I think redheads are Pinoy geek Kryptonite.
For starters, they're hella uncommon in these parts – the Great Unknown in the Biblical sense. Combine that with the prominence of gingers in geek culture, writ large, from Cheryl Blossom to Amy Pond, via actual nerdy celebs like Felicia Day, and it's a surefire formula for South East Asian geek fantasy.
It’s all especially ironic when you consider that Mary Jane Watson types are meant to represent a sense of uniqueness, sure, but also *attainable* wish fulfillment – “You hit the jackpot!" as opposed to “In your dreams, Mister!”
Too bad they have no souls.
Now, I recognize that this preference usually works alongside the usual socially constructed ideals of beauty. That is, redhead features only seem hot in relation to more conventionally attractive phenotypes, like a shapely body or pretty face. So it’s not just the ‘exotic’ red hair alleles – which also restrict tanning and encourage freckled skin – that Pinoy geeks are drawn to.
With that in mind, I offer this fine selection of attractive redheads with some impressive bodies… of creative work.
(Disclaimer: I have no way of knowing if any of them are *natural* gingers, so please, let’s go easy on any skeezy does-the-carpet-match-the-drapes speculation.)
Felicia Day
[PROMOTIONAL IMAGE]
But of course! Perhaps best known as the love interest Penny from Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, Day also starred as neurotic gamer Codex on the web series The Guild. After setting up the YouTube channel Geek and Sundry, she practically cemented her status as a foremost video maven.
Karen Gillan
[PHOTO BY CHRIS McANDRED FOR THE GUARDIAN]
Gillan is probably most recognized for playing Amy Pond, Companion to the Eleventh Doctor. But once the Guardians of the Galaxy film comes out in May, expect her to win over new fans as the azure-skinned space pirate Nebula. Alas, she shaved off her lovely tresses for the role, but even with no hair, she oozes the kind of feistiness typically associated with ginger lasses.
Jenny Lewis
[VIA TEAM LOVE]
If, like me, you watched late ‘80s road trip movie/feature-length Nintendo commercial The Wizard constantly in
grade school, then maybe you also had fantasies about Jenny Lewis. She played the smart-mouthed pre-teen runaway who joins Fred Savage and his idiot savant brother during their cross-country journey to Video Armageddon.
Well, young little Jenny went on to mature into a clever wordsmith and singer for indie rockers Rilo Kiley, before expanding into country-fried, vaguely folksy Americana, in collaboration with the Watson Twins and Johnathan Rice.
Tara Long
[VIA REV3]
Really, is there anything that doesn't interest this woman? As a host for Discovery Network, Dtoid, and Rev3, among others, she’s done everything from insane backyard hard science experiments to hands-on video game primers.
Erika Napoletano
[PROMOTIONAL IMAGE]
Forbes magazine once described her as “a redheaded, tattooed Tina Fey with a special weakness for four letter words.” But she’s deadly serious about helping people unleash their creativity – or become “unstuck”, as she puts it. This savvy brand manager is also a published author, encouraging people to rethink the concept of being “unpopular”.