By Ash Zhang
Pink these days is undoubtedly a female colour. When you think pink, you think love, sweetness and politeness. You see it everywhere, from the croquette girlies with hyper-feminine clothing to the recent boom of hot pink Barbie clothes. Phrases such as the ‘Pink tax’ and packaging for shaving razors, cute children's toys and the clear divide in clothing for toddlers when you look at the different sides of the aisles. Every single gender reveal party is ubiquitously blue for boys and pink for girls. It’s the commonly accepted norm after all. But when did it come to this in history?
In the 1800s and early 1900s, pink was often perceived as a masculine colour in stark contrast with blue, a girl’s colour. Red was, at the time, associated with the Roman god, Mars: a symbol of power and strength for men. Boys were given the more diluted version until they grew up. On the other hand, blue was considered delicate and dainty; perfect for girls. This is often seen in paintings of male aristocracy from that era, many depicted in different shades of pink. Infants in Europe and America all wore white dresses for practicality's sake, as it was easier to bleach and wash without being afraid of colour maintenance and damaging the garment. White was a colour of the wealthy, because only they were able to afford the processing of materials, but increased industrialisation led to costs being reduced and gendered items of clothing slowly coming into fashion.
Pink was given its name due to a flower, and started being recognised in the 17th century. Pink was not a popular colour up until the 18th century, as most nobles preferred crimsons and other bright colours. Madame de Pompadour was the mistress of King Louis XV of France (who famously loved pastel pinks and blues) and a specific shade of pink was named after her in the Sevres porcelain factory, the “Pink Pompadour”. At the time, bright pinks were associated with seduction and romance, while pale pinks represented youth and innocence.
This divide between pastel and hot pink remained popular in the following century. During periods of the great wars, women often dressed in blues and black for the sake of practicality, as they were much easier colours to come by, produce and maintain. Money was limited and clothing was never the first priority during the time of war when women were working in factories while the men were fighting. Pink triangles were forced onto those accused of homosexuality in Nazi concentration camps, and through the LGBTQ+ community reclaiming it, it has now become a symbol for the gay rights movement.
Post WW2, however, brought about the revival of pink due to the surplus in materials. Mamie Eisenhower, the first lady of Dwight Eisenhower, wore a decadent pink dress at her inauguration. She was well known for her liking of the colour and became strongly associated with and popularised it as an elegant ‘ladylike’ colour. At one point she filled the white house with enough pink; it was referred to as “The Pink Palace”. There was also the discovery of dyes for hot pink that was a mix of magenta and white that became the iconic colour for Schiaparelli’s brand as her trademark. By the 1940s through advertising and commercial tactics, Pink became the colour representing femininity. Following on from this, Pink became increasingly seen within popular culture, with iconic actresses of the time often seen in pink, such as Aubrey Hepburn, who was always seen in pastel pinks. Marilyn Monroe wore her celebrated Barbie-pink strapless dress with matching long globes in the iconic musical number “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend” in “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes”.
Through one too many celebrity endorsements and unfavourable actions, pink began to have negative connotations attached to it. Fragility, lack of intelligence, naïvity and materialism eventually formed a new perspective on pink. At some point or another, certain girls began to reject pink due to these associations, forming the now often joked about “not like the other girls” girls.
1972 was the official year that Barbie embraced pink, following the doll being released in 1959 by the company Mattel. She is a toy that has been a staple of every girl’s childhood for a very long time and remains a nostalgic memory for them as they grow up. The recent release of the Barbie movie has sparked a popularisation of the long-dormant “Barbie pink”, Pantone colour 219C, lying between pink and magenta. The colour has been instrumental in the marketing campaign of the movie, both in the advertising and clothing for the actresses and actors on runways. There have been entire billboards covered in only this colour and a date to advertise for the movie. Trends emerged of people decked head to toe in this colour, as well as other shades of pink, as they can get to go see the movie in cinemas. The movie was a massive box office hit, grossing $1.446 billion and becoming the 14th highest-grossing film of all time. This film marks a milestone in the reclaiming of pink as a colour of feminine power and helped in shedding the more negative associations of pink.
Now, pink is a colour that has become inextricably tied with the movement of femininity, the good and the bad. It has seen a long transformation from its times of association as a weaker colour representing Mars and men as we look upon its glaring presence in advertising and the media. Perhaps pink will continue to develop its meanings far into the future and one day people will be shocked it was ever a gendered colour at all. But right now? It looks like pink will continue to represent female power.