Don't get me started on the perniciousness of pink.
"It felt like I'd woken up in some kind of one-party state (led by Barbie, naturally); a pink dystopia, and no one has even noticed."
It's not that I don't like the colour - hell, I've got a pink jumper, a couple of pink t-shirts and a fair selection of pink underwear...it's just that I think my two-year-old daughter should have a choice of colours to wear. Go into any high street shop or supermarket and everywhere it's pink sparkly fairy princesses with unicorns in tow (how on earth did they creep in?). And as Eleanor Bailey points out, even the clothes that aren't pink have pink flowers or sequins cluttering up the margins.
I've done the best I can - bought 'boys' colours, rummaged in charity shops for things from the 1970s and 80s and scavenged from friends. I refuse to spend a fortune I haven't got in Petit Bateau or Boden (as an aside, if you want to see Boden's latest range in all its finery just go to the Alnwick Garden on a Sunday - it's so wall-to-wall middle-class children, it's hilarious), and I shouldn't have to.
What's even more evil is that pink isn't confined to clothing. Anything aimed at girls, from 1 month upwards seems to only come in the colour pink. Pink books, decor, jigsaws, stickers...you name it, it's pink, floral and sparkly.
The upshot is, you might as well have a permanent sign round your neck that says "I'm a girl, aren't I pretty?" I really don't want that for my daughter - I want her to grow up thinking about other stuff, not just what she looks like. I'm all for celebrating your feminine side, but honestly, give me a break.
3 comments:
I went to four shops yesterday trying to find some girl baby clothes that weren't pink. Came home with a pack of boys' sleepsuits. And nothing else.
I am so with you 100% on this. Have you noticed that all pregnancy books and magazines are also pink? Even the ones about why you can't get pregnant? And come to think of it, pregnancy vitamin boxes are pink. And pregnancy TESTS are pink, save for one well-known brand whose name rather suggests a colour scheme. Hm, I feel a rant of my own coming on...
miss meep: hello! Love the latest pic of mini meep - any news on Barry?
barrenblog: I'd never thought about the whole pink pregnancy stuff before - I was too busy avoiding the sheer evil that is maternity wear. But now you come to mention it, there was a lot of pastel pink (and probably pale blue) kicking about, especially in the magazine and book department. WHAT'S WRONG WITH BLACK? Why do you suddenly have to give up the habit of a lifetime and become interested in pink floral sprigged nonsense? Grrr.
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