Beverly's Pink Saturday - August 27, 2011

     I have the honor of being the featured blog for Beverly's Pink Saturday today, August 27, 2011. I use to participate every Saturday in Pink Saturday, but after posting every week for a year, I took a break. I recently decided to jump back in whenever the mood strikes me. In case you've been hiding with your head in the sand, Beverly's blog, How Sweet The Sound, was featured in the Summer 2010 issue of Artful Blogging in recognition of Pink Saturday. (Oh my. I hope that didn't sound like a put-down to those of you who have never visited Beverly's blog. I just figure everyone should know about pink-loving Beverly by now.)

     As I pondered what inspirational piece of pink art I should create for this post, the thought ran through my mind that many guys might not consider it an honor to be featured anywhere or in any way by anyone who thinks of pink as being a great color. Rather than get on my soapbox and preach that pink is just a color and everyone, especially artists, have the right to enjoy and use any color they want, I decided I would find out who-in-the world started the stupid idea that boys have to like blue, and girls have to like pink. (I apologize for that long sentence! Just writing this is getting my dander up.) Pink, after all, is nothing but a tint of red. Red is one of the primary colors, and the primary colors are for anyone to use in any way they want.

      Besides, God created color for everyone to enjoy. He most definitely was not the one who said boys have to like blue, and girls have to like pink. Rather than ramble on, though, I'll show you the results of my search.

The following information was taken from Wikipedia:

"In gender

     In Western culture, the practice of assigning pink to an individual gender began in the 1920s or earlier. An article in the trade publication Earnshaw's Infants' Department in June 1918 said: "The generally accepted rule is pink for the boys, and blue for the girls. The reason is that pink, being a more decided and stronger color, is more suitable for the boy, while blue, which is more delicate and dainty, is prettier for the girl." From then until the 1940s, pink was considered appropriate for boys because being related to red it was the more masculine and decided color, while blue was considered appropriate for girls because it was the more delicate and dainty color, or related to the Virgin Mary."

     No, don't run out and get your glasses changed. You read it correctly. Pink was originally thought to better represent men.  Well that's lead to the question, why did that idea change? Why do many people today think men should not like or wear pink? (I have relatives who think this way, and hope they read this blog post. Of course, anyone who has those kind of backward views in the first place wouldn't take the time to look at my blog. Maybe I should print this and mail it to them.)

Here comes the reversal. Wikipedia continues:

"Since the 1940s, the societal norm was inverted; pink became considered appropriate for girls and blue appropriate for boys, a practice that has continued into the 21st century."

     It would take a lot more research to find out who made this new determination, but there's no sense in boring you to death. There is a lot to read about the discussion on the Internet, and if you are interested in the subject, just do a search through Yahoo or Google. Just let me say that even among pagan religions, pink was attributed to boys, and blue was attributed to girls. Go figure!

     I at least feel vindicated that, not only as an artist, but also as a man, it is perfectly proper for men to like pink! I will continue to use pink in my art, and I will continue to wear my pink dress shirt whenever the mood strikes me.  For any guys out there considering to buy a pink Polo shirt or whatever, I encourage to just jump right in. The water's fine!

By the way, if you would like to visit other blogs who are participating in Beverly's Pink Saturday today, just click on the logo below, and you will be taken to her blog where the other links are listed.