> Stepparents are stereotyped as treating stepchildren worse than they would their own children. Redheads were once considered undesirable children, because of superstitions about their unusual hair color. Put them together, and you got a mistreated child.
>
> I think. I once wondered about the meaning.
>

That makes sense. That is, the part about superstitious fear causing mistreatment of children. :-( Having red hair (in places where that hair colour was uncommon) was once thought to be sinister because only the "devil-kin" would be born with flaming red hair. Poor kids. To have these cruel things said publicly in such a fashion almost from the moment of birth, and through no fault of their own... Ouch.


> By the way, I'm from the East coast, and I've heard the expression many times.
>

First time I've ever heard it. None of my friends on the east coast have heard of it either (although apparently sportcasters have been known to use the expression "Chicago [or whatever] was slapped down like an unwanted stepchild!") Maybe the fact that none of us have hair that's even vaguely red or auburn has something to do with it?


> --Jez"actually is a redheaded stepchild"zika

Wolf "knows Asian friends who've been ridiculed as 'yellow-heads' because their natural hair is brown instead of black" spirit