Ugly Duckling to Swan: Labeling Theory and the Stigmatization of Red Hair

Abstract

Interviews were conducted with redheads, and labeling theory is used to analyze their stigmatization in society as well as their perceptions of having red hair. First, using the relativistic stance of labeling theory, red hair is described as a type of deviance. Second, the processes involved in the labeling of redheads are examined, especially in regard to how redheads have personally experienced stereotyping. The stereotypes that redheads perceive to be socially constructed are as follows: hot temper, clownish, weirdness, Irishness, not capable of being in the sun, wild women, wimpy men, and intellectual superiority. Finally, the impact of being negatively labeled and treated in society is considered. Redheads typically receive negative treatment as children, and, as a consequence, redheads experience a lowered self‐esteem, feelings of differentness, and a sense of being the center of attention. Nevertheless, redheads typically transform a negative experience into a positive one by learning to appreciate their hair color and how it has shaped their sense of self. In essence, they become an example of tertiary deviants.

Stigmatization of Sex Offenders

“…Among those groups and varieties of individuals that are known to be stigmatized are sex workers (Comte 2010), persons with HIV=AIDS (Gilbert and Walker 2010;Weitz 1991), the obese (Culligan 2009;Whitesel 2010), mental ill persons (Fennell and Liberato 2007;Guo 2009;Kranke 2009;Scheff 1966), physically disabled and=or scarred persons (Knudson-Cooper 1981;Taub et al 2004), teenage mothers (Yardley 2008), the voluntarily childless (Park 2002), gay men (at least in some ethnic cultures) (Poon and Ho 2008), and even persons with red hair (Heckert and Best 1997).…”

Are Preferences for Women’s Hair Color Frequency-Dependent?

“…Globally the rates of naturally occurring blond hair are approximately 2 % compared with over 90 % dark hair (Gray 2008). The scant information for red hair suggests rates as low as 1 % (Heckert and Best 1997) or 10 % in some populations in Europe (Gray 2008). Unlike skin color, hair color likely has less influence on health and survival so that frequency dependent preferences for hair color may operate at proximate rather than ultimate levels.…”

“…To this end, using experimental procedures employed in more recent studies of face preferences (Janif et al 2014;Little et al 2014;Principe and Langlois 2012) we tested whether preferences shift away from a central tendency to prefer common hair colors towards rarer hair colors following experimentally familiarising participants to specific hair colors. We predicted that men's preferences for women's hair color would reflect negative frequency-dependent patterns, especially for blond and red hair, given their typically low rates cross-culturally (Gray 2008;Heckert and Best 1997). We placed participants into experimental treatments wherein the frequency of women's hair color varied and compared exposure to different treatments with responses to a standard set of stimuli that varied in brown, blond, and red hair.…”

Fitting In and Fighting Back: Stigma Management Strategies among Homeless Kids

“…Research on kids who are stigmatized and the strategies they use to manage their stigma is generally lacking. Among the few exceptions are studies on the stigmatization of adults and kids who have red hair (Heckert and Best 1997), the perceived stigma of kids with lesbian mothers (Gershon, Tschann, and Jemerin 1999), and the effects of peer stigmatization in kindergarten (Hatch 1988).…”