It's ben fun to introduce our four grandchildren to some of the cartoons and kids series of our past, although the violence and sexism of the usually clever Looney Tunes and others is an eye-opener.
Ruth found the original Anne of Green Gables series with Megan Follows and it didn't go well with our six-year-old grandchild. He is one of two redheads amongst the four, a persistent trait in the family, including Ruth, especially when she was pregnant and the hormones deepened her usually strawberry blonde hair. He was alarmed by the prejudice against Anne's ginger locks by adults and children.
You may recall that schoolmate Gilbert called Anne "carrot" and it wasn't a term of endearment. Of course Anne was fiery in her response to her tormentor, an emotional stereotype of redheads. Yet Anne bemoaned her "life-long sorrow" and claimed she could never be happy with red hair. She managed to dye her hair green in an attempt to free herself from the curse and had her locks shorn as a result.
The shock of all this was so deep for our grandchild that they had to stop watching, immediately. He has yet to experience this in life and so was unsettled at the prospect. But maybe this silly prejudice has come to an end.
Mary Magdalene --Andrea Solario 1495-1524
You may be aware that Mary Magdalene was maligned as a "wanton woman" for centuries in the church even though this is not supported by the gospels and often portrayed with red hair.
That's the way with stereotypes and prejudices, isn't it? Humans categorize others according to race, creed, colour and gender and it continues to be a powerful tool for control. We see it south of the border right now and it's certainly a grim aspect of our Canadian history. I grew up knowing little about other religions but Muslims were definitely not to be trusted. Aboriginal spirituality was pagan. Homosexuals were considered an abomination and some people protested the use of the word "gay" because it was too positive, although calling someone gay was a slur. Dumb? Yup.
I'm not a fan of the doctrine of original sin although I've concluded that hatred seems to be bred in the bone. Some say that we learn our prejudices, which is probably true, but we take to them readily.
As Jesus-followers we can follow his example in creating a welcoming and loving environment for all rather than weaponizing our faith for exclusion. We can repent of our sins of prejudice and embrace the way of love. This shouldn't be so difficult.
It's encouraging to see in recent years the embrace of gingerness with a growing number of gatherings and even multi-day festivals. Why not "say it loud, say it proud"?
1 comment:
My sister was a red head, I was brown with auburn highlights... my 2 granddaughters, however, are definite gingers... my grandson is, too. I do not recall being teased, nor do they... but one of my high school classmates accused me of colouring my hair - he said my hair could not be that shade naturally (now... just white, mostly!) Little did he know that my father would never have allowed any of us to colour our hair . til my mother decided to break the rule, in her late 40's!!!
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