2023.01.23
Relay Column: Why Do We Wear Pink? – Our Relationship with "Feminine" Thins (Saaya Yokoyama)
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PROFILE
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Saaya Yokoyama
Second-year master's student at Keio University Graduate School of Sociology. Since April 2023, a special researcher (DC1) at the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science. Certified social worker and mental health welfare worker. Specializing in the anthropology of mental health welfare. Researching how activities led by individuals with mental disabilities respond to a society centered on ableism, particularly focusing on strategic aspects. Notable papers include "支援に「共感」って必要ですか？：絶望によるピアサポートをさざなみ会に見た" published in "精神看護" 25(3), among others.
I wear pink from head to toe every day.
As a result, I often get asked the question, "Why are you wearing pink?"
When I reply, "Because I like pink," the questioner frequently makes a dissatisfied face, as if to say they weren't really looking for that answer.
I had a bit of an understanding of what they truly wanted to know. Perhaps they assumed that pink isn't a color someone would wear—especially not from head to toe—just because they like it. This kind of presumption is quite common. So, I was being asked why, despite that, I choose to wear pink.
Why do I wear pink? Why is there a need for a reason to wear pink?
There lies the complex relationship between modern society and pink, particularly for those who live as "women."
“Feminine” Colors
Today, pink is widely recognized as a "female" color.The distance from pink reflects one's distance from what is considered "feminine"（1）. That is precisely why it’s complicated.
Columnist Jane Su expresses her frustration about being identified with the image of pink.
“Pink. Isn’t it a color that screams self-indulgence? It’s a color that seems to flirt shamelessly. It’s a color where ‘cuteness’ has been homogenized into a mere symbol. (omitted) They say, ‘When you think of a woman, think of pink,’ but before being a woman, I am a human being!”（2）
The reason pink is so despised is that it perfectly matches the negative, one-dimensional image of "feminine" people and behaviors（3）.
On one hand, it's sweet and cute; on the other hand, it feels superficial. It captures attention but stands out for the wrong reasons. It seems self-centered and vain. It appears juvenile, even unthinking.
Moreover, it feels overly sentimental. And too sexual. It should ideally remain hidden in private spaces, confined to domestic comfort. If it must come out, it should be used as an accent color, adding something delightful. When it takes center stage, it becomes vulgar.
However, if you hold back too much, it comes across as overly accommodating. Being entirely innocent can be painful, but being calculating is also poorly received.
This is the nature of pink.
Thus, one must maintain an appropriate distance from pink. Getting too close risk amplifying the losses incurred by being perceived as "feminine."
Assigned Color
Historically, pink has been assigned as a color for "women."Even today, products marketed toward "women" are often in pink（4）.
In fact, the very notion that pink is a "feminine" color was created by marketing.
According to historian Valerie Steele, pink became recognized as a "feminine" color in America in the 1950s. Before that, pink was considered a gender-neutral color, loved by men as well（5）.
There were two significant stages before pink was designated "feminine."
The first stage was the pink boom among housewives that surged in 1950s America. The catalyst for this was Mamie Eisenhower, often regarded as the epitome of the American housewife（6）. At that time, kitchens and bathrooms in suburban homes were painted pastel pink, emulating her style.
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