The Tyranny of Pink
Friends who I assumed would be on side say things such as "But girls' stuff was always pink." It wasn't - look at books from a generation ago and you'll find girls in green T-shirts and white shorts and brown dungarees; they look old-fashioned now, strangely androgynous, like little Jodie Fosters. Or people say: "But we all wanted pink, too, we just weren't allowed/it wasn't available." Yet I have a photographic record of the purple and green striped bedroom wallpaper I chose because they were my favourite colours. Or they even say: "But if you've got the money and girls like it, what's the problem?" There are two big problems. First, the lack of other options in an era when we are supposedly overwhelmed by choice tells girls that there is only one, highly prescriptive, way for them to be feminine.
Second, the desire created for pink and fluffy soon morphs into a desire for pink and sexy - the next girl - purchasing stage. While naff boys' clothes suggest that your lad is some hybrid of Einstein and Rambo - with words such as "genius", "roar" and "tank" splashed across chests - the aspirational look for girls is more alarming. Along with "princess" and "born to party", the legends on young girls' T-shirts include "porn star". "The sexualisation of pink is happening younger and younger," says Mikel Brown. The so-called Kagoy (kids are getting older younger) phenomenon sees young girls sporting frilly, pink play bras and thongs (Sue Palmer says she commonly sees five-year-olds in them when visiting schools), and playing with sexy-shaped dolls such as Bratz much earlier than a generation ago. "The American Psychological Association," says Mikel Brown, "has a taskforce on the sexualisation of girls in the media, which connects pink and sexy with girls' depression, eating disorders and self-esteem issues."
The tyranny of pink by Eleanor Bailey
Pink was once a color associated with masculinity, considered to be a watered down red and held the power associated with that color. In 1914, The Sunday Sentinel, an American newspaper, advised mothers to “use pink for the boy and blue for the girl, if you are a follower of convention.” The change to pink for girls and blue for boys happened in America and elsewhere only after World War II. As modern society entered twentieth century political correctness, the concept of gender equality emerged and, as a result, reversed the perspective on the colors associated with each gender as well as the superficial connections that attached to them . Today, with the effects of advertising on consumer preferences, these color customs are a worldwide standard. (...)
The differences between girls’ objects and boys’ objects are also divided and affect their thinking and behavioral patterns. Many toys and books for girls are pink, purple, or red, and are related to make up, dress up, cooking, and domestic affairs. However, most toys and books for boys are made from the different shades of blue and ? are related to robots, industry, science, dinosaurs, etc. This is a phenomenon as intense as the Barbie craze. Manufacturers produce anthropomorphic ponies that have the characteristics of young girls. They have barrettes, combs and accessories, and the girls adorn and make up the ponies. These kinds of divided guidelines for the two genders deeply affect children’s gender group identification and social learning.
As girls grow older, their taste for pink changes. Until about 2nd grade, they are very obsessed with the color pink, but around 3rd or 4th grade, they do not obsess with pink as much anymore. Usually, their tastes change to purple. Later, there is another shift. However, the original association with the color-code often remains.
The Pink & Blue Project by JeongMee Yoon
