On infant feminism & THE COLOR PINK

When I was little, I told every I hated the color pink. “Blue is better,” I would insist, “A long time ago pink used to be a boy color and blue was for girls.” I think that was something my dad told me. Maybe a lie. Probably a lie. Truthfully, I wanted everything I owned to be as pink as the Pepto-Bismol paint on the walls of the bedroom I shared with my little sister. I wanted to embrace the entirety of little-girl culture wholeheartedly, but the acceptance for my own preferences despite societal expectations came to me much later. Anyone who knows me now would say I was born an activist. They would say I was writhing around inside the viewing room at the hospital holding a women’s rights sign in one chubby fist and a poem (handwritten inside the womb) about the need for Indigenous female representation in mainstream media in the other. Still, it’s weird to look back and realize that gender norms and societal pressure were affecting me at such a young age.  I know I pretended not to like pink because every little girl my age liked pink. Sometimes all kids want is to be different. But thinking about it now, I know the strive to be unique in a world that only pretends to embrace individuality wasn't the only thing keeping me from claiming pink as my favorite color. Recently, there was a post going around social media comparing the cover of a magazine meant for girls and a cover of a magazine meant for boys. The one meant for boys is equipped with headlines like "Explore your Future," and "How to be what You want to be." The girls magazine has (pink) headlines such as "Wake up Pretty," and "Your dream Hair." This is the type of unapologetic, sexist brainwashing that every little girl (and boy) experiences as a child. There are millions of young girls standing in line with their parents at the grocery store staring at magazine headlines encouraging them to loose weight, wear makeup, and god forbid (I'm talking to you, Cosmopolitan) learn how to please (and keep) a man right now. So what does this have to do with the color pink besides the obvious? Well, what do you notice about these magazine covers when you're too young to read? The pictures, the patterns, and most of all, the colors. Everything in our world is color-coded. We grow up drawing pictures with green grass because we are told grass is green despite the fact that many lawns, especially in our current global climate, are far from green. Our mindset is no different when we are told pink is for girls and blue is for boys. Before we learn to read, we learn to associate colors. Think about those baby toys where you have to match colored blocks to the color-coded holes in the wood to correctly finish the puzzle. Color is important. So as children, when we are told pink is for girls, and it seems like every single thing in the world proves that theory (i.e. clothing, magazines, toys, etc.), we begin to associate the color with things like beauty, specific gender roles, and most importantly (and dangerously), femininity. That's why when girls are old enough to read, our eyes go straight towards pink ads, headlines, products, clothing, etc. We are brainwashed to be attracted to the things that are doing the brainwashing. Boys and men consider pink a girly color as well. Many grown men are literally scared to be associated with the color. They fear the color pink. I remember middle school boys who used to wear bright pink t-shirts that said "Don't laugh, it's your girlfriend's shirt." If those shirts were black, the meaning of the statement would completely change. It might not even make sense. The color pink strengthens that already, for lack of a better word, gross statement and makes it into a whole other beast. Makes it into a joke-- one that greatly and negatively affects the female image. And if that isn't enough evidence to prove the strength of the color pink itself, consider the Pink Tax. If you haven't heard of it, leave my website right now and go educate yourself fully. But to put it simply, the Pink Tax is a tax that makes items marketed for women more expensive than items marketed for men. Yes, tampons and pads are affected by the Pink Tax because they are considered "luxury items," but what the Pink Tax really does is charge women more for basic, everyday, non-gendered items simply because they are pink. Oftentimes, pink razors are more expensive than blue razors. Same with toothbrushes, shampoo, and even shaving cream. My mom only buys "mens" shaving cream because it "works better for cheaper." Color is influential. Now, to get back to my original point, I've been doing a lot of thinking lately. I've come to the realization that even as a kid, I knew how dangerous gendering simple things like colors is. I rejected the color pink not because I was different, or unique, or even masculine. I told everyone I hated everything pink because I knew what it stood for. I knew what it encouraged. And I don't know if that's applaudable or just plain depressing. The end.