Lois’s answer to “You are one of my favorite authors (I named my first leopard gecko after you...), but... I just rea…” > Likes and Comments
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"...lighting conditions can allow the blood vessels at the back of the eye to be seen, which can cause the eyes to look reddish or violet..." But "... most people with Albanism have blue eyes..." As quoted from NOAH-National Organization for Albinism and Hypopigmentation web page. So perhaps not impossible. Although that is only a single source. Albanism is certainly plagued by dangerous myths that lead to a lot of suffering, so it is best to dispell them when possible from becoming "lurking" falsehoods we take as truths. So I am glad you asked this question! I met a man with particularly severe Albanism briefly once who did not, for his health, go out during the day. It was interesting to meet someone paler than myself, as I was usually always considered the palest person around. Though I am not an albino, just a child of a super pale red-head who inherited the inability to tan but not the hair. Albanism reminds me of food allergies in that something that is innoucous and even necessary for life for many people, becomes dangerous and harmful. It is difficult to get others to appreciate or empathize with a danger when it is no danger to them. I experienced that a lot as a teen when folks underappreciated how quickly, and severely, I would burn in the sun. I joke about it, telling them "I fry faster than a fritter at the fair" but it can cause real challenges in certain situations.
I actually went to college with a red-eyed albino man.
I've had two albino colleagues, and they both had (dark) red eyes, and very, very poor eyesight (one of them is legally blind iirc).
I have three albino sisters and the whole family participated in an albinism study. There are several different types of albinism in humans. Tyrosinase negative albinos have no pigment at all and their eyes can appear red or pink because the only color you are seeing is the blood vessels in the back of the eye. My sisters are the most common type, tyrosinase positive, with small amounts of tyrosine and so small amounts of pigment. Their eyes are lavender and moles, which are a concentration of pigment, are faintly tan. Tyrosine is an enzyme necessary to the production of melanin. There are other types of albinism caused by other breaks in the production process. (science nerd)
I'm an albino myself. Many people say my eyes are purple if I'm looking into light. I am far too visually challenged to be an assassin, but I am well familiar with all the shirts, hats, gloves,, and hiding in shadows that go with albinism and that Surakos experiences.
I am delighted to find an albino in a piece of literature, who is not depicted as a sinister and uncanny individual. Thanks very much for that. You and Susan Cooper are about the only examples that spring to mind.
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I stand (partially) corrected. I didn't know human albinos with actually red-looking eyes were possible. I did know about the bad vision thing. My friend is legally blind, though he is definitely not seeing-eye-dog level blind, he can read (large print) and so on.
The blindness, iirc, is caused by the role melanin normally plays in the development of the optic nerve.
So I just have to ask - the leopard gecko - was it Lois, or the full Lois McMaster Bujold?
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Sandy
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Aug 27, 2020 09:09PM
"...lighting conditions can allow the blood vessels at the back of the eye to be seen, which can cause the eyes to look reddish or violet..." But "... most people with Albanism have blue eyes..." As quoted from NOAH-National Organization for Albinism and Hypopigmentation web page. So perhaps not impossible. Although that is only a single source. Albanism is certainly plagued by dangerous myths that lead to a lot of suffering, so it is best to dispell them when possible from becoming "lurking" falsehoods we take as truths. So I am glad you asked this question! I met a man with particularly severe Albanism briefly once who did not, for his health, go out during the day. It was interesting to meet someone paler than myself, as I was usually always considered the palest person around. Though I am not an albino, just a child of a super pale red-head who inherited the inability to tan but not the hair. Albanism reminds me of food allergies in that something that is innoucous and even necessary for life for many people, becomes dangerous and harmful. It is difficult to get others to appreciate or empathize with a danger when it is no danger to them. I experienced that a lot as a teen when folks underappreciated how quickly, and severely, I would burn in the sun. I joke about it, telling them "I fry faster than a fritter at the fair" but it can cause real challenges in certain situations.
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I actually went to college with a red-eyed albino man.
I've had two albino colleagues, and they both had (dark) red eyes, and very, very poor eyesight (one of them is legally blind iirc).
I have three albino sisters and the whole family participated in an albinism study. There are several different types of albinism in humans. Tyrosinase negative albinos have no pigment at all and their eyes can appear red or pink because the only color you are seeing is the blood vessels in the back of the eye. My sisters are the most common type, tyrosinase positive, with small amounts of tyrosine and so small amounts of pigment. Their eyes are lavender and moles, which are a concentration of pigment, are faintly tan. Tyrosine is an enzyme necessary to the production of melanin. There are other types of albinism caused by other breaks in the production process. (science nerd)
I'm an albino myself. Many people say my eyes are purple if I'm looking into light. I am far too visually challenged to be an assassin, but I am well familiar with all the shirts, hats, gloves,, and hiding in shadows that go with albinism and that Surakos experiences.I am delighted to find an albino in a piece of literature, who is not depicted as a sinister and uncanny individual. Thanks very much for that. You and Susan Cooper are about the only examples that spring to mind.
.
I stand (partially) corrected. I didn't know human albinos with actually red-looking eyes were possible. I did know about the bad vision thing. My friend is legally blind, though he is definitely not seeing-eye-dog level blind, he can read (large print) and so on.The blindness, iirc, is caused by the role melanin normally plays in the development of the optic nerve.
So I just have to ask - the leopard gecko - was it Lois, or the full Lois McMaster Bujold?
