Does liking the color pink automatically make you frivolous, fragile and dainty? I can assure you not. However, society has constructed these stereotypes through many decades of marketing, media representation and gender conditioning. After World War II, many manufacturers wanted to “re-feminize women” after they had to enter the workforce since most men left to serve in the war. These women dove into typically male-dominated roles such as mechanics, engineering, and farming. These manufacturers/retailers simply decided that pink was the symbol of femininity and it caught on. If you walk around in a store and look at a women’s razor vs a man’s, I can almost guarantee you that the women’s razor will be pink and the men’s razor will be blue. This theory applies to many products: deodorant, shampoo, toys, diapers, stationary and especially clothing.
In reality, it’s not that girls hate the color pink, they hate what it represents. The color became less about personal taste and more about societal expectations of femininity. Femininity today is often construed with notions of being frivolous and fragile and dainty, expectations which come with regulations on how a girl should act.
As a way to appear strong and powerful, many girls growing up had a rebellion against pink because of its stereotypes. Many assumed (myself included) that hating the color automatically makes them less weak and fearful. By distancing themselves from these traits and the color, they seem to gain a sense of power and independence. This also applies the opposite way: many boys also distance themselves from the color pink because of its association with femininity. So essentially, no one likes pink! No one (boy or girl) really wants to feel weak, feel fragile. Rejecting pink is about identity. It’s about wanting to appear serious in a world that equates softness with incompetence, because we lost the idea that softness and seriousness can coexist. Society has taught us that more power comes with looking more masculine. Looking more strong, more bold, exhibits strength, while anyone dainty couldn’t possibly be strong.
Recently, however, the color pink has begun to gain traction. It has been reclaimed as a symbol of strength, as well as femininity, forcing us to think outside stereotypes. The color has been used to challenge the idea that femininity equals weakness. It has become a statement, and can no longer be confined to the boxed up norms society has created. Rechelle E. Goodrich said it best: “Everything should be available in the color pink, including monster trucks.” Because in the end, it really is just a color.
