Pink Is Feminist
Since the beginning of civilization (and even before that) women have endured and overcome societal notions that paint us as inferior to men in various ways. Many times we combat this by trying to be an adversary, highlighting the very qualities that men possess and believe to be “superior”. However, women's and girls’ femininity is not a weakness, but instead, a dynamic force that pushes us ahead to be the best we can and I believe the color pink symbolizes femininity in unimaginable ways, representing remarkable women everywhere.
As I develop further into my teenage years and my womanhood, I reflect on memories from my youth, smiling from stories and cringing from my awkward Nike headband faze. I reminisce about elementary school, more specifically second grade. The first day of school was filled with icebreakers and games to learn new classmates, teachers, future best friends, etc. When asked what our favorite color was, it clicked. Pink! I loved pink and it showed with my pink walls, bedspread, and my designated role as the “pink sister”.
With four girls in front of me (my last name is in the middle of the alphabet), they all exclaimed one after another, “BLUE!”, “Pink is ugly”, and “Tomboys don’t like pink”. This puzzled me: When did the notion of pink change? No, it’s not wrong to not like pink or to have a different favorite color, but why can’t you like pink if you play sports, don’t play with dolls, or don’t indulge in playing pretend anymore? Why does it have to be one of the other? Nevertheless, my turn arrives and I reply, “Blue”.
Throughout the years my answer varied from different shades of blue, green, orange, and yellow, avoiding the obvious truth of the matter. There was a brief moment in middle school where in only small groupings of girls, we would admit our love to the color pink, but only to the baby-pink, pastel versions, NEVER to hot pink because it would look as if we were subservient in a new age for girls to explore athletic, academic, and societal opportunities that our mothers never had the chance to partake in. It felt like a disservice to accept the stereotypes that women have worked so hard to overcome.
One day, it just occurred to me: I love the color pink. My epiphany was not a revelation after some soul-crushing journey, but a random day at school where my class decided to avoid our discussion on Romeo and Juliet, so we sparked up a conversation about ROYGBIV. Surveying the class, I waited to establish my answer. Many of the girls admitted, without hesitation, “PINK!”. This stunned me because for so long I had denied myself the pleasure of pink, painting my walls blue, discarding my pink bedspread for a distasteful teal, and more. When had this changed? Why was I now able to embrace my femininity? In a full circle moment, I sat in my class, mirroring second grade, but I broke the cycle: “My favorite color is pink”. And I felt good.
For so much of my life, I threw my femininity aside to please others and not destroy the principles of feminism that oppressed women and girls for so long. But it took me years to realize that feminism is built to uplift women, not to destroy aspects that highlight the beauty, uniqueness, and specialness of femininity. Since trends on TikTok expose the great significance of the color pink, I’m just ecstatic that girls everywhere are accepting the strength that pink has by embracing coquette bows, pink accessories, blush, etc. Our femininity is a superpower that should be embraced, not overshadowed or looked down on, so be honest and embrace your own pink (even if your favorite color is orange!) because pink is a sign of resilience for everyone to enjoy.
XOXO Maran
