Is the Love-Hate Story of Pink the Battlefield for Defining Femininity?
After watching the movie Barbie in summer 2023, I rediscovered my childhood Barbie storybook series, which I had almost sworn off 10 years ago. I spent a decade figuring out and recognizing my love for the pink hue, which appeared in the dream of my childhood and my reality now. Though pink has long been designed as a symbolic color for female figures, women’s attitude changing with time embodies their power, giving this color a new connotation.
Pink: A Mix of Love and Hate
From Hello Kitty, Barbie, and Minnie Mouse to Sleeping Beauty, the prevailing pink is apparently set as the “feminine-coded" color accompanying more than half of the princesses and the majority of female characters in male-dominated IP. As a result, children's toys and clothing have also been subjected to the "pink tax." Consequently, since World War II, more and more girls have developed a particular fondness for pink in their childhood.
Yet, recently, a number of girls have reflected their polarized attitude toward the color pink regarding the stereotypical impression related to this color in childhood. Discussion grows heated over whether this childhood “love” is love itself or shaped by social rules, gender bias, and, more radically, patriarchy. Many girls simply say they hate pink since they were kids because too many peers follow this trend, and their distinctive rebellious mentality makes them pursue more so-called "mature" colors, such as black or blue.
But, by abandoning pink and pursuing seemingly “cooler” colors, what are people trying to detach from?
Pink: Color of Diluted Blood Under Stigmatization
Notably, the aversion to pink stems more severely from the social stigmatization of both the color itself and the femininity it represents. It’s not uncommon to see a boy who usually wears pink being criticized by his family and society with words like “too girly” (娘娘腔)or “lacking masculinity”. In fact, the anti-bullying tradition “Pink Day” originated from this: a Canadian boy was mocked at high school for wearing pink, and many other students supported him by wearing pink T-shirts together.
Unfortunately, in China, when pink stigmatization happens to girls, a gender socially connected with this color rather than the opposite of it, a totally different story appears. When Linghua Zheng (郑灵华), 23, dyed her hair pink to celebrate getting admitted into graduate school, a photo of the moment—which she shared with her ailing grandfather—went viral. Instead of congratulations, she faced a storm of online vitriol. Trolls mocked her pink hair with slurs like "slut" and "bargirl." Though she fought back legally, the unyielding abuse plunged her into depression and drove her to suicide six months later. Zheng’s tragedy broke many people’s hearts while also being a reminder that most time pink isn’t biasedly defined, women are.
When distinctive academic achievement meets the outstanding color, the stereotype that a good girl should be mild and in “normal” styling renders women who don’t conform to this standard as outliers. Furthermore, the contemporary media landscape collectivizes this stigmatizing judgement, where the malice of individuals, however infinitesimal, aggregates. Therefore, the origin of women’s complicated emotions toward pink, this dangerous color, is continuously interwound by a single social expectation of women's image and constraints on diversity.。
Pink: Identity We Share
However, Zheng’s leave didn’t cease women’s revolts against social discipline and bullying. Pink becomes a new trend and a collective voice chosen by women. Many young girls dye their hair pink in their graduation season and post their photos on social media, calling the color “Linghua Pink” or “Graduate Pink” to commemorate her. “Seeing the bravery of other girls, I think pink can also be a weapon,” a girl graduating in pink hair said. While widely disseminated, pink isn’t a spectacularized sign for consumption. It has transformed from a focus of social and gender stigmatization into a sword that women arm themselves with to assert their identity, build communities, and revolt against silence and violence.
Conclusion
Once the external manifestation of social discipline and stemming from historically deep-seated feminine stereotypes, pink's meaning has now been dramatically inverted: it is now a collective declaration that the very traits used to frame women’s figure are, in fact, becoming their greatest strength. The challenge lies not in discarding the color—a response that only deepens the stigma for those who cherish it—but in deploying women’s collective will to reshape the narrative of the color.
Written by: Nina Li
