Julia Gillard and the New Racism

For many Australians there were celebrations and a real sense of history in the making when Julia Gillard deposed Kevin Rudd to become Prime Minister. The significance of her rise has parallels with the election of US President Barack Obama signaling a societal change and greater cultural maturity. It has also forced both nations to reflect on a past mired in prejudice and discrimination.

Julia Gillard is not just Australia’s first female Prime Minister, but a red-haired Prime Minister. Not since Yahoo Serious has a red head achieved such cultural prominence in our country. What does it mean for Australia?

Making derogatory remarks about people with red-hair is the last bastion of ‘acceptable’ racism left. In the days of James Scullin, the first red-headed PM nicknames like ‘Rusty’, ‘Ginger’ or ‘bluey’ were commonly used to describe red haired individuals, these milder terms have given way to the more vitriolic ‘ranga’, ‘bloodnut’ and ‘ginga’ (with a hard ‘G’).

Red-heads are popular fodder for comedians. Their low numbers (approx. 1% – 2% of the population) and sensitivity to ultraviolet light make them an easy target. One prominent stand-up discusses the rise of the new-ish EMO culture and how unnecessary this subculture is ‘Pale white skin, ostracized from society, generally disliked… thanks anyways EMO’s, but we’ve already got red-heads’.  Popular culture has come a long way from Kingswood Country and Ted Bulpitts ‘Hello my dear wog-in-law’. So as criticism of different ethnic groups has become more unacceptable, attacks on redheads have escalated.

‘Gingerphobia’ is not just an Australian phenomenon. A recent episode of South Park was mired in controversy of the suggestion that red heads are, in fact, without souls. The British singer Mick Hucknall of Simply Red fame, believes that he has repeatedly faced prejudice or been described as ugly on account of his hair colour. He argues that ‘Gingerism’ should be described as a form of racism. In 2008 social networking website Facebook received criticism in Canada after a group, which aimed to establish a “National Kick a Ginger Day” acquired almost 5,000 members.

Advertisers too, think attacking redheads is a harmless lark. In 2009 the British supermarket chain Tesco was forced to withdraw a Christmas card which had the image of a child with ginger hair sitting on the lap of Santa Claus, and the words: “Santa loves all kids. Even ginger ones”

Red hair has not prevented Scullin or Gillard from reaching the pinnacle of Australian political office, nor did it hurt the professional advancement of two other famous political testarossas; Roman Emperor Caligula and the great Iceni Queen; Boudica. But in a country where red-heads face more than their fair share of ridicule in the media and on the playground, should we be even more impressed with her feat than we otherwise would be?

While her rise doesn’t quite amount to a national catharsis, it is a symbolic moment in the evolution of Australia’s social history. Will there be an Australian version of the Obama Effect? will her elevation force Australians to confront their attitudes towards our last openly persecuted minority? Only time and the opinion polls will tell. I for one hope this is the first step towards a dream that we will one day live in a country where people are ridiculed by the content of their character, not by the colour of their hair.