Redheads Stereotypes

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Methodology
The data gathered in this study were done using qualitative methods. 10 redheads were interviewed (eight girls and two boys) in order to replicate a similar study done in 1997 (Druann Maria Heckert and Amy Best 1997 pg. 3). Each of those interviewed were between the ages of 15 and 18 and attended Westfield High School in Indiana. 8 non redheads were also interviewed (five girls and three boys) to explore the opinions of redhead stereotypes in those without red hair. In order to prevent bias skews in the responses of those without red hair, I recruited a fellow classmate without red hair to act in my place during the interviews with the non-redhead subjects. Since red hair is such a rare trait in the general population (less …show more content…
It seems however to expect extreme depth from high schoolers is to expect pigs to fly. I asked how each subject saw their hair, as either a positive or a negative and why they thought that. I then asked about their experiences as redheads; how they were treated in the past, for example, if they had been thrust into the center of attention or felt out of place because of their hair color. Finally I asked the subjects how their hair had affected or helped to shape his or her …show more content…
In the interviews conducted in their study, Herket and Best, redheads themselves, breached topics that had to deal sensitive topics such as: stereotypes, childhood experiences, insecurities, and so on. Several of their subjects said that the negative experiences throughout their lives contributed to lower self esteem later in life. One female phrased it as, “I feel dorky, especially next to a blonde. You feel so ugly, and that goes along with TV commercials. It’s totally defaming to redheaded women, the boobs, the tan, the blonde hair, the bikinis. You don’t feel normal. If you are a redhead, you don’t like to put a bathing suit on,” (Herket and Best, 1997). Although some discussed that although their hair color was a burden in their early childhood and throughout some of their school years, it actually, they felt, able to shape their identities in a positive way. Herket and Best found that throughout their sample, a common trend was that ironically “That characteristic which made them subject to negative treatment early in life comes to be appreciated, to be an essential part of the identity of a typical redhead, and a source of some of their positive feelings about themselves... our sample did not explicitly define what produces this metamorphosis; nevertheless, the experience was typical,” (Herket and Best, 1997), suggesting that although the common redhead
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