Artist Proves That Redheaded Guys Can Be Sexy Too

Can you name a really hot red-haired guy? I'm waiting... Ron Howard, Ronald McDonald, Archie from the comics... It's a cruel double standard, isn't it? Redheaded women are often considered incredibly sexy (hello Christina Hendricks!), but ginger guys? Er, not so much.

Prince Harry has helped the cause of ginger-haired men everywhere, as has Benedict Cumberbatch, who had legions of fan girls swooning at TIFF this week. So 2014 might well be the year of the gingers.

British artist, Thomas Knights, has taken it upon himself to prove that redheaded men can hold their own when it comes to sex appeal. A new exhibition called "Red Hot 100" showcases—you guessed it—a hundred images of handsome men with fiery locks.

But the exhibition is not just about frivolous eye-candied fun. "Red Hot" aims to challenge the stereotypes that gingers are somehow weak and nerdy. Indeed, redheads have long been dealt a raw deal, targets of bullying and teasing, and sometimes even overt discrimination.

Together with the Diana Foundation, Knights' exhibition has already raised a substantial amount of funds for anti-bullying charities.

Red hair, a "mutation of MR16 protein, resulting in above-average levels of the pigment pheomelanin" only affects two per cent of the population, so it's no wonder people hone in on that difference. Rather than celebrate it, though, gingers are often treated to the stereotyping and profiling of, say, "blonde bombshells."

Knights, himself a ginger, grew tired of dying his hair and so set upon challenging public perception of his hair colour.

"I hated myself for being ginger,” Knights said. “I was utterly ashamed of it . . . I treated [Red Hot] like a branding exercise and the ginger male was the client.”

You tell me: Are you a ginger convert?

You'll never guess where redheads were turned away from...