The Pinkification (sic) of toys/products aimed at girls/women

gingerhousewife

Just wondering what everyone thinks of the pinkification (made up word) of all sorts of products in order to sell them to girls/women?

For example, mobile phones. A large number of phones on the market these days have a "pink" version. Would this encourage you to buy a phone or would you be more interested in the technical specifications?

Go into any toy shop, and if you look down the aisle containing the toys which are traditionally "girls toys" (don't even get me started on this one ), you are looking at a river of pink. Does a toy have to be pink for a girl to play with it? What is wrong with green, yellow, orange etc.?

This is something that has annoyed me for a while, but what inspired me to start this thread was that today, when browsing through the new Smyths catalogue, I came across this toy: http://www.toys.ie/Laugh-n-Learn-Cookie-Shape-Surprise-!C03889-prod.aspx?qwSessionID=d9a60fcb-0793-4df6-9ed6-b554576b8ec4

then I noticed that it is also available in pink: http://www.toys.ie/Fisher-Price-Cookie-Shape-Surprise-Pink-!H08078-prod.aspx

What was wrong with the toy in the original colours that a pink version had to be made? It is a shape sorter for babies for God's sake! Is it that this current phenomenon of everything being pink means that baby girls shouldn't play with a shape sorter which is predominantly purple and yellow?

Just wondering does this annoy anyone else, or do you think it's a good thing?

jokettle

This really bugs me. About 3 years ago I was in HMV buying a DS for my dad as a Christmas present from myself and my brother. I'd come from college where I never made an effort to dress up, so I was most likely in jeans and a ratty old jumper (ie, not looking particularly feminine).

As soon as I asked the guy behind the counter for a DS, he immediately said "we're all out of pink ones" and just stared back at me. I was lost for words for a minute! I coldly informed him I wanted it in black; he raised his eyebrows, sighed, and got it from the stockroom.

I don't know if this guy had an attitude problem, if he was p*ssed off working retail just as the Christmas rush was due to start or if he was just hoping I'd meekly say "Oh, ok then" and scuttle away. Either way, his assumption got on my nerves so much that I'm annoyed now even thinking about it!

SugarHigh

jokettle wrote: »

This really bugs me. About 3 years ago I was in HMV buying a DS for my dad as a Christmas present from myself and my brother. I'd come from college where I never made an effort to dress up, so I was most likely in jeans and a ratty old jumper (ie, not looking particularly feminine).

As soon as I asked the guy behind the counter for a DS, he immediately said "we're all out of pink ones" and just stared back at me. I was lost for words for a minute! I coldly informed him I wanted it in black; he raised his eyebrows, sighed, and got it from the stockroom.

I don't know if this guy had an attitude problem, if he was p*ssed off working retail just as the Christmas rush was due to start or if he was just hoping I'd meekly say "Oh, ok then" and scuttle away. Either way, his assumption got on my nerves so much that I'm annoyed now even thinking about it!

I don't see why he would have an agenda. It was probably a case of the majority of women were buying the pink ones. He still shouldn't have tried to guess because people can be offended by these things.

SugarHigh

I don't see why anyone would have a problem with pink versions. It's simply filling a demand. The Motorola Razr had a decent boost in sales when they released a pink version even though the phone was fairly out of date at the time in terms of features. So why wouldn't a company do it?

A lot of girls seem to take pride in not buying pink products as if it was some sort of achievement or that buying pink products was somehow a bad thing.

gingerhousewife

SugarHigh wrote: »

I don't see why anyone would have a problem with pink versions. It's simply filling a demand. The Motorola Razr had a decent boost in sales when they released a pink version even though the phone was fairly out of date at the time in terms of features. So why wouldn't a company do it?

A lot of girls seem to take pride in not buying pink products as if it was some sort of achievement or that buying pink products was somehow a bad thing.

I see what you're saying, I mean there is obviously a market for these things or else manufacturers wouldn't sell them. But taking the example of the baby toy: why would anyone be more inclined to buy a pink version than the brightly coloured original? Also, why is there no blue version? Why is it that boys don't need a toy to be blue yet some people think that girls need their toys to be pink?

If you (or anyone) prefers a pink phone to, say, a black one, then by all means purchase to your own taste. However I doubt that babies prefer pink toys to brightly coloured ones.

KilOit

supply and demand, my sister has a pink phone, it's marketed to women from a young age to like pink.

Hersheys

Meh, I don't care what colour it is if it does the job!

Ickle Magoo

I don't know if you have a little girl OP, I have one and if it isn't pink and sparkly then it isn't worth having and she's been like that for as long as I can remember. I'm not into pink & she has an older brother so I'm not sure where she got it from - also doesn't like trousers, even pink ones. :rolleyes:

krudler

jokettle wrote: »

This really bugs me. About 3 years ago I was in HMV buying a DS for my dad as a Christmas present from myself and my brother. I'd come from college where I never made an effort to dress up, so I was most likely in jeans and a ratty old jumper (ie, not looking particularly feminine).

As soon as I asked the guy behind the counter for a DS, he immediately said "we're all out of pink ones" and just stared back at me. I was lost for words for a minute! I coldly informed him I wanted it in black; he raised his eyebrows, sighed, and got it from the stockroom.

I don't know if this guy had an attitude problem, if he was p*ssed off working retail just as the Christmas rush was due to start or if he was just hoping I'd meekly say "Oh, ok then" and scuttle away. Either way, his assumption got on my nerves so much that I'm annoyed now even thinking about it!

As a former HMV employee I can tell you the pink DS consoles were like absolute golddust, every DS we got in was pink at one stage, it was around when Nintendogs was released that there was a huge surge in girls buying the DS, so thats probably why he assumed, wouldnt read too much into it

Nervous Wreck

Interestingly, from an anthropological point of view, dating back to the days of cave-people, women have always had a more acute sense of colours along the red spectrum. The proposed reason being that while the men were out hunting wild animals for food, the women were gathering berries etc and since some berries were poisonous, they had to develop an understanding of slight differences in colours etc that would allow them to discern between the harmful and viable fruits. As such, females have a better sense of colours along the red spectrum and are thus more drawn to colours from that spectrum than males.

Slightly off-topic but interesting nonetheless.

Nevyn

If a woman/girl wants to live in a pink world and have all her gadets, appliaces ect in pink, ok.

But when it becomes the default aimed at all women and when it restricts and limits what girls can have, play with and aspire to then it's a problem.

Nevyn

oh and this has come up before

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055528280&highlight=pink+tech

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055233279&highlight=pink+tech

Asphyxia

It doesn't bother me really, sometimes I find the pink option prettier :rolleyes: I have a pink phone It does become annoying when people expect you to get the pink option just because you're a girl, I was never a pink obsessed girl when I was younger I always got what I like whatever the colour. I do however have a obsession with many things purple

Catari Jaguar

It's just when the option is black, sliver or pink.... you're limited in that pink is the only colour. A nice cyan or metallic lime or ANY other colour would sell too. I've seen girls with I Pod nano of all colours because there's a broader range.



I think companies are copping on. They now have green. purple, red and blue GHDs. They release the original, then market the same product as a re-release in pink for girls, then for a third time in a variety of shades. Clever stuff.

Back on the pink discussion, yes it's a pain in the hole. I teach juniors in an all boys school and trying to explain that pink isn't just for girls is getting harder and harder...

SugarHigh

gingerhousewife wrote: »

I see what you're saying, I mean there is obviously a market for these things or else manufacturers wouldn't sell them. But taking the example of the baby toy: why would anyone be more inclined to buy a pink version than the brightly coloured original? Also, why is there no blue version? Why is it that boys don't need a toy to be blue yet some people think that girls need their toys to be pink?

If you (or anyone) prefers a pink phone to, say, a black one, then by all means purchase to your own taste. However I doubt that babies prefer pink toys to brightly coloured ones.

why would anyone be more inclined to buy a pink version than the brightly coloured original

Why choose any colour at all?

What if there was 2 colour choices green and yellow, would you care then?

I don't really see the big issue of it being pink.

SugarHigh

Thaedydal wrote: »

If a woman/girl wants to live in a pink world and have all her gadets, appliaces ect in pink, ok.

But when it becomes the default aimed at all women and when it restricts and limits what girls can have, play with and aspire to then it's a problem.

Can you give an example of where having a pink option has restricted what a girl can buy?

cherub rock wrote: »

It's just when the option is black, sliver or pink.... you're limited in that pink is the only colour. A nice cyan or metallic lime or ANY other colour would sell too. I've seen girls with I Pod nano of all colours because there's a broader range.

Black and silver are also colours and it's not like a woman would be prevented from buying them.

Posy

I'm not a fan of pink things- if something's pink then grand but I wouldn't base buying a product on whether or not I can get it in pink. I don't like the cliché of pink mobile phones though, I would never have a pink phone, eeurgh.

Pocketfizz wrote: »

I do however have a obsession with many things purple

Me too!

ppink

Pink is perfect as no hubby/OH will steal your stuff if it is pink! in fact he may never surf your pink laptop just in case anyone may see him:p Your pink MP3 player is a definate no no in case it falls out of him manly black pocket.
I am thinking my next car will be pink too:D

Oh and by the way despite the name I dont like pink but it does have some advantages i have noticed:D

Faith

I like pink products, but that's because I like anything that stands out a bit. In a world of black and silver phones, I love my pink one. But I'd love it equally if it was blue, purple, yellow...

I like that there's more choice in colours available for traditionally uncoloured products, and I don't care if it's mostly pink.

Giselle

I like pink, but I feel a bit embarrassed by it sometimes.

Some people seem to look down on the pink - usually other girls I've noticed.

gingerhousewife

Ickle Magoo wrote: »

I don't know if you have a little girl OP, I have one and if it isn't pink and sparkly then it isn't worth having and she's been like that for as long as I can remember. I'm not into pink & she has an older brother so I'm not sure where she got it from - also doesn't like trousers, even pink ones. :rolleyes:

No I don't have a little girl, but believe it or not I used to be one and had no fascination with pink whatsoever

SugarHigh wrote: »

Why choose any colour at all?

What if there was 2 colour choices green and yellow, would you care then?

I don't really see the big issue of it being pink.

I guess my issue is that the toy in question was originally in very gender-neutral colours. Babyhood was (I thought) one of the few stages of life where boys and girls were not steered down specific paths because of their genders, and as such most toys were neutral-coloured as the example given. However, now it seems that a pink version of many toys needs to be marketed for the girls. My problem with this pinkification is best described by this quote from "pinkstinks.com":

"We see this pink signposting as limiting and stereotyped, as it pushes girls down particular aisles in toys shops, usually towards beauty tables, princess dresses and toys 'pinked up' and 'dumbed down' for girls - pink globes etc."

I know that lots of girls like pink, but I think that when you look down any aisle of any toyshop you should see an array of colourful toys, instead of the pink river

SugarHigh

Giselle wrote: »

I like pink, but I feel a bit embarrassed by it sometimes.

Some people seem to look down on the pink - usually other girls I've noticed.

I've definitely noticed a lot of the hatred of pink is down to snobbery.

gingerhousewife wrote: »

"We see this pink signposting as limiting and stereotyped, as it pushes girls down particular aisles in toys shops, usually towards beauty tables, princess dresses and toys 'pinked up' and 'dumbed down' for girls - pink globes etc."

I know that lots of girls like pink, but I think that when you look down any aisle of any toyshop you should see an array of colourful toys, instead of the pink river

Well that's just your preference and it seems that the majority of young girls disagree with you or else their toys wouldn't be pink. Companies didn't just wake up one day and decide maybe we should just make pink crap. If there is a selection of toys in various colours the one in pink will probably sell the most so while it would be nice if there was more variety, from the companies point of view why would they want to be the ones who sell less because their toy isn't pink?


I also don't understand this pink is limiting point of view. It seems that people would like their child to be making certain choices and when they don't they blame society like when their child wants the beauty table for Christmas instead of the encyclopedia.

gingerhousewife

SugarHigh wrote: »

I also don't understand this pink is limiting point of view. It seems that people would like their child to be making certain choices and when they don't they blame society like when their child wants the beauty table for Christmas instead of the encyclopedia.

Maybe they should bring out a pink encyclopedia

Ickle Magoo

gingerhousewife wrote: »

No I don't have a little girl, but believe it or not I used to be one and had no fascination with pink whatsoever

Yeah, me neither but I think was more down to my sister being big into pink so she'd get jumpers/bags/toys/whatever in pink and I'd get it in another colour...I quite like bright colours in general now.

I think pink just sells. All the girls seem to love pink, sparkly things while my wee man couldn't care less what colour things are...not sure if their wishing pink is driven by producing so many in pink & sparkly or the other way around.

gingerhousewife

Ickle Magoo wrote: »

Yeah, me neither but I think was more down to my sister being big into pink so she'd get jumpers/bags/toys/whatever in pink and I'd get it in another colour...I quite like bright colours in general now.

I think pink just sells. All the girls seem to love pink, sparkly things while my wee man couldn't care less what colour things are...not sure if their wishing pink is driven by producing so many in pink & sparkly or the other way around.

I think when we were growing up, it was not as prevalent as it is today. It is very difficult these days to buy, for example, clothes for girls that aren't pink, or have pink trimmings whatever. I guess that meant there was more scope for you, or me, or indeed your pink-loving sister :P to express our individualities.

"There are so many colours in the rainbow..."

Herbal Deity

Nervous Wreck wrote: »

Interestingly, from an anthropological point of view, dating back to the days of cave-people, women have always had a more acute sense of colours along the red spectrum. The proposed reason being that while the men were out hunting wild animals for food, the women were gathering berries etc and since some berries were poisonous, they had to develop an understanding of slight differences in colours etc that would allow them to discern between the harmful and viable fruits. As such, females have a better sense of colours along the red spectrum and are thus more drawn to colours from that spectrum than males.

Pink isn't on the red spectrum, in fact, it's not even on the spectrum of visible light.

It's not a "real" colour in the sense that it is made up of light from multiple wavelengths, rather than one.

http://www.biotele.com/magenta.html

baby and crumble

I think aswell there is a 2nd side to it, in that so many things are brought out in pink because of the influence of the marie keating foundation in particular. A lot of the pink versions of things these days (obviously not everything) give some portion of the sales profit to cancer awareness and charities. I think lots of people think that ANYTHING pink is like that, though.

Personally, I hate most shades of pink and I'll be brutally honest when I see girls who say their favourite colour is pink and they have everything in pink I laugh at them in my head. I do. I'm sure people laugh in their heads at my idiosyncrasies too though. I think it's more that I laugh at people who are stereotypes. Like boys who only wear navy and grey, or something. There's this assumption that boys wear bland things are girls have to have pink sparkle on everything for it to hold their attention. Both assumptions and blind following of the same offends me.

rainbow kirby

I don't see the point in gendering things that don't need to be gendered, which is what producing silly amounts of pink stuff does. For this reason, I'm really not a fan of pink games consoles/laptops/mobile phones etc.

I hate the colour pink though, and always have. Even as a child I'd ask for blue or red clothes rather than pink.

Catari Jaguar

SugarHigh wrote: »

Black and silver are also colours and it's not like a woman would be prevented from buying them.

Black isn't a colour. It's a lack of colour. /science pedant

gingerhousewife

zoegh wrote: »

I think aswell there is a 2nd side to it, in that so many things are brought out in pink because of the influence of the marie keating foundation in particular. A lot of the pink versions of things these days (obviously not everything) give some portion of the sales profit to cancer awareness and charities. I think lots of people think that ANYTHING pink is like that, though.

Interesting you should say that: after I had my last baby I asked my husband to pick up a breastfeeding pillow for me. He arrived with a pink one. I was dismayed by this (still hormonal and irrational:p) until I saw the breast-cancer ribbon on it and then I loved it ha ha.

Herbal Deity

cherub rock wrote: »

Black isn't a colour. It's a lack of colour. /science pedant

It is a colour, it's the lack of light reflecting off objects.

Scarinae

I am in two minds about this one. One the one hand, I genuinely like pink as a colour, just as I like green, and blue, and most of all purple. On the other hand, I don't like lazy salespeople assuming that I will go for the first pink thing I see without asking any other questions about it.

Last year I went to buy a new camera, and the guy in the shop kept pushing the pink ones. Seriously, just because I am a girl and have blonde hair it doesn't mean that I'll go for the first pink camera I'm shown, it didn't seem to occur to him that I'd want to know about things like megapixels or optical zoom over the fecking colour!

Having said that, my English phone is pink. I just liked the phone, I don't see a problem with it being pink

metrovelvet

I like ballet pink,hot pink, flaming pink,oyster pink, rose pinks, but hate bubblegum paris hilton type of pink.

I guess it sells. Why else do it? You know what. Im looking at the absolute enormous collection of Thomas trains in my living room, and not ONE pink one. I guess they think they will alienate the boys by having a pink train? Its not only a girls colour but its a JUST FOR GIRLS colour, and gay activists too.

I LOVE red, crimson, scarlet, vermillion, cherry, tomato. Much more attractive colour imo. Maybe Im more like a bull than a girl.

Ickle Magoo

cherub rock wrote: »

Black isn't a colour. It's a lack of colour. /science pedant

They don't make black paint by taking all the colour out....

/pedant #2 :P

metrovelvet wrote: »

I like ballet pink,hot pink, flaming pink,oyster pink, rose pinks, but hate bubblegum paris hilton type of pink.

I guess it sells. Why else do it? You know what. Im looking at the absolute enormous collection of Thomas trains in my living room, and not ONE pink one. I guess they think they will alienate the boys by having a pink train? Its not only a girls colour but its a JUST FOR GIRLS colour, and gay activists too.

I LOVE red, crimson, scarlet, vermillion, cherry, tomato. Much more attractive colour imo. Maybe Im more like a bull than a girl.

It's the clothes that bug me...orange, blue, brown, black or khaki green for boys, all manner of bejewelled pinks and purples for the girls. It's actually hard work finding bright clothes for him and non-pink clothes for her.

panda100

Nervous Wreck wrote: »

Interestingly, from an anthropological point of view, dating back to the days of cave-people, women have always had a more acute sense of colours along the red spectrum. The proposed reason being that while the men were out hunting wild animals for food, the women were gathering berries etc and since some berries were poisonous, they had to develop an understanding of slight differences in colours etc that would allow them to discern between the harmful and viable fruits. As such, females have a better sense of colours along the red spectrum and are thus more drawn to colours from that spectrum than males.

Slightly off-topic but interesting nonetheless.

Haha that is the funniest thing I've ever seen on boards. Have you any proof whatsoever to back that up??
Look back in the history books and you'll see pink and red where masculine colours for centuries,its one of the reasons why the Virgin Mary was given a blue shawl as blue historically was associated with women.
We have no idea that women picked berries while men were out hunting. I am absolutely sick of this caveman/cavewomen crap that has absoultely no sound evidence to back it up.
The use of the colour pink is completely cultural and to claim its somewhat evolutionary is really ridiculous. I really resent people making up evolutinary claims to try and justify gender differentiation.

I have no problem with the colour pink but I dislike how our culture has pigeonholed a specific colour into a stereotype of femininity.

gingerhousewife

metrovelvet wrote: »

Im looking at the absolute enormous collection of Thomas trains in my living room, and not ONE pink one.

but I bet they're not all blue either?

http://www.chuckswoodentoys.com/content-popup_image/pID-1334/popup_image.html

Herbal Deity

http://www.badscience.net/2007/08/pink-pink-pink-pink-pink-moan/

SugarHigh

zoegh wrote: »

I when I see girls who say their favourite colour is pink and they have everything in pink I laugh at them in my head. I do..

That's complete snobbery.

Both assumptions and blind following of the same offends me.

You're one to talk about assumption when you judge people on something as meaningless as their favorite colour, what other important criteria do you judge people on? Their favorite flavor of ice cream?

metrovelvet

Ickle Magoo wrote: »

They don't make black paint by taking all the colour out....

/pedant #2 :P



It's the clothes that bug me...orange, blue, brown, black or khaki green for boys, all manner of bejewelled pinks and purples for the girls. It's actually hard work finding bright clothes for him and non-pink clothes for her.

Dont get me started. I get so depressed. I feel like they are trying to dress my son like a security attendant at tesco.

Thank god for my international connections. My son is stylin'.:)

Catari Jaguar

Herbal Deity wrote: »

It is a colour, it's the lack of light reflecting off objects.

Pigment wise then it's all colours. Get a black marker and put a water on a black dot and you'll see all the colours leak.

I guess I feel the same way about the pink toys as I do about Halloween at school. The boys are superheroes, ghosts, vampires, cowboys all sorts of cool stuff. The girls are Disney Princesses. *snore*

I hate bubble gum pink but some shades I do like, my hair was magenta . Not my favourite colour by a long shot. And I find myself annoyed when I see purple. I hate it.

SugarHigh

cherub rock wrote: »

Pigment wise then it's all colours. Get a black marker and put a water on a black dot and you'll see all the colours leak.

I guess I feel the same way about the pink toys as I do about Halloween at school. The boys are superheroes, ghosts, vampires, cowboys all sorts of cool stuff. The girls are Disney Princesses. *snore*

I hate bubble gum pink but some shades I do like, my hair was magenta . Not my favourite colour by a long shot. And I find myself annoyed when I see purple. I hate it.

It seems you're mad at girls for not making the choices you want them to make. I'm sure there are plenty of little boys who would like to where the princess outfit but can't because of the high level of social preassure on them not to. The same preassue isn't anywhere near as strong for girls and they are allowed to cross dress much more than boys. Girls are allowed to play with boys toys but the inverse isn't true.

Lia_lia

Meh, whatever sells. I personally hate the colour pink. Well I don't hate it. But put anything pink (clothes, phones etc) next to me and I look like a barbie doll.

WesternNight

SugarHigh wrote: »

It seems you're mad at girls for not making the choices you want them to make. I'm sure there are plenty of little boys who would like to where the princess outfit but can't because of the high level of social preassure on them not to. The same preassue isn't anywhere near as strong for girls and they are allowed to cross dress much more than boys. Girls are allowed to play with boys toys but the inverse isn't true.

You're right that it's not as big a deal for a girl to dress in more "boyish" clothes but it is a big deal if a boy wants to dress in "girlish" clothes. Has it occurred to you that it's less about restricting a boy's choice of clothes, and more about the fact that dressing in girls' clothes makes boys inferior? Basically, being a boy is "good" but being a girl is "bad".

It's that point that bothers me about the pinkification/"genderising" of things, rather than the colour itself.

I anticipate you'll come back with something like "stop being so sensitive", or something along those lines, but it's the way it is, unfortunately.

Red Hand

Nervous Wreck wrote: »

Interestingly, from an anthropological point of view, dating back to the days of cave-people, women have always had a more acute sense of colours along the red spectrum. The proposed reason being that while the men were out hunting wild animals for food, the women were gathering berries etc and since some berries were poisonous, they had to develop an understanding of slight differences in colours etc that would allow them to discern between the harmful and viable fruits. As such, females have a better sense of colours along the red spectrum and are thus more drawn to colours from that spectrum than males.

Slightly off-topic but interesting nonetheless.

panda100 wrote: »

Haha that is the funniest thing I've ever seen on boards. Have you any proof whatsoever to back that up??
Look back in the history books and you'll see pink and red where masculine colours for centuries,its one of the reasons why the Virgin Mary was given a blue shawl as blue historically was associated with women.
We have no idea that women picked berries while men were out hunting. I am absolutely sick of this caveman/cavewomen crap that has absoultely no sound evidence to back it up.
The use of the colour pink is completely cultural and to claim its somewhat evolutionary is really ridiculous. I really resent people making up evolutinary claims to try and justify gender differentiation.

That sounded fairly wishy washy to me, too. By that reasoning, women should have an acute sense of colours along the green spectrum as well (considering that people eat greens as part of their diet, with some greens making them ill). Or men have an acute sense of browns cause they hunt mammoths.

The book "Why men won't listen and women can't read maps" has a lot to answer for!:pac::pac:

cdaly_

cherub rock wrote: »

Herbal Deity wrote:

It is a colour, it's the lack of light reflecting off objects.

Pigment wise then it's all colours. Get a black marker and put a water on a black dot and you'll see all the colours leak.

Strictlier speaking it's not a colour. Instead it's absorbing all light wavelengths and therefore colours. Each pigment absorbs particular wavelengths and if you mix all pigments you absorb all wavelengths.

Colour is really only how our eyes react to various wavelengths of light. If the relevant wavelength of light is absent you won't see that colour. Try looking at red cars under yellow street lamps. They look grey. Add a car headlamp and suddenly they look red again...

/pedant #4

Herbal Deity

Light wavelength != colour.

Colour is a property of visual perception. If we look at an object which has light of a certain wavelength bouncing off it, our brains "paint" the image in our mind red. If we look at an object with no light bouncing off it, our brains "paint" it black.

Black is different to other colours in terms of how it is perceived, but it's still a colour.

JayJay123

Emmmmm no I dont think I would buy something because it was pink...(probably gonna get a few angry replys to this but..) I think it looks tacky! Iv seen a few people with that phone that a previous post mentioned, the motorola one, and I got to be honest...I wasnt liking it! Compare it to a silver or black and it just looks tacky and cheap.

NOT that I care..just saying is all!

metrovelvet

Herbal Deity wrote: »

It is a colour, it's the lack of light reflecting off objects.

But isnt light reflection what defines a colour?

When I worked in retail we learned there was no such thing as a true black garment. The dies are either a very very dark blue or a very very dark brown. So if you have cool skin tones the former types of black are better suited to you and if you have warm skin tones opt for the latter.

Herbal Deity

metrovelvet wrote: »

But isnt light reflection what defines a colour?

Light reflection of a single wavelength defines most colours, light reflection of two wavelengths define others, such as pink, and no light reflection defines black.

metrovelvet wrote: »

When I worked in retail we learned there was no such thing as a true black garment. The dies are either a very very dark blue or a very very dark brown. So if you have cool skin tones the former types of black are better suited to you and if you have warm skin tones opt for the latter.

Except priests socks, of course"

It's probably true that black dyes are derived from dark dyes of other colours, but it's still a colour.

optogirl

It's pure fashion - pink used to be the colour for boys and blue for girls

In Western culture, the practice of assigning pink to an individual gender began in the 1920s or earlier. 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.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.

metrovelvet

Actually I had heard that blue became associated with infant boys because historically they have a higher infant mortality rate and blue [because of the marian association] was thought to ward off evil.