7 Reasons Wearing Pink Empowers Me

I have always been a fan of wearing the color pink (and the artist Pink for that matter). A definite "girly girl" when I was younger, I loved Barbie and Disney princesses. My bedroom walls were pink with flowers painted on them, and my pencil case was even pink and fluffy. One Christmas I actually asked that my only present be a massive shopping trip to Claire's Accessories, where I ended up with a pink fluffy bin (complete with angel wings) for my bedroom. This fascination with the hue is probably a huge contributing factor towards my love of all things tacky and kitsch. Even in my darkest emo days, my bedroom was still bright pink and I had a special adoration of pink and black striped tights and knee-high socks.

For a long time (during my stage of beginner level feminism), I was kind of embarrassed by my love of the color and penchant for all things girly. I'd just come out of being a massive emo kid and was dressing as edgily as I possibly could on a fast fashion budget in a small judgmental town (I wore a lot of brown cardigans and band T-shirts). Now I'm better adjusted with my sense of self, my personal style, and my feminist views. Being feminine doesn't make you a bad feminist and that includes your adoration of the color pink. Here are seven reasons I'm proud to wear rosy shades every day of the week:

1. It Weaponizes Femininity

We should refuse to allow feminine things be treated as lesser or weaker than masculine ones. By rejecting them, we're playing into this hierarchy, and feeding the notion that to dress traditionally "womanly" is equatable to being fragile. Bossing a presentation while wearing the perfect pink dress or delivering a cutting retort while applying pink lip liner? There's nothing "unprofessional" about that.

2. Anyone Can Rock Pink

I love seeing everyone and anyone rock the color pink, and in my view, anybody can pull off wearing pink. If everyone begins wearing it, normalizing it, and deconstructing the notion that pink is only for girls and blue is only for boys, we will be just that little bit closer to removing gender from clothing.

3. You Can Pretend To Be In The Pink Ladies

The Pink Ladies are one of the most badass girl gangs ever captured on screen, and they delighted in their pinkness, as well as in being ladies. They didn't shy away from embracing the color, and neither should we!

4. Kanye West Loves It

Although North might hate pink, Kanye's into it. Subverting gender stereotypes, anyone?

5. People Often Assume You're Ditzy, So It's Easier To Show Them Up

Wearing pink, being ultra feminine, and sporting revealing clothing are all things I love doing, but for some reason, gross men think it's also an invite for them to talk to me. So when they think I'm approachable and susceptible to their sexist bullshit, I get to humiliate them until they crawl back into their cage, all while wearing the cutest pink skirt that led them to think I was cute enough and ditzy enough to let them catcall me.

6. Pink Used To Be Associated With Boys

Pink only began to be associated with girls in the Victorian era, and it wasn't until the '50s that the color binary for babies in the Western world really took off. This only proves that the pink for girls and blue for boys stigma is arbitrary.

7. I Feel Good Wearing Pink

Pink is my favorite color and when I wear it, I just feel happy. I shouldn't have to have a theological dialogue running through my head while wearing a color, obsessing over the implications and the meaning of my pink and sparkly dress. I love pink, and I love wearing it. The happiness it brings is more than empowering, so what better reason to wear something than that?

Images: princessgeorgina/Instagram