While We're On the Subject of Redheads

Is what is currently referred to as "ginger hair" actually "red hair", and why is it taking it in the chops on one hand and then every other women is dyeing her hair some shade of red?

I know about the South Park "gingers" deal, or whatever it was, but is that all there was to it?  I missed that episode as I have almost all others except for the one where they ripped the Mormons a new one.  That one was awful but I felt compelled to watch on general principle.  My eyeballs and ears had to be decontaminated and my outrage went on high alert, developing a distrust of children everywhere for three days.  But I go off the subject.

I have three cousins, Joan, Gale and Anne, who have red hair that came out of nowhere.  Both their parents, Welby and Ruth Carr Peterson, had dark, dark hair.  But their three daughters have hair that is bright carrot red, and beautifully curly.

I thought, and still think, it is the most beautiful color there is.  Liz McOmber, one of my all-time best friends,  has red hair, and I know that Liz and many of the aforementioned group didn't like being redheads when young for one reason or another, but I know that many (if not all) have "freshened" the color as they've aged.  I'm just saying.

So there are two questions so far: 1) "Why are we now calling red hair 'ginger' if in fact we are" and 2) "Why has this color fallen into such disrepute as to cause such outrage and abuse?"

I've also heard that as a color, it's disappearing.  Maybe one or two per cent of the population has red hair and that's from around England, Ireland, Northern and Western Europe.  That's sad.

But here is a really nifty tie-in to my family tree.  It seems back in one of the branches there was a crowd of sheep-stealers who were called "Redhead" who had to get outta town, beat a hasty departure, take it on the lamb (snicker) and cleverly fooled everyone by changing their name to "Rhead".  This is not the same side of the family that produced the aforementioned Joan, Gale and Anne, however.  This is the side that produced my father, Bennion Rhead Cannon whose grandmonther was Sarah Ann Rhead.

I like redheads, you see, for a number of reasons.  So I'm wondering why we're picking on them.  Any answers?