Two weeks ago I read an article in the New York Times, entitled “Today’s Girls Love Pink Bows As Playthings, But These Shoot Arrows”. At first it sounded like a warning, urging us to be on our toes for these dangerous little fem-bots so as a mother of two daughters, I had to read on. It soon became clear that it was about the new line of action adventure toys soon to be marketed to little girls in response to the enormous popularity of the tough young heroines in the “Hunger Game” and “Divergent” young adult book series. Both are coming soon to a theater near you, and toy makers are just beginning a massive marketing campaign to cash in on this potentially lucrative trend. And while the article was somewhat informative, it’s tone was for me at least, more than a little disturbing, and so this article won’t leave me.
I’m gratified that the authors approve of these toys for girls, (even though I don’t recall anyone asking for their approval). But they did reveal a disturbing dislike of the color pink, traditionally associated with things feminine. While it was obvious that the writers were feminists, they seemed much too aggravated by the “girly” color of the toys. They also weren’t happy about the color scheme of most toy stores. Apparently, they are supremely irritated that either the boys’ toys are separated from the girls or that the girls’ aisle is predominantly pink. I’m not sure of which, but it became very distracting to me, and not a little offensive.
Pink is one of my favorite colors. Why, I asked, is it so wrong to like the color pink?
When I think of pink, I think of flowers in springtime, newborn babies, the blush of first love, bubble gum, and of course, my favorite lipstick. All good things, I thought. But according to these writers, I’m wrong about that. And even though they themselves included two examples of these new toys that were black, (one action figure even sports a tattoo), I guess that wasn’t nearly enough to assuage their indignation at having to endure “that color”. Ironically, the mom who, as the authors said, “doesn’t mind the glamour” has purchased not one, but two of the pink bow & arrow sets for her daughter. Explains the mom,” That’s who she is, girly and sparkly and loves to sneak my make-up, but loves the hero and being in charge.” Did the authors think this child was politically incorrect? Or was she just making really bad, choices? Apparently if I am a modern 21st century mother, my daughter should not be allowed to play with anything pink, otherwise I’m a feminist hypocrite. Really? Do I need one more thing to feel guilty about? Don’t we Moms have enough on our plate? We’re guilty if we work outside the home, and we’re guilty if we don’t. Etc. etc. By the end of the article I thought that if they had their way pink would be eliminated from the face of the earth.
And to me it feels like misogyny.
No other color is lately so reviled, and I am just trying to figure out why. It’s just a color. But if pink represents femininity, and you abhor pink, aren’t you also on some level despising femininity? And if you hate all things feminine, aren’t you in fact a “woman hater”?
Following this train of thought to its logical conclusion, it would seem that the best course of action would be to pass a law requiring women to wear nothing but black. We of course could leave a small slit where the eyes are so that they could see. But maybe we also ought to insist that they cover the entire body, like in a long robe for instance, until they had enough time to acquire the mandated black footwear. That way if anyone were bold enough to wear pink socks, for example, the eyes of the good community would be spared the offense of seeing “that color”.
In that way we could conceal our femininity entirely. But is that really what we want, to wear only androgynous, or worse yet, politically correct clothing? I don’t think so. It seems these women are burdened by certain cultural stereotypes that they have neglected to challenge. This may be the last bastion of discrimination to be addressed.
I would like all of us ladies to take back the color pink like the gay community took back the word queer. We should embrace it whole-heartedly like the Susan G. Kommen organization does. They are very brave ladies fighting the toughest fight of their lives. I applaud how the NFL wore pink during the breast cancer awareness campaign. These men were supporting and celebrating womanhood. Shouldn’t we all? To that end I offer my help in the seemingly endless struggle that is sexism.
First of all, wearing pink does not automatically make your daughter sexy, as Sharon Lamb, quoted in the article seems to think. She’s a child psychologist who means well, but has not evolved to see that a woman can wear pink and not be sexualized. By the way, what color is it that makes a man sexy? Personally, I feel sorry for your young impressionable clients and college students.
Secondly, wearing pink does not make you weak. It should only give that impression if you are talking to a pink-biased person. Pink has been in women’s fashion for a long time now, and I’d venture to say at least 50% of women enjoy having it in their wardrobe, even though it’s not always easy to match up with other colors. Maybe that’s because we like ourselves and our gender, especially the feminine part. Back in the 80’s many men began wearing pink. They usually paired it with something black, a beautiful combo in my opinion. I was very happy to see that trend, and admired the men who weren’t afraid of it. And most of them I noticed looked very wealthy. So now if I see a man wearing pink, that’s my first impression of him: financially very well off and confident.
And finally, wearing pink does not mean you’re stupid, as some would like you to believe. Mary Kay, the founder of the cosmetic line of the same name was one of the most successful businesswomen in the history of the United States. So successful was her multinational corporation that in 2010, worldwide wholesale sales of Mary Kay hit 2.5 billion. And her charitable foundation is still to this day advocating for ovarian cancer research and an end to domestic violence on behalf of all women. She became famous for awarding her top saleswomen pink Cadillacs if they hit a certain quota. And also for buying herself a pink mansion and furnishing it with all things pink.
She was proud of being a woman, and so confident in her feminine strength that wearing pink could not diminish her in any way. The bottom line we all must remember is that anything a woman does will probably be criticized in this world, but that doesn’t mean what’s said is true. We must guard ourselves against falling into this intellectually lazy morass of prejudice. It’s ridiculous to give a color, any color, that sort of power to define or predict our human attributes. Haven’t we already learned that lesson with the civil rights struggle of the 20th Century? Please let’s continue to progress forward.
So ladies I plead with you, and with our enlightened men, to stand up to sexist prejudice and not succumb to Pinkism! We can rail all we want against stereotypes of every kind out in the world, but in the end, the smart people know that just to live as a woman is to be as strong as we are pretty (in pink). Doesn’t this logical progression leave anyone to then equate the color pink with strength? That is my dream. We women need to embrace all of our colors and feminine traits until the world realizes that the color pink, if we want it to, can symbolize Intelligence, Purity, and Strength as well.
