Caught in the pink tide

While lamenting the onslaught of the colour pink, Savitha V takes a look into the evolution of the colour's association with gender.

Let me state right now that I do not like pink. So you can well imagine how difficult it is to get by in a world that takes it for granted that all women love pink.

A friend had had a baby girl and one had to do a bit of baby shopping. So I headed to the children's section in a multi brand outlet. I didn't have to ask where the girls' stuff was – there it was, a sea of pink. Every conceivable shade of it.

An acquaintance bought a new phone. It came with two cases – one a grey-blue and the other a rather psychedelic pink. Her friend squealed, "Ooh use the pink one!" I was rather heartened when the owner of the phone flicked the pink case out of sight with a look of utter disgust.

So what is it about pink? Is it that girls take naturally to the colour or is it imposed upon them from the minute they are born? Oh girls simply must like pink, shouldn't they? I was recently told about this incident when a girl picked up a purple toy and the father insisted and finally convinced her that pink is the colour she likes and therefore should buy the pink toy. Do parents like this thrust the colour on their daughters?

Let's take a dekko into history. The demarcation of colours on the basis of gender began somewhere in the early 20th century. But here's a surprise – blue was meant to be for girls and pink for boys! Pink was considered more masculine and blue a more delicate colour.
 
Way back in 1914, the American newspaper 'The Sunday Sentinel' carried this advice for mothers: "If you like the color note on the little one's garments, use pink for the boy and blue for the girl, if you are a follower of convention." A women's magazine published in the same time period had this bit of information: "There has been a great diversity of opinion on the subject, but the generally accepted rule is pink for the boy and blue for the girl. The reason is that pink being a more decided and stronger color is more suitable for the boy, while blue, which is more delicate and dainty, is for the girl."

But then, somewhere along the way, the rule changed and the colours exchanged their gender roles and pink has stuck very loyally to women. Says 29-year-old housewife Priyamvatha, "I have always loved pink, right from childhood. Even now, most of my clothes are pink, my favourite bag is pink and I dress my baby daughter in pink most of the time."

Recently, there have been researches done to try and prove that women are genetically more inclined towards pink and men towards blue. Researchers at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, UK, say their findings support the theory that colour vision evolved in humans in part to help females spot ripe fruit such as red berries. And therefore, apparently, women prefer more reddish colours than men. (This having been conveniently interpreted to mean, women like pink!)

But give us a choice, is the cry from those who tired of the pink onslaught. "When I try buying a gadget, why does the salesperson have to try and push the pink version of it? I had nothing against pink till recently, when I started getting an overdose of it every time I went shopping," says Sangita, a college student.

Nevertheless, the evolution of the colour pink continues. From being the colour of everything feminine, it is increasingly being recognised as the colour of lesbian and gay activism.