They say that colors can effect your mood, and effect how you might react in certain situations. Red is a very aggressive color, and if you see red you are more likely to become angry, or become more aggressive. No wonder that red is usually associated with the devil, and other evil concepts. Black is dark, and blue is a very calming color, along with green. The way you attract a customer, or get yourself to relax in a room can all be effected by what color the room is. So what can we say about the color pink?
The color pink tends to be the color most associated with girls. If you have a baby girl you would get something pink for the baby, although ironically it used to be that boys would get the color pink. The color pink is a shade of red, and so it was still associated as being a red color, and appropriate for boys. However, in the 1940’s it was switched in the western hemisphere, and we have pink being the feminine color that is is today.
Pink is used in association with almost anything feminine. Pink is the color used for ribbons to raise awareness of breast cancer, and it is used by women’s groups around the world. Scientists say that the reason that girls like pink is because it is a shade of red, and reminds them of fruit. Apparently women like fruit, and therefore that is why they like pink. It seems to make sense from a scientific point of view, but I don’t know how many women would ever admit to that.
Pink is also associated with homosexuality. There are Dutch and British gay news outlets that name themselves after the color pink as in Pink News out of Britain. When marketers are trying to look for what segment of the market might be gay, they commonly refer to this as the pink market. This is probably why you don’t see a lot of men wearing pink.
The color pink can be used as a tool for getting into people’s heads this way. A few years ago the University of Iowa had the opposing locker room painted pink before a football game. Not only was the other team offended, but several feminist groups called it sexist, and that they wanted to see the color of the locker room re-painted, and an apology.
The color pink has been associated mostly with women, or anything being feminine, even if it was at one time a male color. Whether it be promoting breast cancer awareness, or feminism in some cases, it is almost always used to invoke some sort of female response. They say that real men were pink, but I will let the girls have that one for now.
