Introduction

As stereotypical as it is, it is true. Since I knew what it meant to have a favorite color, pink has been it for me. I remember taking ballet classes when I was a little girl and falling in love with the beautiful pink dress I got to wear on stage for our recital. I picked out pink binders and folders and cloth book covers for my school supplies every single year. If a piece of room decor comes in pink, you can guarantee that I will buy it over any other color in the world. Any time I get my nails done with my mom, I bring my own pink nail polish from home (Essie’s “Birthday Girl” if you were wondering!). The bedspread I just bought for my bed in my new apartment has pink flowers all over it. And yes, coneflowers do come in pink! Of course, there are other colors that I have loved; I’m partial to blue and purple as well. However, pink is the color that I constantly return to.

Suggested Reasons

I have wondered why I love pink so much, and apparently, so have other people! There are many theories out there about why women specifically love the color pink. In some studies, researchers have found that women actually preferred colors that had a pinkish or redish hue. It is theorized that this is because it is the color of fresh fruit, which the women would have been in charge of gathering in the early days of humanity. The same study found that men do not have the same biological attachment to colors since hunters just had to find a darker shape and kill it. Women might also love the color pink because it is conditioned into them by society. Whenever a mother finds out that she is having a baby girl, everyone always begins to buy her pink socks and pink toys and pink blankets. So, when the baby is born, she is surrounded by pink items, and she is conditioned to love that color because it is associated with her gender. In this way, pink is associated with femininity, so there might be this perceived pressure when a girl is younger to love the color pink. Although pink has not always been associated with femininity! In the eighteenth century, pink was associated with young boys since it was seen as a passionate and aggressive color (which is funny to think about now since pink is now associated with gentleness and kindness!).

My Reason

While I do not doubt the merits of either of the theories above, I do believe that there are some holes missing. Firstly, there have been other researchers who have said that our women liking pink is not something that is built into our DNA or our brains, since women are simply primed to like colors in general. Secondly, most women actually stop loving the color pink when they reach adulthood, so that color is no longer socially tied to their identity anymore. So, why do I still love the color pink as a twenty-one-year-old? I love it because it is a color that speaks to my past, present, and future. The color pink is extremely nostalgic for me; my childhood was in shades of pink from rose to flamingo to coral. The color pink is something that speaks to me now because it connects me to this child-like version of myself; it is a reminder of authenticity. The color pink is something that guides me into the future version of myself that I want to become; pink is an ever-changing color, so it reminds me that my future holds possibilities that I could never dream of, as well as the fact that I can be both bold and gentle. You can say that I wear rose-colored glasses because I love the color pink as a woman. However, it goes deeper than just aesthetics. Pink is just the color that speaks to my mind, body, and soul.