Surely you're heard the phrase "red-headed step-child" before. If you haven't, hopefully you can get the drift of what it means.

For those of us who have heard the saying or -- for shame -- even used it, you have to wonder how red-heads managed to get such a bad reputation.

Historians suggest that contemporary anti-red-head sentiment largely stems from the 19th-century clash between the British and the Irish. Surprisingly, evidence of gingerism (like racism, but based on hair color) can be found as far back as the Egyptians, who used to sacrifice red-heads.

According the BBC, red-head hating is still going strong around the world, but especially in the UK. Based on anecdotal reports, nearly every natural red-head has faced at least some kind of discrimination ranging from childhood taunting, to sexual rejection to violent hate crimes. (The most extreme case of anti-red-head sentiment, of course, being the 2003 stabbing of a red-headed 20-year-old man.)

So what do you think? Do the red-heads you know tend to get more flack?

And if you are a red-head, have you ever faced hardship because of your hair color?