Think Pink
If you have seen ‘Funny Face’, with Audrey Hepburn you know exactly what I am talking about. Catchy song but it is one of my least favourite songs from that entire movie. I bring this song to your attention, look at the following lyrics:
Now, I wouldn't presume to tell a woman
what a woman oughta think,
But tell her if she's gotta think: think pink—!
I have a confession to make…
I am a woman and I hate Pink.
I remember clearly my mum dressing me in pink, my room was pink, my bed sheets, my curtains, socks, pants, everything I owned. I also remember loving it when I was little. Now things are different, new parents are more likely to stray away from pinks and blues as a way of announcing the gender of their offspring.
History tells us that this wasn’t always the case. It all began when there was a shift in gender neutral clothing, when boys stopped wearing skirts, when pink became girly, etc. I won’t go into specifics, what I will stress is that this shift occurred just before World War One, just over 100 years ago, it was reported that pink was for boys and blue was for girls. The reason being pink was viewed as a stronger and more decided colour, and blue as more delicate and soft. It wasn’t until the 1940s that pink was for girls and blue for boys, and during the war prisoners accused of homosexuality were forced to wear a pink triangle, now a symbol for the gay rights movement.
In the 1960s, the Women’s Liberation Movement was in full swing. The contraceptive pill was introduced, women could legally own the money they earned, abortion was legalised, and gender neutral clothing was making a comeback, and then left again. The 1970s took gender neutral too far, leaving children emotionally scarred, being dressed in snorkel jackets, oxford bags, brothel creepers and the kagoule, all of which have made a comeback. A new generation of emotionally scarred children is coming our way, sorry kids.
Fast forward to today…
I feel that we live in a society that is slowly going back to gender neutral clothing gone too far, as presently we are now more informed than ever before that not everyone identifies with any gender, boy, girl, prince, princess, pink, or blue. There is a new sense of urgency now for everyone to inform themselves and to try to show equality to all. It’s no longer about liberating women, but about liberating all of us from the stereotypes that haunt us.
What I am trying to say is…
I am woman. I hate pink. It’s my choice. Deal with it.
Recommended Further Reading
How Pink And Blue Became Gender-Specific (2017) Co.Design. Available at: https://www.fastcodesign.com/1672751/how-pink-and-blue-became-gender-specific (Accessed: 13 March 2017).
Broadway, A. (2017) Pink Wasn't Always Girly, The Atlantic. Available at: https://www.theatlantic.com/sexes/archive/2013/08/pink-wasnt-always-girly/278535/ (Accessed: 13 March 2017).