Aussies in the red...

Whoooop whoooop!! It’s a good day for Australia! Not only does Oz have its very first female Prime Minister following 26 men, but she’s a read-head. A ginger. An auburn-haired source of hope for the whole country. This is a turning point in my experience of human acceptance. This would NEVER be allowed in Britain. She’d have been egged the second she put her hand up for the job.

Brits are mean though. British people make fun of rangas. Up until today, I’m ashamed to admit I never knew where the word ranga came from. I’d heard it being thrashed about in (mostly drunken) conversation but just assumed it was mean-spirited piss-taking and put it out of my head. However, the fact that we now have a ranga PM, and that people have been referencing this all day on the radio; playing songs by famous red-heads – well that had me turning to Google. Where does the word even come from?

Wikipedia says: “Ranga: a term for people with red hair, possibly derived from the Maori word for blue, rangi, or the animal orangutan known for its red fur.”

Ah haaa. Orangutans, That explains it. Although I much prefer Urban Dictionary’s explanation: “Ranga: Derived from Orangutan… or from the Latin “Orange Utan” meaning red pubic hair, commonly known as Fanta pants.”

HAAAAAAAA! Fanta pants!!! I love that. LOVE IT. Although, technically Fanta is orange, and so are orangutans, and red-haired people’s hair is red. Although…thinking about it, red-haired people’s hair is orange too, isn’t it. It’s just that people call it red, to be polite. Although… if they really mean to be polite regarding these people, they wouldn’t call them rangas. I’m confused.

Anyway, the point is that Julia Gillard is a shining testimony to the power of dreams. She knew she could do the job and she wasn’t about to let a stereotype about her hair colour put her off (like she may have done in Britain). I salute you Australians! It would have been so easy for her to get the bleach out last night and have a go at changing herself before attempting to change Australia, but she decided to charge forth anyway. Good for her.

"First woman, first redhead, and I'll allow you to contemplate which was more unlikely in this modern age," she joked today, proving her sense of humour. Bless.

It is marginally disturbing though, that when you type the word ‘ranga’ into Google search, Julia Gillard news stories appear in the third highest position. Even the search engines are still dissing the colour of her hair! With great power comes great responsibility. If Julia does good, she’ll change the world for rangas everywhere. Ranga will stand for justice, truth, positivity and reform, instead of scorn and drunken mockery.

But if she fucks up… well, it’s back to the drawing board for them all. What’s it gonna be, Gillard?