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Note: This thread was proposed by Synchronicity.

Trope Talk thread initially questioned this trope's significance. The description has some good ideas: redheads in real life are exoticized for their rarity, red is a color associated with passion, some find the Fiery Redhead's personality alluring, and several famous characters have redheaded love interests like Spider-Man. However, the trope seems to have attracted examples of "any time someone dates a redhead", which is why I started Sandbox.Heroes Want Redheaded Wick Checks:

  • Protagonist/hero has a redheaded love interest: 7/50 = 14%
  • Character has a redheaded love interest: 15/50 = 30%
  • Character is a redhead, no context for love interest: 11/50 = 22%
  • Character is a love interest, no context for redhead: 10/50=20%
  • No-context-at-all ZCE: 6/50=12%
  • Other: 1/50 = 2%

Zero-context examples (including PCE that don't bother to clarify either love interest or redhead) make up about half of usage. The examples that do have context for both 'love interest and redhead' don't often emphasize the heroism of the person they date. All in all the usage is "someone who may or may not have red hair has a love life", which is not tropeworthy.

Potential solutions: Between the wick check and the on-page examples, there may be enough to retool into "red hair is considered sexy in-universe whether or not they're the hero's girlfriend" trope, similar to Everyone Loves Blondes. I have collated on page examples that fit this trope as of writing on Sandbox.Red Hair Is Hot to prove that it can be made directly in TRS, though additional opinions on its proposed scope (on the sandbox) would be appreciated.

I'm honestly at a loss for what else to do with the page. Maybe disambiguate between that prospective trope, Significant Green-Eyed Redhead, Fiery Redhead (for the temperamental personality, which could be sexy), and Has a Type (lots of "has a thing for redheads" on Quotes.Heroes Want Redheads)

Wick check:

To see usage patterns of Heroes Want Redheads, which may have decayed into "someone dates a redhead"

Potholes in bold, my comments in bolded gold

Results:

  • Protagonist/hero has a redheaded love interest: 7/50 = 14%
  • Character has a redheaded love interest: 15/50 = 30%
  • Character is a redhead, no context for love interest: 11/50 = 22%
  • Character is a love interest, no context for redhead: 10/50=20%
  • No-context-at-all ZCE: 6/50=12%
  • Other: 1/50 = 2%

Wicks checked:

    Protagonist/hero has a redheaded love interest (7/50) 
I was generous and allowed Character Title to stand in for 'major/main character'

  1. Characters.As Told By Ginger: Is the secondary hero (he comes out on top in his plots) and crushes on redhaired Noelle.
  2. Characters.Balto: Jenna is red-furred and is Balto's Love Interest.
  3. ComicBook.Iron Man:
    • Pepper Potts, Black Widow, Bethany Cabe. If it's a significant Iron Man love interest, chances are it's a redhead. Though Pepper was a brunette originally.
    • There's also the animated series that has Julia Carpenter as a love interest and yes, she's a redhead.
    • Averted: The woman who came closest to him, ever, to the point of almost getting married to him, was Rumiko Fujikawa—who was, as her name indicates, Japanese, and so raven-haired.
  4. Main.Fire Ice Duo (ComicBook.X Men): This trope (and Elemental Motifs) is part of what helps solidify Cyclops' two love interests, Jean Grey and Emma Frost, as diametric opposites of one another. Jean is a red-haired woman who has gone by the code name "Phoenix" for a good bit of her career... Rest of examples clarify they are superheroes
  5. Memes.Devil May Cry: The fandom jokes about this game being a ripoff of the latter. To wit, both feature a protagonist voiced by Johnny Yong Bosch who wields a superpowered katana and whose love interest is a red-headed Damsel in Distress wearing white...
  6. Series.Attila: Attila's first wife N'Kara was a redhead. Flavius Aetius uses this to his advantage when he recruits Ildico, a Roman woman lusting for vengeance against the Huns who resembles Attila's late wife, to make Attila fall in love with her, providing a perfect opportunity to assassinate him. attracted to multiple redheads
  7. Series.Harrow: Harrow falls hard for the redheaded Sgt. Dass. However, his secrets and her innate curiosity drive a wedge between them.

    Character has a redheaded love interest (15/50) 
Note: Shipping context included here

  1. Characters.Agarest Senki 2: He marries Chloe, a red haired elf.
  2. Characters.Chainsaw Man Makima: She has auburn hair, and is the primary focus of Denji's affection/lust.
  3. Characters.Diamonds Are Forever: Bond states in this movie that he did really like redheads. Red hair as an attractive trait
  4. Characters.Earth Twenty Seven Justice League Founders: Married to Iris, who has the same red hair color as Wally.
  5. Characters.Killjoys: She has red hair and is involved with both of the Jaqobis brothers at different times.
  6. Characters.Rugrats: (Redheads Are Uncool) Sometimes averted: he's actually shown to be quite popular with the ladies in certain episodes (such as "Cradle Attraction").
  7. Characters.Sanjay And Craig: His crush, Belle Pepper, has reddish-orange hair. He's very fond of this particular feature of hers; in "Middle Shame" he shouts "Belle Pepper is a cutie and I wanna kiss her hair!" while on Craig's boat in the latter's secret spot on a lake. In other episodes like "Ghost Pool" and "Dangerous Debbie", he's seen nuzzling up warmly against her hair. Finds red hair attractive
  8. Characters.Spider Man Into The Spider Verse Spider Society: The red, curly haired Mary Jane is the love of his life.
  9. Characters.Trinity Seven: Arata feels equally attracted to all of Trinity Seven, but he gets the most frequent Ship Tease with the redheaded Lilith.
  10. Film.Beowulf And Grendel: Beowulf has a fling with the ginger witch Selma.
  11. Film.Johnny Dangerously: Johnny ends up with redhead Lily.
  12. LauncherOfAThousandShips.Video Games (VideoGame.Dead Or Alive): Kasumi is shipped with multiple characters, ranging from the fairly mainstream Ryu Hayabusa, the more yurilicious Hitomi or Christie, all the way to straight up incest with her half sister Ayane, or their older brother Hayate. It would seem that whoever the preferred character is, shippers generally feel they go nicely with the cute redheaded kunoichi.
  13. Main.Girlfriend In Canada (Disenchantment): Elfo gets embarrassed about trying to kiss Bean and claims that he actually has a girlfriend in a faraway land, who's really tall, has red hair and only one eye. This ultimately leads to him getting into a Fake Relationship with a giantess. Red hair as an attractive trait
  14. Theatre.Coriolanus: Virgilia, Martius' wife, who is played by redhead Jessica Chastain.
  15. WMG.Once More With Feeling: ...each Canon Shinji will get his red-haired girl and each Canon Asuka will get her not-so-wimpy-now Shinji.

    Character is a redhead, no context for love interest (11/50) 
  1. Animation.Ling Long Incarnation (Ms. Fanservice): Quite a few, but the most striking example would be the voluptuous, flirty, red-haired, Jessica. One would be forgiven for thinking she might be inspired by another Jessica. Attractive redhead
  2. Characters.Alcatraz Series: A subtle example. Bastille, his Love Interest, has naturally red hair, though she dyes it silver.
  3. Characters.Groove Squad: Very much averted—Fernando ultimately chooses Chrissy (who has blonde hair) over Star (who has red hair).
  4. Characters.Kings Quest: Okay, Valanice is really more of a brunette, but her hair does appear red in at least one game.
  5. Characters.Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn: In classic Gundam tradition, with the redheads this time around being Audrey and Marida.
  6. Characters.Sands Of Destruction:Possibly, depending on if you'd count Morte's chestnut hair as red (which likely depends on which adaptation and which piece of art you're looking at).
  7. Characters.The Road To Gandolfo: Has auburn hair.
  8. Literature.Avalon High: In the movie, Jennifer is portrayed by a redhead.
  9. AdaptationalAttractiveness.Live Action Films (Literature.It): Subverted with Beverly Marsh. In the book Bev is descibed as a stunningly beautiful redhead...
  10. Literature.Twilight Dragon: There was a little bit of role reversal going on here, as Kayari was the heroine and Tristan was the redhead. I'm guessing we're supposed to think Kayari and Tristan are a couple, but the example does not say this
  11. MaleGaze.Anime And Manga (Anime.Neon Genesis Evangelion): Misato, Asuka and Rei provide almost all Fanservice for the show. Attractive redhead

    Character is a love interest, no context for red hair (10/50) 
  1. Characters.Chuck Team Bartowski: Her on-again, off-again relationship with Roan Montgomery.
  2. Characters.Drowtales Other Clans: The knight who won the above Engagement Challenge certainly did.
  3. Characters.Hercules: Played with. Meg starts off as one of the villains (not by her own choice), and is ordered by Hades to find Hercules's weakness. She ends up actually falling for him and pulling a Heel–Face Turn, thereby playing this trope straight.
  4. Creator.Julia Quinn: Charles to Eleanor.
  5. Characters.Mobile Suit Gundam AGE: She's the Love Interest for Asemu. Episode 28 makes this official with her marriage.
  6. Characters.Spider Man Trilogy Spider Man: He wanted Mary Jane since he was 6-years-old.
  7. Characters.The Legend Of Zelda Twilight Princess: There's a lot of Ship Tease moments between her and Link in the game.
  8. Characters.Thundercats 2011 Thundercats: More specifically, Pumyra wants Lion-O. Wants him dead, that is.
  9. Film.GI Joe The Rise Of Cobra: As pointed out quite clearly, Ripcord was attracted to Scarlett.
  10. VideoGame.Harvest Moon 1: If you marry Ann.

    Other ZCE (6/50) 
  1. Characters.Fallout Nuka Break: He's dating Red. Sinkholed as "Villains Want Redheads
  2. Characters.Honey And Clover: Yamada and eventually Rika.
  3. Characters.Midnights Blessing: And he got her. For a while, at least.
  4. Film.The Warriors Way
  5. Series.The X Files: Mulder.
  6. WesternAnimation.The Princess And The Pea: Rollo for Daria.

     Other (1/50) 
  1. DarthWiki.Hello Megan: Played with. The redheaded Will has a crush on the equally redheaded Megan, but she likes Conner and doesn't show an interest in Will. Kay has feelings for Trisha, his friend from Atlanta, but she is already in a relationship with Kay's best friend Garfield. Doesn't seem like red hair has romantic significance here

Edited by GastonRabbit on Dec 2nd 2023 at 4:47:39 AM

WarJay77 Big Catch, Sparkle Edition (Troper Knight)
Big Catch, Sparkle Edition
#51: Jan 25th 2024 at 12:02:40 AM

Nice!

Admin pages usually stay, but I can run through the sandboxes to get this closed up.

Currently Working On: Incorruptible Pure Pureness
Coachpill Can shapeshift (probably) from Washington State, grew up on Long Island Since: Aug, 2022 Relationship Status: Baby don't hurt me!
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WarJay77 Big Catch, Sparkle Edition (Troper Knight)
Big Catch, Sparkle Edition
#53: Jan 25th 2024 at 11:22:09 AM

I did holler, but I suppose I can go ahead and lock up myself, can't I? tongue

Currently Working On: Incorruptible Pure Pureness
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Trope Repair Shop: Heroes Want Redheads
8th Nov '23 4:04:47 AM

Crown Description:

Consensus was to replace Heroes Want Redheads with the trope drafted on the Sandbox.Red Hair Is Hot sandbox, whose name is not final. What should the new trope's name be?

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