If you have kids in your life and did any sort of holiday shopping for them you probably had no difficulty locating the “girl” things – all you had to do was look for the pink aisle. Using only peripheral vision the girl and boy toys and decor are so well defined as to summon the question: why does the world of girls have to be saturated with pink?
The baby and toddler toys appear to be unilaterally multicolored and the girl and boy toys aren’t very well distinguished from one another. Yet skip ahead to age 3 or 4 and you’ll be hard pressed to find the unisex toys. Sadly, as parents or grandparents (or aunts or uncles) we tend to support this distinction as we are merely aiming to please the child. But could we inadvertently be harming them?
A recent article in the Guardian featured an interview with PinkStinks , a group founded by two sisters (one has two boys, the other two girls) who see this pinkification as a harmful social commentary on how our shopping choices for girls are severely limited in color; when we limit their choices we limit their thinking. We give girls a small world to belong to, a world consisting of princesses, fairies and butterflies. They believe that a world of pink devalues what girls may really want which is choices. Even the non-princess activities are turning pink: globes, clocks, books…all of which, again, create a small visual world for girls.
Pink was not always so pervasive in a little girl’s room. In a 1918 issue of Ladies’ Home Journal a writer offers this advice to new mothers. "There has been a great diversity of debate on the subject but the generally accepted rule is pink for the boys, and blue for the girls. The reason is that pink, being a more decided and stronger colour, is more suitable for the boy, while blue, which is more delicate and dainty, is prettier for the girl." Pink was traditionally used for little boys as pink is derived from red, which is a strong and powerful color. Light blue, reflective of the color of the clothing worn by The Virgin Mary in paintings, was left for little girls. It wasn’t until post WWII that the color choices for girls and boys were reversed.
The backlash against PinkStinks has been tremendous and the group has obviously hit upon a nerve. So, dear readers, when it comes to designing and decorating your children’s room, how do you make your color choices? Do you use traditional gender colors? Do you use your child’s favorite colors? What would you do if your girl wanted a blue and green bedroom? Or if your boy wanted an orange and pink room. Would you care? How have your traditional thoughts about color affected your design decisions?
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i couldn't agree more with PinkStinks! well done them!
I'm with Team PinkStinks, with a special category of horror reserved for PBTeen's bizarre boy/girl color coding.
It's all about teaching gender to children and has more to do with parental fears than anything else.
I'm with Pink Stinks. As a little girl in the '70s, I HATED the color pink and all the princessy frou-frou that went along with it. Happily, my father had no problem with my preference for little green Army men, matchbox cars, and dressing up as Tarzan, Zorro, and Spider-Man. His mother, however, was convinced that I was "going to turn out *wrong*" [eyeroll] and made sure that any and every gift she ever gave me until I hit adulthood was pepto-bismol PINK. I never wore or used any of them unless forced to.
Now that I am preparing for parenthood, I still don't like pink, and am appalled that if anything, it seems that the girl's world as presented by media and stores has become even MORE delineated by pink, princessy borders. Well, if I do have a girl, and she does want pink princess dresses, at least I won't have to make them - it's her daddy (to be) that does all the sewing (and cooking) in the house. :)
Too much pink in that room..looks like my eyes are bleeding!
I work in a school and see the 'pink effect' first hand everyday: if it's pink, it's supposed to be for girls. It goes the other way though too - boys feel they can't play with something pink because the other boys will say they're playing with 'girl toys' and are, therefore, being girlie.
In a Montessori environment children tend to be taught that any child can play with anything in any color. Today I saw 4 boys in a dress-up corner, all of them wearing blue crowns, pink & purple tutus and pink & purple high heels with jewels. Unless another child (usually a friend) tells them they shouldn't play with something--when the point of avoiding pink is to escape ridicule from peers-- kids really don't care so long as they're having fun.
I'm female and have ALWAYS hated pink, I always loved blue and green. (Not fond of red, either.) I think color assignments by gender are and always have been ridiculous, and usually have more to do with simplifying gender identification for outsiders ("what a cute baby, um, girl??") and subconsciously and futilely trying to avoid raising a homosexual child, than anything else. That said, a LOT of females do love pink. And I'm pretty sure I read a study a few years ago that men typically pefer green or blue. How much of that is acculturation, I have no idea.
As an adult female, who had that pink fairy princess upbringing complete with Barbie Castle & super-pink bedroom, I now completely reject pink for little girls. I won't buy it for babies, I won't buy it for girls, I'm that auntie that everyone thinks is wacko because she buys every color of the rainbow. Children deserve every color, and to try on every perspective, period, so I'm definitely with Pink Stinks!
I believe that limiting girls to pink is just one of the more visible signs of the institutionalized subjugation of women in our society.
For our daughters and sisters to have the same opportunities as boys we need to stop reinforcing the "pink princess" stereotype. Not only does it risk stifling a girls imagination of what her future opportunities may be, it also reinforces the boys perception that women are not as capable as men.
And does that also apply to Pink from Victoria Secret?
For there to be a market, *somebody* has to be buying this stuff...
PS. I am a man and I LOVE pink and chocolate brown together!
I am 8 months pregnant with a baby girl, and I have tried to go out of my way to buy clothes for her that are not pink. It is so difficult, however, to find anything that is not pink! All I want are some red, ivory, yellow, blue, or green onesies and footies, but they are impossible to find. There are some for boys but they usually have a print of a train or a tractor on them. I think it's really frustrating to be confined to the color pink. I feel like it sets a precedent for young girl, which says that you have to be girly and that you have to conform. I do not mind if our baby decides that she loves pink on her own accord, but I certainly do not feel it is necessary to force her to wear this color until she can make up her own mind.
I've noticed that when buying clothes through some catalogs, the womens' clothes always have a variation of pink or pastel color. The same featured item for the men always have the nicest colors..more subdued saturated colors that I prefer. Sometimes I'll order the mens'... if I can get away with the size.
I saw sets of onesies a few years back that said "Future Princess" and "Daddy's Girl". The boy option was "Future Engineer" and "Daddy's Boy". That made me angrier than the fact they were color coded.
But I'm the auntie who will NOT buy pink (or really - blue) for any of the kids I know. I try to find the toys/clothes that all kids will like - Fisher Price people, little denim overalls (nothing cuter than a kid in overalls).
Omigawd that photo! I think I just threw up a little...
Pink has always made me want to vomit, and was stuck with a revolting pink and white ruffly bedroom growing up (that probably more than anything else made me a hardcore minimalist with very strong MCM preferences). I'm very happy that my nieces have zero interest in pink or anything insipid and "princessy". Pink does indeed "stink"!
If I had children, I'd let them choose the colors in their rooms. I hated pink when I was a little girl, and preferred Hello Kitty toys in bright primary colors over Barbie. My bedroom was sky-blue (which I picked), and I strongly preferred blue and purple over everything else. (Ironically, as an adult, I have splashes of pink in my apartment, but it's taken me over 20 years to learn to like it!) I applaud PinkStinks for standing up to gender stereotyping.
I bought my grandchild a shirt like this one.
http://www.sandboxthreads.com/923.html
I completely agree with PinkStinks. I went out of my way to buy anything but pink for my now 23 y.o. daughter, and she's a lovely, strong minded individual. Now I have a granddaughter, and we bought her a non-branded, non-pink toy for Christmas. I sincerely hope that she won't be one of those little girls who will only wear her pink-princess-fairy-ballerina get-up for any and all occasions.
If you're a nerd/geek, thinkgeek has some awesome onesies and creepers in not-pink, including Star Trek uniforms. I pray that I one day have an excuse to get those for one of my friends.
Pink and the categorization of toys as either for girls or for boys has been a thorn in my side since I was a little tyke.
Every birthday and Christmas was a disappointing parade of Barbies in scandalous 80's sparkly pink and purple. Making the best of the situation, I took all their hideous clothes off, dressed them in strapless tube dresses made of toilet paper, and dyed their hair green and blue with food coloring. I thought they looked way more rad that way. What I really wanted were remote-control cars, Ninja Turtles, Ghostbusters backpacks and lego sets. I spent so many birthday parties fuming away enviously as the birthday boys opened box after box of action-packed excitement.
I'm glad the PinkStinks are bringing this issue out. It's not just being confined to one color that sucks, it's what this color symbolizes. It's meant to embody one single identity for all girls, and not a particularly empowering one. I especially take issue with toys and electronics that aren't "for girls" until they come out with a pink version. What is that supposed to imply? Even as a little kid, if there was a girl version and a boy version, I insisted on the boy version. I wanted the same thing that the boys got to play with.
@meggo
At a home decor store, I saw some sheet sets for boys and girls. The one for boys was blue and featured cartoon drawings of male doctors, astronauts, and racecar drivers. The one for girls was pink and featured cartoon drawings of ballerinas and princesses. I was livid! The boys' set illustrated everything I had once dreamed of being when I grew up. PRINCESSES, are you kidding me!?! That's what little girls are supposed to aspire to?
I had no real opinion of the color pink until I was around 10 or so. I wore some pink clothing before that, but preferred purple, blue, and green to pink. I started to seriously dislike the color pink when it started to become common to have every random thing that was meant for girls to be soaked in pepto pink, and my peers and friends of my parents started to question why I wasn't constantly wearing the color, because my favorite colors weren't 'feminine'.
As an adult, I don't own a single item that is pink and won't purchase anything that is pink. Until this Christmas, I refused to buy anything for my niece that was pink. I relented this year, because she is old enough to have a color preference and does like the color pink. Just as I didn't like people forcing the color on me as a kid because it was the 'appropriate' color for me to like, I don't want to force my dislike of the color on her.
One of the most frustrating things I've found is when there is a product that is geared toward women and the only color option is pink. There have been many products that I would have liked to own, but have refused to purchase because they are pink.
Photographer JeongMee Yoon takes a pretty amazing look at the subject.
http://www.jeongmeeyoon.com/
I had everything pink when I was little. I loved princesses and barbies- all those things. It was because I liked it though. My younger sister wasn't as thrilled with pink. She wore it to ballet class but had a yellow bedroom at home. She played more with cars than with barbies.
Somehow we both grew up with the ability to decide for ourselves what we liked. I even went to school to study Motorsports Management- not a very "girly" thing to do. I was one of five girls in the program of fifty or so students. I still like the color pink. I really don't see how it had any negative impact on me.
My nieces are gently steered away from the pink madness by their mom who doesn't like pink, although she wants them to make their own choices. And what do they choose? Pink, pink, pink, with a little purple thrown in for good measure. Hard to say whether they are driving the market or vice-versa, but they're sincere in their love of the pervasive color combo.
@ undercover - that would make me ROAR. I'd be so angry - I'd be writing letters.
That's the kind of the thing that irritates me. If we want our children (and I don't have any yet - but have a ton of nieces & nephews) to be all that they want to be - we need to show them all they can be. They can ALL be astronauts and ballerinas and doctors and engineers. Why not show them all of that?
I was a girl who liked pink for a while and I don't think it hurt me - but I also know that my sisters and I had matchbox cars with those plastic orange tracks (product of the 70s) and giant (primary colored) tinkertoys. I don't think we had a single pink toy. And quite frankly - The Pink Aisle creeped me out as a little kid - like I was supposed to like the stuff in that section - but I had NO interest in dolls, or whatever. (that section still creeps me out)
wow... such strong feelings! I guess I was lucky- no one ever forced pink on my sisters or myself, but our rooms were always more grown up looking (we never had 'kid' bedding). I didn't really have any princess stuff either. That being said, I DO like pink! Not in an 'all over' kind of way, but I have nothing against it. I'd never buy the "princess" type stuff for my own future kids, but I dont care for MOST of the clothing/toys I see with that stuff regardless (it usually just looks cheesy or tacky to me with or without the pink).
Okay, so it's clear y'all are anti-pink for girls... but what if your son asked for an all pink room?
You ready to so bravely buck the stereotypes then?
I think there is too much focus on the color and not the message behind the color. The color pink for "girly" toys is not the problem- it's the fact that those toys largely promote mindless materialism and traditional domestic roles instead of helping to foster a lifetime love of learning and discovery. There have been numerous studies on this, showing the "boy toys" were far more educationally-oriented than those marketed to little girls. Girls are conditioned at an early age to think that getting married, wearing expensive clothing, and making babies are the only ideals to strive for. This is the problem, and it would be a problem if the toys were pink, white, or the whole bloody rainbow.
Even though I think I can understand the motivation behind it, I can't get on board with the "PinkStinks" campaign because I think this type of movement dismisses the real joy that many girls find in submerging themselves in the imaginary world that all of the pink princess, fairy, Barbie toys conjure up. I also think it's a mistake to devalue, out-of-hand, anything that fits what's come to be considered "feminine" in our culture in the last fifty years or so because it devalues the work and interests and tastes of many women. I am also, frankly, offended by those who claim to disparage princess toys, Barbies, etc... because they claim they limit girls' choices, when in actuality they don't like them for superficial, aesthetic reasons. i.e. They think they are tacky and they don't fit their own narrow view of good taste. Isn't that as shallow and narrow-minded as they claim the princess crowd to be? Why does it have to be all-or-nothing? Can't we just agree that some girls like pink and some don't?
@patrick
Uh, yes? Why wouldn't we be?
Because I think there is a double standard, even among the "open-minded."
The obnoxious thing is that this kind of stereotyped, sexist marketing continues into adulthood. Dell Computers came out with a laptop which they advertised with a website called "Della" of all things. Instead of talking about computing power, battery life, or other practical details, the site mentioned that the computer would be a useful way for women to keep track of diets, look up recipes, and shop online.
A lot of companies seem to think that designing an item with women in mind means making it pretty and pink. This even extends to traditionally 'masculine' items like guns and hand tools.
I, for one, will not buy sex-coded toys and clothes for my hypothetical children. And yes, if my little boy wanted a pink room, I'd give him a pink room.
'Because I think there is a double standard, even among the "open-minded."'
Respectfully, no. Very few boys are being conditioned to narrow their worldview in the same way little girls are. They haven't been implicitly told through the tools given to them in their early development that their role is to support, be subordinate, strive to be only nurturing, accommodating, and meek for a the promise of a pat on the head and an expensive piece of jewelry.
If you're just talking about a room color, sure- the boy who chooses pink, who delights in playing dress up, and who likes to play with dolls will have a rough go of it in this tragically homophobic society (another issue entirely). But if you're speaking about the larger gender-based toy issue at hand, the one that has helped shape and continues to help shape the vast, almost folksy undercurrent of sexism that emerges once the kids enter the workforce, then no. I don't see it at all.
What about the idea of "pink" as a powerful color (per 1918 Ladies' Home Journal). I love and have always loved the bold pinks. In fact, my husband is excited to decorate the office in black/white/grey/pink. As a woman I don't feel the need to reject a color I enjoy because it can be used to stereotype. When I was 8, princess meant power. I made the laws, ruled the land and got to dress in awesome clothes. I knew someday when I got older I could be queen. I can see both sides but there is always an other way to look at it.
Right on, Pink Revolters.
patrick (the other one):
Yes.
@ pmr813: Good points. Taking all "pink" away would also be limiting. And you know what happens when you deny a kid something: The thing denied will be one the thing the kid will go to every effort to have, if just to spite you, Mom.
On the other hand, ALL realms to which children are exposed (toys, cinema, television, music, schools) could really do a better job of getting past gender stereotypes. Even this design blogs will characterize a room or otherwise innate object as "masculine" or "feminine".
Princesses are regents in training.
kellylc--
I think it very telling that I talked about a boy's room color being pink, and you made the jump to dress-up and homophobia.
I still maintain there is a double standard... young women can be guided toward strength and achievement, but when a young man is pointed toward the softer side, (even as revealed by your comment) the next jump seems always to be to questioning the boy's sexual orientation. That, to me, is a double standard that none of the above-mentioned objections to "pink = girly" addresses.
And, re: "Very few boys are being conditioned to narrow their worldview in the same way little girls are."
It sounds like your issues are with princess stereotypes and role models more than with the color palette.
But don't you (we?) run the risk of missing the fantasy aspect of childhood, boy or girl, princess or knight, ballerina or cowboy? While I'm all for a broader view, sometimes political correctness can erode some of the sweetness of being a child.
And I was talking mainly about the parents, and color. I think very few parents would comfortably give in to a son who wanted a pink room. Kudos to those here who say otherwise. How many here have painted their boy's nursery pink?
It is seriously weird how intensely gender stereotyped marketing is for kids in this country. While the pink problem might be more disturbing from a feminist point of view. As a mom to 2 boys, I resent the limitations placed on boys interests and self expression just as much as those put on girls.
I let my 4 year old son pick his own bedding on a trip to Ikea. He picked a bed spread with pink, orange, red, and white stripes. And, I knew he would because he likes hot colors. I dread the day he gives up on what pleases him for fear of what others might think.
For now, he plays with his pretend kitchen as well as his trucks and trains. People aren't so simple as girls=pink dolls and boys=primary colors sports. Why can't we let them be their multifaceted selves at every age.
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/40107754 white stripes.
Uh, yeah.
Interesting question, but I'm not surprised to find everyone with the same knee-jerk reaction. The jig is up, everyone--everything is a social construct.
We're all pretty worried about girls, aren't we? That's revealing. To play devil's advocate, I interpret this anti-pink stance to insinuate (as an extreme example) that girls don't have the ability to think for themselves, so if someone gives them something pink then they are automatically going to be turned into some delusional princess-type. For all of you independent women out there who were surrounded by pink growing up, you must disagree.
I think our children are going to have bigger problems than whether or not they had a pink or a blue nursery. Furthermore, what's wrong with being masculine or feminine? I thought this whole gender neutral movement was over after the '70s.
Patrick,
I was most definitely speaking beyond the color palette to what it means in a larger context- i.e. childhood gender role conditioning. Look, I'm not trying to take away a kid's right to play make believe, I'm just saying when the only toys a little girl has access to revolve around beauty, glorifying materialism (Barbie's Dream Condo!), and domestic duties (play kitchens, dolls that require care and feeding, etc.) with little to no focus on education like a disproportionate number of little boy-oriented toys are, it has an effect. How could it not?
And re: the homophobia comment, was that not what you were implying when you posed the question: "Okay, so it's clear y'all are anti-pink for girls... but what if your son asked for an all pink room? You ready to so bravely buck the stereotypes then?" I don't think it was a stretch to conclude that your point was when a little boy gravitates towards something traditionally "feminine" it's a bigger taboo than the other way around because of culturally prevalent homophobic attitudes.
I was just saying it wasn't the point. The point was that these toys matter- what they say about "girls" and "boys" matter. I apologize if I come across as a killer-of-childhood-dreams, but dealing with the Old Boys Club day after day, dealing with the barely-below-the surface sexism that runs rampant through my field is exhausting. I'm exhausted. I guess you touched a nerve by suggesting some sort of reverse sexism double-standard, even if you were actually only talking about a wall color. It's been a long day.
And if I had a little boy, you bet I would paint his walls pink, and make sure he had that play kitchen too. :)
When I was a kid, I was a tomboy, so I never wore pink or had pink anything. It wasn't a conscious rebellion or anything, it's just the way it was.
But once I graduated college, I fell in love with pink. I love pink and use it everywhere.
I don't think the color should be blamed for society's prejudices. I wouldn't not buy pink for a girl just to show society what's what.
But these things are cyclical. 200 years ago pink was considered a man's color since it was a shade of red. And blue was considered a woman's color because it stood for Virginity before Queen Victoria wore a white wedding dress. So cultural expectations will come and go, but my love for pink is eternal.
"Gendered colors" are obnoxious. But "Pink Stinx" also bugs. Framing the issue in this way; that "girls deserve more" is sooo early feminism. Gender theory has evolved since then, in many nuanced ways. But the thing that stuck out the most for me when I first heard about this group: saying "girls deserve what boys have" still defines "what boys have" as "the best" rather than redefining the game alltogether in a way that works better for everyone. Cuz sexism stinks all around.
Patrick- the answer is a big yes to pink for a boy.
Having said that,
I don't think there will be much pink for any (hypothetical) boy of mine because
-I never liked the colour myself and can't recall choosing it as a girl for anything. I would go more for primary colours because that is just me.
-If I did buy something pink, it wouldn't be too much or too often also because I wouldn't want my boy to be teased.
In terms of buying my boy a doll, I wouldn't do that- and NOT because I think boys shouldn't play with dolls but because I never played with dolls and don’t see anything exciting about them. Regardless of whether it was a boy or a girl, there would be a lot of cars, animals and building blocks. I wouldn’t buy a doll for my girl either.
The only exception of course is when the child develops a mind of their own- but then my endeavour would be to steer them gently away from stereotypes and go for something only if it truly appealed to their minds.
I think that what pinkstinks is trying to do makes sense, but I'm hoping their efforts evolve to define what girls are, not what they are not.
I was fortunate to grow up on a street with lots of little kids. We all played together, which meant that He-Man, My Little Pony, and Star Wars all meshed up into new and exciting games that we'd constantly reinvent. Even with all of these options, I often gravitated to the dolls, the dress-up clothes, and the glittery stickers. It's ok to have a natural gravitation towards fashion and glamor.
I am disappointed to see so many posts by women who claim that they never liked dolls or glitter as if it were tragically unhip. It's fine to like what you like, but GI Joe and racecars are no more progressive than Barbie.
The problem for me is that women (and girls) are often lumped into one big category. Bumper stickers proclaim that women support a certain candidate. My male friends are constantly asking for my opinions on female politicians and how I feel they represent me. To me, a politician is a politician regardless of sex or gender.
Besides, more women are accepted into college than men. The real discrepancy happens when we enter the workforce.
http://education-portal.com/articles/Leaving_Men_Behind:_Women_Go_to_College_in_Ever-Greater_Numbers.html
ladyC- when i say i never liked dolls, it's not to make a statement- it IS a statement of fact. i liked trainsets, blocks, animals, cars and all sorts of things. the extent of my involvement with dolls was giving my sister's doll a radical haircut. and owning paper cutout dolls with paper tab clothes. that's it. i have nothing against girls who like dolls- what i object to most strenuously is little girls not being given the OPTION to like something else, if that is where there hearts lie. it's the automatic 'girl= pink and frilly' that i object to.
Totally agree with your paragraph "The problem for me is that women (and girls) are often lumped into one big category. Bumper stickers proclaim that women support a certain candidate. My male friends are constantly asking for my opinions on female politicians and how I feel they represent me. To me, a politician is a politician regardless of sex or gender. "
P.S.-Someone please tell us that the picture above was photoshopped! it looks like a blizzard of fake flamingo feathers! :)
I like pink for boys and girls, men and women. My macho, football-playing teenage brother wears pink and lavender dress shirts, and a t-shirt that says "Real men wear pink." I think maybe the frou-frou connotations of boys in pink are on their way out. I asked him why pink. He said, "I look good in pink" with obvious pride. And honestly, who doesn't look good in pink?
That said, I was one of those pink-hating girls as a kid. I'm over it now. I associated it with sweet, retiring girls who didn't get dirty, but I was quite sure that I, in comparison, was a force to be reckoned with! I needed red! And green! I'm just not sure that the all-pink girls didn't feel the same way about pink-- that it was a powerful color.
@ pmr813 and iaspire - obviously I can't speak for everyone, but I would have to say that my issues with pink and frou frou were created not by simple aesthetics, but by my grandmother's "you're a girl, so you MUST like pink, and if you don't, there's something wrong with you" attitude.
For me, a policy of nothing BUT pink and Barbie gifts spelled out for me very clearly that she either didn't know or didn't care what I liked (dinosaurs, cars, and the colors of the outdoors), or that if she did, I was not acceptable that way. Ultimately, that was what pink came to symbolize for me - that I didn't fit in.
I certainly won't deny my kids pink things if they like them, but I am also going to have a talk with any relative who lacks the imagination to inquire about my daughter's actual interests, and just assumes "uh, girl...something pink and domestic."
I grew up playing with GI Joes. And I still like men in uniform.
I heartily agree that sex-based stereotyping of children's toys, etc. can be just as harmful to little boys as little girls. While girls are stuck in a pink princess ghetto, boys aren't allowed to be interested in anything beyond sports, science and violence (e.g. war games, toy guns, hunting, etc.). Coding the EZ Bake oven as a purely girl thing by making it pink is limiting for everyone.
BUT, at least little boys are being encouraged to pursue interests that can translate into educational goals and future job skills. Being encouraged to be a pretty, pretty princess is more limiting in these terms.
When my mother was pregnant with me, the doctor refused to give her an ultrasound because the pregnancy was going very smoothly. She wanted to know whether I would be a boy or girl, so the doctor made an educated guess: Boy. That meant blue baby shower, blue clothes, blue toys, etc. Imagine her surprise when I was born and the doctor smiled saying, "It's a girl!" Needless to say, the first few months of my life I was dressed mostly in blue. Today, I consider myself somewhat of a girly-girl, but I don't care much for pink. Maybe this has something to do with the fact that the first colors I was exposed to were either blue or "gender-neutral"? Who knows. I think it's silly to tie a specific color to a gender.
@pmr813, iaspire, and ladyC:
EXACTLY what dimsum and Pooh said.
When I said I resented my Barbies, it wasn't some lame attempt to make a hip statement or a comment on their fashion aesthetic. I meant it. They were absolutely boring to me. Wrestling Barbie into different skintight outfits endlessly was not my idea of a good time. Her non-articulated joints and perpetually pointed feet didn't really lend well to any action, plus her hair would get all messed up and tangled, so Barbie sat around a lot. Every Barbie looked exactly the same as the next one, so I didn't know what I was supposed to do with twenty of them. What was Barbie's mission in life? That message was abundantly clear: to own tons of clothes, live in a Dream House and marry Ken.
I wanted to build things, make things go, and defend myself against ghosts and villains. But the fact is, the toys that would allow me to fulfill these desires and develop my identity were kept out of my reach. People simply assumed GIRL = PINK, and then PINK = DOLLS and FRILLS. So yes, I did feel that no one really cared what I actually liked or wanted. I felt that I was being told what I could and couldn't be, and that I was being forced to be something that I was not. The result was that I spent most of my childhood rebelling against anything pink or feminine. It took a long time for me to come around and embrace my "girly" side because it had been forced down my throat for so long.
To be clear, regarding the sheet set with ballerinas and princesses, I have nothing against ballerinas. They're incredibly powerful dancers who rival pro athletes in their strength. I enjoy ballet. I took adult ballet classes until my schedule no longer worked out. However, I still have a problem with princesses. Seriously, how is a girl supposed to aspire to become a princess? That inevitably entails finding a prince to marry you and rescue you from your tedious life as a commoner. So empowering! And how realistic too. Did it occur to anyone that the closest thing in real life would be finding a rich guy whose arm you can hang on?
What ticks me off now is the fact that there are tool kits in floraly pink for women, and Ouija boards in pink for girls. Why does a hammer have to have a pink handle before I would ever use it? Would a pink Ouija board only summon female spirits?
dimsum- that makes two of us!i grew up but still LOVE dinosaurs and model cars :)
@dimsum and undercover, That's terrible that you weren't allowed to play with the toys that spoke to you. (For the record, we'd probably get along great because I played with boys, wore boys clothes, and loved Lego and cars and blocks when I was little.) Though, wouldn't it be equally intolerant to tell my pre-schooler that the toys she loves lack imagination, that her favorite color "stinks", and that she is delusional for wanting to be a princess when she grows up? Laugh if you want, but for me the value of the princess phenomenon is that it can promote the idea that we are all important and all have dignity: Think "The Little Princess" or "The Paper Bag Princess."
Too much pink? No. Too much pattern, GOD YES! and that happens way too quickly.
I wanted to be a princess growing up. And I liked Barbies. They were never boring but an outlet for me to create ever changing stories. I liked pink too. And I've grown up to be an independent woman with no thoughts as to being limited into a social stereotype or group.
Um. Duh.
This post has some good links to start you off. http://contexts.org/socimages/2009/05/26/pink/
I had a near-yelling argument with a male friend about this the other day. I was looking at laptops and the salesman showed me the pink one. I just wanted a regular laptop. Why is there even a special version 'for girls'? Argh!
I don't mind there being pink tools, but why are the pink tools always so crappy? My friend's mom bought a set because she thought it would mean she'd finally have a screwdriver her husband wouldn't steal and lose, but it turned out to be a lousy screwdriver, and broke.
My mother was anti-pink. I BEGGED for a pink room. Not only did I not have a pink room, I don't even remember having pink clothes. Now I LOVE pink. I'm not sure what that means, but I think there's a message in there somewhere about the dark (pink) side of too much parental control.
Ok, so what is we live in a world where there is too much of a gender diffrentiation by color?
As far as I've understood the education girls might miss as young children because of their toys does not prevent them from being good at learning or other activities. I'm a student and at my university and most uni's I know of the majority of the students is female.
And as adults mostly wear black I think we all, weather we're male or female, might have some color issues......
I'm tired of being made fun of for liking pink. I've had plenty of women treat me as stupid and looked down on me for loving pink. Like I was a brainless nobody who was living a stereotype. Being tall and blonde doesn't help, either. For me, this is tired and silly thinking. We all should just like what we are drawn to and leave it at that. As I get older, my tastes broaden and what I like to wear and have around me changes. I doubt I will ever stop liking pink.
I think this issue is old. I think the generations coming don't care about these issues as much and the further we get from those who do, the less it will even be mentioned. I hope.
Pink traditionally was actually reserved for males as it was considered a more vibrant and therefore masculine colour whereas Blue was pale and softer and said to be more feminine - this reversal has only occurred over the past few hundred years.
You have to wonder how it happened to the point of boys and men often avoiding the colour now to avoid being thought of as feminine?
Allowing the child to be their selves is key.
I personally love the color pink. It is fun, and creative (bright pink). There is just something passionate about it, a "live life to the fullest color" and independent, like "I'm a girl, and I can do what boys do, but I am not going to change what I like for a boy". I learned that when I was in 8th grade, after I had back surgery. From the time I was in 5th grade to the the end of 7th grade, wear I would not wear pink because I once heard someone say "boys don't like when girls wear pink". Now, I could care less what a guy thinks about me. come to think of it, 7th grade was the dullest year of my life, and I cringe whenever I think back to it.
I do not think that there is too much pink or any other color. I sometimes wish there was more pink. I like light pink too, but not as much as the artsy feel of magenta tones. I am also an artist/designer so tones that "pop" inspire me. I couldn't sit in a blue room and feel inspired for my design work, I'd prob feel inspired to paint the room a different color though.... but would not get the task at hand done. also dark pruple and orange are the too most "creative" tones of the color spectrum, I learned in a color theory class, so I always make sure I have a little touch of them around.
I would never paint my girl's room (or my room) blue and green. And definitely not blue. I actually HATE the color blue. It is dull, boring, and depressing. I've hated it for about 10 years now. It is also "calming" but I do not so it that way. I see it as nothing just something "plain" kind of like a boring lecture that passes right through your ears and you don't remember any of it. It is the 'standard" for many gender neutral things, and I am completely sick and discussed by it. If have a baby boy I will choose "green" over blue for their clothing/etc. If they want blue when they are older, then that's fine. But I would rather have them start out in a warm, friendly, and loving colored environment. But we all have our own opinions though.
And what is wrong with wanted to feel like a 'princess' once in a while? Not all the time, but "indulging" was in a while makes you feel good. Sometimes like a kid again, and we all have a "kid" still inside of us. I am a passionate pink person, want my my career, do like flowers from a guy once in a while, but I also like equality. I don't even like when a guy opens the door for me... I prefer opening my own doors.
And I agree with 'sleeping spot'. This issue is old, and we shouldn't care as much about these issues. Yes history is important, but there are other important issues in the world such as teen reckless driving, suicide, homelessness, the environment and such. We should just let everyone be themselves and like what they like, understand what others like, and be accepting of it.
And it regards to the picture, the bedspread and the wall shouldn't be the same pattern. Since the curtains all the same pattern too, I'd probably just paint the wall a basic, solid, pink. oh, And I'd probably use the same wood for the chair and desk, since they both seem to be the only unmatched thing in this room. (one is dark and one is light)
Here's a great article.
http://lifestyle.msn.com/relationships/articleoprahmatch.aspx?cp-documentid=22663614>1=32023
My daughter absolutely loves pink! I am pretty sure there is no such things as too much pink for her.
I know there are some girly girls that love pink and others girls that hate it. I have met a fwe girls in my daughters class that hate pink, but most of her wardrobe is in various shades of pink and a lot of it, she picks out.
Jane
how to get pregnant
Whoa....I think that may be a little much. Im not an expert but I think you need more balance. Im trying to break into the industry and become an interior designer so posts like these help train my eye. Currently I am taking ="http://www.emagister.com/cursos-madera-mueble-tematica-442.htm">Interior Design Courses hopefully when I finish I can get paid for suggestions like these.