Ginger Pride Rally

Buderim Ginger Beer and the Bully Zero Charity joined forces to create a very ‘colourful’ event – but there was only one colour! The inaugural Ginger Pride Rally graced Melbourne’s Federation Square yesterday and it was quite a sight to behold. Needless to say, it was designed to reduce bullying and to promote ginger beer sales… both perfectly worthy causes if you ask us!

A Fun Filled Morning

Australia’s first Ginger Pride Rally was a really fun event to attend as it was well organised and everyone got on board with great positivity. The turn out blew us all away. Having expected a couple of hundred attendees at most, the estimate of numbers on the ground was over 1000. A lovely spirit of camaraderie could be felt as strangers chatted like old friends. People posed for photos together and admired the many shades of ginger, copper and fire-engine red that shone in the sunshine! The organisation R.A.N.G.A. has decided that it stands for Redheads And Nearly Ginger Association, so there were a lot of different variations of these stunning hair colours on show. Some no-so-redheads (parents, partners, organisers etc.) got into the spirit of things with a dash of red hairspray. And why shouldn’t they? It’s the best hair colour around… everyone should try it out at some point in their lives, right?

The Serious Side

Interviewers asked questions ranging from the frivolous “Who is your favourite red-head celebrity?” to the more intense side: “Have you ever experienced bullying because of your hair colour?” Answers to these more serious questions varied a lot. Compared with other countries, Australia seems to have very little in the way of prejudice against ‘gingers’ like me! However, bullying does still happen and society still has room to improve on the issue of bullying, especially in schools. It was touching to hear some people’s stories of initially enduring nastiness but coming out of it with personal strength and support from friends and family. Many noted how they’d never felt that they were “in the majority” until this very event! Obviously, bullying based on appearance has no place in our society or any other. It was great to hear that so many rally-goers were delighted with their natural shade and wouldn’t trade it for the world. Even though people were clearly glad to be supporting the Bully Zero Charity, the rally definitely had a lighthearted and fun flavour – everyone was smiling and having a wonderful time. Humorous T-shirts and signs declared “Show me the ginger”, “The day of the walking red” and “Nobody puts ginger in the corner”. Some people were prepared with their own homemade signs and there were even a few people in costumes!