Pink Stinks

[randomama]

Reading about feminist books for 5 year olds in today's Guardian, it mentioned this "Pink Stinks" campaign. Which protests against the pinkification (OK, I made that word up) of girlhood.

I don't have any girls (yet) but as a girl, I LOVED pink, although my mum didn't indulge it (she was Clothkits all the way). I wanted to be Barbie or a Princess but have ended up writing a feminist PhD thesis. So in my experience a love of pink and princesses and a lifelong commitment to feminism have not been incompatible.

BUT my question is what do feminist or non feminist mothers of girls or indeed what do any of you think about the pinkification of girlhood and/or the campaign by Pink Stinks to stop it?

Cheers

I wouldn't mind girls being "princesses" if boys were also described as "princes" but they rarely are. Suggeats that girls are more precious somehow and that boys are second best.

I can't get worked up about this either.
If you don't like pink clothes then don't buy them

"If you don't like pink clothes then don't buy them"

I think this misses the point somewhat. Pink is everywhere. It is incredibly difficult to buy a toy/piece of baby gear that is not gender branded in pink or blue/bright colours. Even that sit on bouncing zebra toy is "now available in pink!".

This is really apt as I have just been reading Thomas the tank engine to my 2yr daughter and found myself wanting to say Thomasina instead! I have two daughters and hate not only the pinkification of girls clothes but also the glitter and spangly tops and downright trash that is sold for girls in places such as H&M and Zara. This discussion has made me resolve to throw away any pink things I can easily get rid of and to buy some clothes dye for things like socks and knickers!

Well quite soupy. As I said earlier buying DD a dressing gown that wasn't pink was almost impossible. Even searching online didn't find me many.

I hate pink. I loathe it. It is DDs favourite colour [weeps]. today I have purchased pink sparkly shoes, pink sparkly trainers and a pink tutu type skirt (they're from Santa). I want to cry.

The point is, she's learnt the whole "pink thing" from peers etc, not me as I have gone out of my way to buy other lovely colours like purples/lilac/teal/red. And brown

"even bloody pink screw drivers" Yes! How f*cking ridiculous is that?? I don't want a pink tool, I want a practical one!

"any prominence of pink on the rails, is directly attributable to the whole supply and demand scenario."

However, I think the demand is artificially created due to the whole Pink! Pink! Pink! hype.

Pinkification of girls drives DW mad. She harangued our DSs school about the way girls are being subtley being conditioned to be wives and mothers by the attitudes in the classroom and throughout the school activity programme.

However, we have 2 DSs who she really likes to dress in pink jumpers and pink shirts.

my two girls are teenagers now. but it wasn't this bad when they were small. it annoys me that now (with 3 small boys) i go into a shop and there will be several rails of girls clothes,a sea of pink (and increasingly,lilac!)with only one or two rails with choices for my sons....

i hate it!! and yes,the market aiming pink car accesories and screwdrivers!! as a lone parent i do all my diy which i love....screwdeivers are on my list this year,better not be bloody pink!! or pink 'kidston' floral...

"It is incredibly difficult to buy a toy/piece of baby gear that is not gender branded in pink or blue/bright colours."

I haven't found that at all. I shop in high street shops, nowhere expensive or special and I haven't found any problems at all with getting DD things in other colours. Even if things are only available in pink or blue, buy the blue if you hate pink so much. Otherwise you are doing exactly what you are accusing others of doing. DD has clothes, toys, changing mats, prams, bottles, nappies, bedding, all the gear, none of it pink unless I've specifically chosen it. And I'll continue to do so. Not a problem at all, just one more thing to complain about and make someone else's fault. It is my job as a parent to teach her values, not the sparkly obsessed boss of the ELC or wherever. But equally, if she wants pink sparkly fairy wings I have no problem at all with that either. If I have a ds, he can borrow them afterwards. No issue.

However (x post) Tiffany's post above is a valid point about the lack of boys' clothes. That's an entirely different issue though. I don't have a boy (yet!) and I notice it.

ILove/Rockbird - totaly agree about boys clothes. It is all blue, grey, black, brown in the UK.

Much different in continental Europe which have nice boys clothes in many shops. We tend to shop at Zara which has a nice range of colours for boys and is Spanish company which explains the better range. Prices not the absolute lowest but a nice range that changes frequently at sensible prices.

This subject interests me and my DP.

I loathed pink and skirts when I was young. I preferred to play with my brother's toys.

DP on the other hand never felt comfortable with the boys stereotypes.

So we've sworn that we'll never force our kids into the stereotypes that restricted us. So I agree that pinkification is bad, but think in all honesty, girls still have more range/freedom than boys.

"Even if things are only available in pink or blue, buy the blue if you hate pink so much"

You're missing the point. Why does a piece of equipment/whatever have to come in a choice of pink or blue (and you know they mean girl or boy) when often they are the only colour choices? Why on earth does this toy need to be available in pink? The only reason is to further fuel the "girls must have pink" hype.

BTW, I agree that there are far fewer boys clothes on offer compared to girls. It used to annoy me no end when I had 2 boys. Then I had a girl and realised there are more boys' clothes than there are non-pink girls ones

Because the fact that a child has a vagina or a penis is totally irrelevant when she/he is very young. There is nothing wrong with being female (I dislike the word femininity) but there is something distinctly wrong with giving a child a set of set values, interests, behaviours according to the type of genitals they possess, before she/he has a chance to choose them for themselves. And it isn't the colour per se, it is the fact that it symbolises the first step on a life-long road hedged by what woman/men 'are like' and how they behave.

I'm not missing any point. You're letting them tell you that it's for boy or girl. The toy is available in two colours. Take your pick and let it symbolise whatever the hell you want. If you want to pick a fight over pink or blue/boys or girls then go ahead. But you are letting that happen.

I have bought DD a mini sizzlin' kitchen from the ELC. It was in pink or blue. So I looked at the two colours, thought hmm, she hasn't got anything pink, let's have that for a change. Her current kitchen which I am sick of tripping over, is blue and green. You're really trying to say that this decision is sending subliminal messages to her telling her she'll never be as good as boys? Utter nonsense and quite insane actually. It's just making an issue where there isn't one. Fine, go ahead, that's up to you. But when I listened to Mrs Pink Stinks on the radio yesterday, everyone that called in to comment on what she'd said, agreed it was a load of navel gazing bollocks. And symbolising the first step on the road of what men and women are like, please!

"Does something as mundane, as clothing your daughter in pink really inhibit her capacity for development in the future though? Thats certainly the implication, as far as the "Pink Stinks" campaigners believe. Why is gender neutrality, even masculinity to some extent considered better than femininity? Why do men and women have to be uniform or the same?"

Definitely not, I don't understand why things being pink is a bad thing. Knowing that, as a kid, I'd have refused to use anything that was pink anyway. If a kid doesn't like it, then you can't force them too.

I also don't think men and women should be uniform or the same. What I do know is that, and I hope my partner will forgive me for this, my partner was considering a sex change for a long time from a young age, because he didn't fit into the "boys" role. So I think saying that certain toys are solely for boys and certain toys are solely for girls is a bad thing, because it limits kids when their imagination should be allowed to stretch. But, I also know that this is a deeper cultural problem. And will not be fixed by changing the colour of toys.

So I understand where the Pink Stinks campaign is coming from, but don't think that it's necessarily the right thing to be focussing on.

Just had a look at the Pink Stinks website and totally agree with the side bar on the front page in orange.

The Dad comment about ... "finding a prince, wearing dresses and getting married.." (Andrew Kinmont) is spot on as are many of the other comments.

DW and me feel very strongly about this issue. It is not just about 'pink clothes' but it is the social undertone that starts form a very very early age that girls are valued if they make themselves 'pretty' for men. It is a trend that has become apparent over the last decade as earnings gap between top and bottom of society has widened.

Girls/women are increasingly being given a subtle message that being pretty and marrying a rich man rather than working for your living is the way to go. We see it all the time at our DSs school among the girls.

Pinkification is just a physical manifestation of that socio economic trend.