns, all the way to Japan.

Biochemistry and genetics

MP Robin Cook was one of many redheaded Scots.

The biochemistry of red hair, discovered in 1997, appears to be associated with the melanocortin-1 receptor, which is found on chromosome 16. Red hair is associated with fair skin color and sensitivity to ultraviolet light. The MC1R recessive gene which gives people red hair and fair skin is also associated with freckles, though it is not uncommon to see a redhead without freckles. 80% of redheads have a MC1R gene variant, and the prevalence of these alleles is highest in Scotland and Ireland. The alleles that code for red hair occur close to the alleles that impact skin color, so it seems that the phenotypic expression for lighter skin and red hair are interrelated.

Genetics

The genetics of red hair are now being uncovered, together with connections between red hair and melanoma, skin disorders in general, and different reactions to anaesthesia. There is evidence for genetic linkage of eye color with other hair colors such as brown hair, although MC1R is not linked to eye color. The inheritance of red hair is close to what geneticists describe as an autosomal recessive mode of inheritance. This means that the parents of red-haired children may carry the gene for red hair but not have red hair themselves.

There is also evidence that red hair may be an example of incomplete dominance. This means that when only one copy of the red hair allele is present, red hair may blend with the other hair color, resulting in different types of red hair including strawberry blond (red-blonde) and auburn (red-brown).

In studies by Harding, et al. (2000), the alleles Arg151Cys, Arg160Trp, Asp294His, and Arg142His on MC1R, are shown to be recessives for the red hair phenotype.

Evolution

Red hair is the rarest type of natural hair color in humans and the reasons for its occurrence are unclear. The pale skin associated with red hair may be of advantage in far-northern climates where sunlight is scarce. Studies by Bodmer and Cavalli-Sforza (1976) hypothesized that lighter skin pigmentation prevents rickets in colder latitudes by encouraging higher levels of Vitamin D production and also allows the individual to retain heat better than someone with darker skin. Rees (2004) suggested that the vividness and rarity of red hair may lead to it becoming desirable in a partner and therefore it could become more common through sexual selection.

Harding et al (2000) proposed that red hair was not the result of positive selection but rather occurs due to a lack of negative selection. In Africa, for example, red hair is selected against because high levels of sun would be harmful towards fair skin. However, in Northern Europe this does not happen and so redheads can occur through genetic drift.

Estimates on the original occurrence of the currently active gene for red hair vary from 20,000 to 100,000 years ago. Based on a 2001 Oxford University study, some commentators speculated that Neanderthals had red hair, and that some red-headed and freckled humans today share some genetic heritage with Neanderthals. Other researchers disagree, and the scientists who conducted the 2001 Oxford study have said that this is a misinterpretation of their findings.

Medical implications

Melanin in the skin aids UV tolerance through suntanning, but a typical redhead lacks melanin and is more likely to get sunburn. Studies by Healy et al. (2000) show that red hair alleles in MC1R effect increased freckling and decreased tanning ability. Rees (2004) found that Europeans that are heterozygous for red hair exhibit increased sensitivity to UV radiation.

Red hair and its relationship to UV sensitivity are of interest to many melanoma researchers. Sunshine can both be good and bad for a person's health and the different alleles on MC1R represent these adaptations. It also has been shown in studies by Rees (2002a, 2002b) that individuals with pale skin are highly susceptible to a variety of skin cancers such as melanoma, basal cell carcinoma, and squamous cell carcinoma.

There is little or no evidence to support the belief that redheads are more likely than non-redheads to haemorrhage or suffer other bleeding complications. However, one study found that redheads reported higher rates of bruising.

Sensitivity to pain

Two studies have demonstrated that redheads have differential sensitivity to pain compared to non-redheads, but they differ as to the direction of the effect. A study by Liem et al. found that redheads are more sensitive to thermal pain. However, a study by Mogil et al. found that redheads are less sensitive to pain from electrical stimuli, and that mutant mice with non-functional melanocortin-1 receptors are less sensitive to pain from multiple modalities.

In people with red hair, the cells that produce skin and hair pigment have a dysfunctional melanocortin 1 receptor. Edwin Liem (researcher at the Outcomes Research Institute of the University of Louisville, US) says this dysfunction triggers the release of more of the hormone that stimulates these cells, but this hormone also stimulates a brain receptor related to pain sensitivity.

Researchers have found that redheads require greater amounts of anesthesia, but other research shows that women with naturally red hair require less of the painkiller pentazocine than do either women of other hair colors or men of any hair color. A study conducted by Jeffrey Mogil and colleagues showed red-headed women had a greater analgesic response to that particular pain medication than men. A follow-up study by the same group showed that redheaded men and women (and mutant "redhead" mice) had a greater analgesic response to morphine-6-glucuronide.

Associated pathologies

Most red hair is caused by the MC1R gene and is non-pathological. However, in some cases red hair can be associated with disease or genetic disorder:

  • In cases of severe malnutrition, normally dark human hair may turn red or blonde. The condition, part of a syndrome known as kwashiorkor, is a sign of critical starvation caused chiefly by protein deficiency, and is common during periods of famine.
  • Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, Type V, a genetic disease associated with hyperextensible (loose) skin, mild scarring, mild tissue fragility, and hemorrhaging is only seen among red-headed people.
  • One variety of albinism (type 3, also called rufous albinism), sometimes seen in Africans and inhabitants of New Guinea, results in red hair and red-colored skin.
  • "People lacking pro-opiomelanocortin also have red hair, along with obesity and congenital hypocortisolism".

Culture

File:Far Away Thoughts.jpg
A red-haired woman, Far Away Thoughts John William Godward 1892. Red hair was a popular subject amongst Pre-Raphaelite artists

In various times and cultures, red hair has been prized, feared, and ridiculed.

Queen Elizabeth I of England was a redhead, and during the Elizabethan era in England, red hair was fashionable. This was also the case during the rule of redhead Oliver Cromwell. In modern times, red hair is subject to fashion trends; celebrities such as Rita Hayworth or Gillian Anderson can boost sales of red hair dye.

Sometimes, red hair darkens as people get older, becoming a more brownish colour or losing some of its vividness. This leads some to associate red hair with youthfulness, a quality that is generally considered desirable. In several Muslim countries such as Iran and Pakistan, henna is used on greying hair to give it a bright red appearance.

Red hair can also be subject to ribbing and ridicule. In the Middle Ages red hair was disparagingly called "judas-colored", in reference to Judas Iscariot. In modern-day UK and Ireland, the word "ginger" (often pronounced with two hard 'g's /'gɪ.ŋə/ to rhyme with 'ringer', as opposed to the standard pronunciation /'dʒɪn.dʒə/) is derogatorily used to describe red headed people. Redheads are also sometimes referred to as "carrot tops". This "gingerphobia" has been satirised on a number of TV shows. The British comedienne Catherine Tate appeared in a running sketch in an episode of The Catherine Tate Show in which she was forced to seek solace in a refuge for ginger people; the pejorative use of the word "ginger", and related discrimination, was used to illustrate a point about racism and prejudice in the "Ginger Kids" episode of South Park; and the British comedy Bo' Selecta! featured a spoof documentary which involved a caricature of red-haired "Simply Red" singer Mick Hucknall presenting a show in which celebrities (played by themselves) dyed their hair ginger for a day and went about daily life being insulted by people.

Many painters have exhibited a fascination with red hair. The colour "titian" takes its name from Titian, who often painted women with red hair. Other painters notable for their redheads include the Pre-Raphaelites, Edmund Leighton, Modigliani, Gustav Klimt and Sandro Botticelli, whose famous painting, The Birth of Venus, depicts the mythological goddess, Venus, as a redhead. Additionally, witches are frequently portrayed as redheads.

Beliefs about temperament

A common stereotype of redheads is that they have fiery tempers. In Anne of Green Gables, a character says of the redheaded heroine that "her temper matches her hair", while in The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield remarks that "People with red hair are supposed to get mad very easily, but Allie never did, and he had very red hair."

During the early stages of modern medicine, red hair was thought to be a sign of a sanguine temperament. In the Indian medicinal practice of Ayurveda, redheads are seen as most likely to have a Pitta temperament.

Another belief is that redheads are highly-sexed; for example, Jonathan Swift satirizes redhead stereotypes in part four of Gulliver's Travels, "A Voyage to the Country of the Houyhnhnms," when he writes that: "It is observed that the red-haired of both sexes are more libidinous and mischievous than the rest, whom yet they much exceed in strength and activity." Swift goes on to write that: "...neither was the hair of this brute of a red color (which might have been some excuse for an appetite a little irregular) but black as a sloe..."

Related beliefs, stories and traditions

Mary Magdalene is commonly portrayed with long red hair, as in this picture by Anthony Frederick Augustus Sandys.
  • The Biblical mark of Cain is thought by some to have been red hair. Esau's entire body is supposed to have been covered with red hair. Also Judas Iscariot is sometimes supposed to have been redheaded. King David is also known for having red hair.
  • Early artistic representations of Mary Magdalene usually depict her as having long flowing red hair, although a description of her hair color was never mentioned in the Bible, and it is possible the color is an effect caused by pigment degradation in the ancient paint. This tradition is used as a plot device in the book and movie The Da Vinci Code.
  • Ancient Egyptians associated both red-haired humans and red-colored animals with the god Set, considering them to be favored by the powerful and temperamental deity. Several pharaohs associated with Set are described as being redheaded. The dynasties Tutmoses, Rammeses and Mentuhotep included red (and orange) haired pharaohs.
  • According to English legend, King Arthur had long red hair and would return to lead England through a time of hardship. Important British figures like Queen Elizabeth I and Sir Winston Churchill, both redheads, are said to be the fulfillment of this legend.
  • In Malaysia and Singapore, 'Ang Mo', meaning 'Red Hair', is slang for people of European ancestry of any hair color.
  • In Australia, red haired people are often given the ironic nickname "Blue".
  • There is a tradition amongst astrologers that the planet Mars is more likely to be rising above the eastern horizon at the time of the birth of a red haired person than for the population in general.
  • The name of the ancient kingdom of Rus may have been derived from the local word for red hair. The name of Russia was subsequently adopted from the same root. See Etymology of Rus and derivatives (third bullet under Etymology) and Russia.
  • According to popular history, the red-headed norseman Erik the Red discovered Greenland.

Modern fiction

Related personal names

  • حمراوي - (Arabic) meaning "red haired" (m)
  • Flanna - (Irish Gaelic) meaning "red haired" (f)
  • Soora - (Kurdish) meaning "red haired" (m)
  • Ginger - (English) can be given in reference to the color, a reddish or reddish-brown (m/f)
  • Blue/y - (Australian English) using an opposite to describe red hair (m)
  • Roy - (Scottish Gaelic), from ruadh, meaning "dark red" (m)
  • Rory - (Irish/Scottish Gaelic), from Ruadhrì, which means "red king" (m)
  • Ruff - (French) meaning "the red haired one" (m)
  • Ruf - (Catalan) meaning "the red haired one" (m)
  • Rufina - (Latin) meaning "red haired one" (f)
  • Rufus - (Latin) meaning "red haired" (m)
  • Rush - (French) meaning "red haired" (m)
  • Ruskin - (Teutonic) meaning "little red haired one" (m)
  • Rust - (Anglo-Saxon) meaning "red haired" (m)
  • Cochyn - (Welsh) meaning "redhead"
  • Russell - from an Anglo-Norman French nickname for someone with red hair (derived from rous (red) and the diminutive suffix el) (m)
  • Rúivo (Portuguese) meaning "red haired"
  • Ranga - (Australian) slang used by youth in Sydney Australia for red-haired individuals, derived from the name of the red ape, the orang-utan

See also

Further reading

  • Allen Sacharov. The Red Head Book (1985).
  • Stephen Douglas. The Redhead Encyclopedia (1996).
  • Tim Collins. The Ginger Survival Guide (2006).
  • Uwe Ditz. Redheads (2000).
  • Marion Roach. Roots of Desire: The Myth, Meaning and Sexual Power of Red Hair (2005).
  • Cort Cass. The Redhead Handbook (2003).

References

  1. Mysterious Mummies of China PBS Transcript: Airdate 1998-01-20
  2. As many as 10% of Scots and Irish people have ginger or strawberry blond hair Professor Jonathan Rees, Edinburgh University , reported BBC News 2000-04-04
  3. Yamamoto M., and Neel J.V. "A note on red hair on the Island of Hirado, Japan". Jinrui Idengaku Zasshi. March 1967. 11 (4), pp 257-62.
  4. Valverde P, Healy E, Jackson I, Rees JL, Thody AJ. Variants of the melanocyte-stimulating hormone receptor gene are associated with red hair and fair skin in humans. Nature Genetics . 1995 November;11(3):328-30.
  5. ^ Harding, Rosalind M. et al. Evidence for Variable Selective Pressures at MC1R American Journal of Human Genetics , 2000 April; 66(4): 1351–1361.
  6. ^ Nicole's hair secrets Daily Telegraph 2002-10-02, Accessed 2005-11-02
  7. ^ Red hair genes 100,000 years old Oxford Blueprint Vol. 1 Issue 11 2001-05-31
  8. Red hair a legacy of Neanderthal man The DHAMURIAN Society inc., quoting from The Sunday Mail p.22. 2001-04-22
  9. "Red-Heads and Neanderthals". May 2001. Retrieved 2005-10-28.
  10. Kumar Veena V., Kumar Naveen V., and Isaacson Glenn.Superstition and post-tonsillectomy hemorrhage The Laryngoscope 2004, vol. 114, no11, pp. 2031-2033
  11. ^ Liem, Edwin B. et al. Women with Red Hair Report a Slightly Increased Rate of Bruising but Have Normal Coagulation Tests Anesthesia & Analgesia 2006;102:313-318
  12. Liem EB, Joiner TV, Tsueda K, Sessler DI. Increased sensitivity to thermal pain and reduced subcutaneous lidocaine efficacy in redheads. Anesthesiology. 2005 March;102(3):509-14.
  13. ^ Mogil JS et al. Melanocortin-1 receptor gene variants affect pain and mu-opioid analgesia in mice and humans. Journal of Medical Genetics. 2005 July;42(7):583-7.
  14. Liem, Edwin B., et al. "Anesthetic Requirement Is Increased in Redheads" Anesthesiology: Volume 101(2), August 2004, pp 279-283.
  15. "Red heads suffer more pain", NewScientist.com news service, 15 October 2002
  16. Mogil JS et al. The melanocortin-1 receptor gene mediates female-specific mechanisms of analgesia in mice and humans. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA. 2003 April 15;100(8):4867-72.
  17. EHLERS-DANLOS SYNDROME, TYPE V Clinical Synopsis, created by John F. Jackson 1995-06-15, revised by Kelly A. Przylepa 2002-07-12
  18. ^ Pathology Guy: Accumulations and Deposits Ed Friedlander, M.D., Pathologist. Last updated 2006-09-24
  19. Human Molecular Genetics. 11: 1997, 2002; Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 994: 233, 2003
  20. Henna – history Plant Cultures: Exploring plants and people. 2004-11-18
  21. Gingerphobia: Carrot-tops see red BBC News, 2000-02-22
  22. The Art of Being a Redhead - Gallery of 19th Century portraits of women with red hair
  23. Modigliani painting
  24. Klimt painting
  25. The Practical Magnetic Healer G. M. Brown 1899
  26. The Astrological Journal, vol. 5, p. 2224 (September-October 1988)
  27. ""Name History and Origin for Russell"". Dictionary of American Family Names (in English). Oxford University Press. Retrieved 2006-10-03.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)

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