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Roots of Desire: Myth, Meaning & Sexual Power of Red Hair
Marion Roach
Part history, part cultural commentary, part memoir, The Roots of Desire is a witty and entertaining investigation into what it means to be a redhead.
Bloomsbury Publishing
July 2005
256 pages ISBN: 1582343446 Hardcover
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Non-Fiction
A redhead rarely goes unnoticed in a crowded room. From
Judas Iscariot to Botticelli's Venus to Julianne Moore,
redheads have been worshipped, idealized, fetishized,
feared, and condemned, leaving their mark on us and our
culture. Such is the power of what is actually a genetic
mutation, and in The Roots of Desire, Marion Roach takes a
fascinating look at the science behind hair color and the
roles redheads have played over time. She discovers that in
Greek mythology, redheads become vampires after they die;
Hitler banned intermarriage with redheads for fear of
producing "deviant offspring"; women with red hair were
burned as witches during the Inquisition; in Hollywood,
female redheads are considered sexy while male redheads are
considered a hard sell; and in the nineteenth century, it
was popular belief that redheads were the strongest scented
of all women, smelling of amber and violets. Redheads have
been stereotyped, marginalized, sought after, and made to
function as everything from a political statement to a
symbol of human carnality. A redhead herself, Roach brings
candor and brilliant insight to the complicated and
revealing history of redheads, making this a stand-out
narrative and an essential tool in understanding the
mechanics and phenomenon of red hair.
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