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The colour stereotype of pink for girls and blue for boys has remained for decades. Is it time for us to do away with it?
As I was deciding what to wear for my birthday in May I saw this pink dress which I had bought for Holi and hadn’t worn because of the whole pandemic. I was still searching if I could find something else I could wear instead of that pink dress when a thought came into my mind, Why am I not wearing pink?
Since as early as at birth, it is decided that if it’s a girl everything is pink and if it’s a boy everything is blue. Even for gender reveal parties, this concept is used. As the child grows up, from birthday parties to clothes to rooms, everything is either pink or blue based on their sex.
I guess me not liking pink was a rebellion of my own against this very notion. When I was small, naturally I had lot of pink things because everyone gifts you pink things because you are a girl. Someone around me once declared that favourite colour of all boys needs to be blue and for girls, pink.
I guess I have a tendency to not give into things that have been forcefully implemented. I feel that whatever I follow should be on my terms and acceptance and not because someone assumes that it is what I like and forces it upon me.
I think I began to despise pink because of these beliefs. I actually changed my whole wardrobe to blue because I thought “why not”. Why should I like pink just because every girl should?
This marketing of pink for girls and blue for boys is actually quite recent. Funnily a 1918 infant trade department Smithsonian article states that pink was for boys as it was derived from red which signifies power and blue which is more petite is for girls. Even F Scott Fitzgerald’s masterpiece The Great Gatsby when describes Gatsby to be wearing a pink suit.
Gradually as the World War ended somehow femininity shifted towards pink with female actresses starting to wear pink dresses. Many examples can be drawn from Jacqueline Kennedy to Marilyn Monroe’s dress in Gentlemen Prefers Blondes.
It is now almost a norm that everything pink customized for women and depicts femininity whereas blue and darker colours depict masculinity.
I was always against this notion so I never actually bought any pink clothes but had somehow bought one pink dress. I actually did wear that dress because I felt like I was taking my anger out on the colour pink which actually had no fault.
I was blaming the narrow mindedness of the societal outlook of gender bias on a mere colour. So I decided from that day on rather than changing the colours I would like to change the thoughts of people.
Who says a boys wearing pink isn’t masculine and a girl wearing black isn’t feminine enough? It is our narrow-mindedness that enables us to put labels on people just by viewing the colour of their clothes. We need to stop putting labels and judging people based on what they wear. People should have freedom to wear whatever they want. Did you know that the wedding dresses earlier were of any colour rather than just white? Well that is a discussion for some other day.
We really need to stop labeling people based on the colour of their clothes and instead accept them for who they are and live in harmony.
First published here.
Picture credit: Congerdesign
Pouring my thoughts through words on women mental health, social issues, lifestyle and pop culture. I stand on the sacrifices of so many women and I hope to make them proud! read more...
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UP Boards Topper Prachi Nigam was trolled on social media for her facial hair; our obsession with appearance is harsh on young minds.
Prachi Nigam’s photo has been doing the rounds on social media for the right reasons. Well, scratch that- I wish the above statement were true. This 15-year-old girl should ideally be revelling in her spectacular achievement of scoring a whopping 98.05% and topping her tenth-grade boards. But oddly enough, along with her marks, it’s something else that garners more attention – her facial hair.
While the trolls are driving themselves giddy by mocking this girl who hasn’t even completed her school yet, the ones who are taking her side are going one step ahead – they are sharing her photoshopped pictures, sans the facial hair, looking nothing less than a celebrity with captions saying – “Prachi Nigam, ten years later”.
Doctors have already diagnosed her with PCOD in their comments, based on photographic evidence. While we have names for people shamed for their weight – body shaming, for their skin colour- racism, for their age- age shaming, for being a female- sexism, this category of shaming where one faces criticism for their appearance has no name. With that, it also has zero shame attached to it.
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