Pretty in Pink or succumbing to the stereotype?

I have seen street plays, movies and theatres, demonstrating about Women’s Rights, fighting for them and giving a wakeup call to all against the female stereotype. Every feminist movement (be it in the form of a play or movie) shows a girl being forced to wear pink, like pink and prefer pink and then in the end we see the girl crying, confused over why her life has been forced in this pool of PINK. A perfect example is the movie Legally Blonde. Beyond the blonde stereotype, which we shall discuss in the next article, everyone undermines Elle Woods because of her “girly” behaviour and pink dresses. Everyone considers her a Bimbo till she proves that one’s clothes and choices don’t prove one’s capabilities. Today, Tom-boys are in fashion and anyone who likes pink is seen down upon as too “girly”. I don’t even know what too girly means. I have seen girls fighting and debating over things like ‘they are not at all like a typical girl but infact are tom-boyish’. Ask any girl about how she describes herself, she’ll say, “I am a bit of a tom-boy.” Many girls even claim to hate pink. I want to deny all these denials and say this: Pink is a beautiful color; It is vibrant, lovely and cheery. I love painting my nails, using perfumes and everything “girly”. This feminist battle of denying being stereotyped has in some way created another stereotype as we keep bantering our sisters who choose to like the “girly” stuff. I am not advocating that Girls are from Venus or should paint their room pink and Boys are from Mars or should paint their room blue, I want to say that stop strangling us!

I am tired of one being forced into one team or the other. I cannot stop waxing, wearing lipstick or loving pink teddy bears and yet read Tolstoy, play football and be a business woman. Infact I feel like superman with a double identity but I have an advantage that I don’t have to hide it at all. Feminism is not about denying us or our desires rather giving us the freedom to be what we like even if it is not what anybody wants!  Feminism is not a battle between sexes or a battle to prove that women do not like what everyone thought, we did but it is a movement for freedom of choice. In Little Women, all four March sisters had different desires and views on life. Where Joe preferred pants to skirts, Amy was the lady but neither was any less a woman. Both knew what they wanted in life and hating one or the other because they fit in some stereotype is nothing but another closed mindset this world is approaching towards. We fight day in and day out trying to make this world a better place for us and our future generations without considering that every day we establish a foundation (which for us is the true and right step) we are actually repeating the history which we keep fighting every next day. I do not know if all this made sense or if you all excepted any of this but freedom is more than freedom from stereotypes but is actually the Freedom from the very term “stereotype” and yes, everyone loves pink (even men). I admit this, don’t you?

———— About the Author: This article is contributed by our intern, Utpala. Utpala finished her English Honours and is doing her Masters in English from Delhi University. She writes because she believes that written words never die and pen is mightier than sword. She has joined hands with Respect Women to speak out the thoughts she has during the vacuum hours of her days.