Is it offensive to call a redhead a "ginger"?

So I just re-watched this great comedy by Tim Minchin, and here are the questions:

1. How bad/offensive is the g-word really (other than being an anagram of the n-word)?
2. What are alternatives? Is "redhead" more appropriate?

Solution 1:

It appears to be getting more offensive, and the amount of offence caused seems to be geographic. I think the offence really depends where you are in the world.

After that, it's quite a subjective question.

Here in the UK, it's still quite widely used, but politicians / celebrities that use the phrase (or phrases like it) get criticised. The criticism isn't enough to get someone fired, but an apology is probably needed.

See the recent news article about Harriet Harman calling someone a ginger rodent.

BTW, there's also a fair bit of pushback against how offensive the use of ginger is in comparison to other racial slurs. There's no history of slavery associated with red hair, and this fact is increasingly mentioned in conversations about "ginger".

I don't think this gets to the root (ha) of the issue here in the UK though. Ginger hair is associated with the underclasses. If that association gets stronger, then maybe the word will be seen as being more offensive.

I think the best I can give you is "We'll see".

Solution 2:

Is it offensive to call a redhead a “ginger”?

Yes, quite possibly, but the offensive word isn't ginger, it's a.

If you say He's ginger. you're describing a distinctive physical feature. Useful if you want to recognise him on your blind date.

If you say He's a ginger. you're suggesting that his gingerness is his most important quality. This is rarely helpful and, in light of the recent spate of gingers-have-no-friends jokes, best avoided.

If you say He's a “ginger”. with quotes around the word ginger ... well ... that's just off the scale! ;-)

Of course, context is everything:

• For our April issue, I think we should use the ginger for the front cover and the blonde for the centrefold.

OK

• I thank the ginger delegate for the interesting points he raised about the Child Poverty Action Plan.

facetious

Solution 3:

Thanks for the question, I think it's a good one. Here's what I think:

1. Alternatives: "Redhead" is right, I think - it seems to be the analogue of "blonde" or "brunette". What you'd be looking for is a straightforward descriptive term, and that would be it. A term like "ranga" obviously has a large (derogatory) evaluative (value judgment) flavour to it: "you've got red hair, and that's a bad thing"; which is obviously the analogue of "you've got black skin, and that's a bad thing."

2. If you follow such an analysis then there is still a case for considering "ginger" to have a strong evaluative flavour. The usage I'm familiar with is "he/she is a ginger" and almost never "he/she has ginger hair." So the implication is a conceptual reduction of the person to "a ginger" rather than someone "with ginger hair". It says "what you are is a ginger." Like saying someone is "a black", and defining what they are by the colour of their skin. Of course, on the same analysis, "ranga" is a terrible word - which is indeed common currency here in Australia (like "bunga", for the indigenous).

But certainly, context is important. As someone mentioned, the history of oppression of darker skinned races makes discriminating along those lines much more severe than discrimination along the lines of hair colour. Still, the analogy between the two is pretty significant. I would certainly never use the word...