Rebranding redheads: Fashion photographer celebrates ginger men with exhibition showing they can be heroic and sexy

Artist Thomas Knights said redheads have been bullied for too long

New exhibition Red Hot shows they are attractive and sexy

He wants to stop the mocking of red hair being 'acceptable form of racism'

Most models were found through street casting



Agencies didn't have redheads on their books

Knights said there aren't enough ginger role models for men







Fashion photographer Thomas Knights believes red-headed males have been bullied and stigmatised for their locks for too long.

Now he's seeking to show that having ginger hair doesn't make you less sexy with a new exhibition called Red Hot.

The photo display features attractive and muscular ginger-haired men with their tops off in an attempt to 're-brand' them as alpha males and redefine stereotypes.

Smouldering: Photographer Thomas Knights wants to show redheads can be sexy with his exhibition

Positive image: Knights wants to give redheads more heroic role models

One of his flame haired models is an Olympic hero - gold medal winning longer jumper Greg Rutherford.



Naturally red-haired himself, Knights, from London, said he was bullied growing up as a result of his locks and said it's wrong it has become an 'acceptable form of racism'.

Now he wants to change the way society views redheads.



He said: 'The aim of the exhibition is to create the image of a positive role model for ginger men because there's a serious lack of them in the UK. In film and TV they're portrayed as weak characters.

'It's just like any other form of prejudice - being anti-ginger is like one of the last acceptable forms of racism left in our society.

Olympic champion: Long jumper Greg Rutherford posed for the exhibition

Lack of demand: Most of the models were found through street casting as modelling agencies didn't have many ginger men on their books



Knight said: 'There is an institutionalised stigma prevalent in the UK especially' against those with ginger hair

50 shades of red: That's the number of models Knights is aiming to have in his exhibition

'Red haired men are never heroes or the leading man, never the alpha male, or portrayed as sexual. They seem to emasculate and desexualise guys with ginger hair. There is an institutionalised stigma prevalent in the UK especially.'



A recent study by ancestry company Britain's DNA found that 20 million people in the British population carry the ginger gene.



'Children pick up on what's different and it's been allowed to develop in our country, then as adults we're are derogatory to people with red hair without realising'

But with no red-haired male role models to look up to, Thomas grew up hating his hair.



The fashion photographer, who has worked for Vogue Italia and Marie Claire, discovered he wasn't alone in feeling inadequate because of his hair colour as he spent a year seeking men to feature in his exhibition.



He found men in the U.S. are often teased for their red-hair too but that it's far worse in the UK, where people can be instinctively and unashamedly ' derogatory' to redheads.

He said: 'During the course of putting this show together, I've had some very positive feedback from Mums and Dads and spouses from around the world showing real gratitude because there's stigma in the U.S. too.

Breaking stereotypes: Knights hopes his show will help people see redheads in a new light

Proud: The flame haired men were happy to show off their bodies for the photo shoot

Role models: The exhibition aims to show redheads can be heroic and strong



Time for change: Knights said he discovered some 'real horror stories' of men bullied for the colour of their locks

Rarely seen on the catwalk: It's currently quirky or exotic to have a ginger model in a show

'They've got some real horror stories about the red haired men in their family being bullied.

'But it's far worse in the UK - it's a hangover from the war with the Scots about 500 years ago where negative attention was turned to their red hair and now it's stuck.



'The agencies were shocked realising none of their models had red hair and nobody had ever wanted them before'

'Children pick up on what's different and it's been allowed to develop in our country, then as adults we're are derogatory to people with red hair without realising. It's taboo or quirky or exotic to have a ginger model in a show.'

His casting for his exhibition highlighted how few red-headed models there are.

He had to do street casting because few modelling agencies had ginger men on their books.

He explained: 'When looking for models, I called all the agencies and none of them had any. One agency said they'd send me a package of their red-headed boys, but ten minutes later called back realising they didn't have any.

Pin ups: The exhibition Red Hot will be on display in London, from 16 December

'The agencies were shocked realising none of their models had red hair and nobody had ever wanted them before - I found most of my models street casting.'

He has pictured gathered 36 redheads so far and hopes to reach 50 by the time the exhibition opens in mid December.

The exhibition Red Hot will be on display at The Gallery in Redchurch Street, London from 16 December 2013



