I come from a long line of pink wearing women. My mother loved to dress my sister and I in matching outfits, which screamed GIRLY GIRL pink. Don't get me wrong, I know my mother meant well, but now I have an aversion to dressing my daughter in pink. So much so, that I get flack from my own mother (who doesn't?!) and complete strangers who didn't believe when my daughter was young that she was a girl because I dressed her in more "gender neutral" colors like red, green and purple. I didn''t think that I did it on purpose, but now that I think about it, it must have been subconsiciously intentional!
Apparently I'm not the only mother who has a gut-wrenching feeling when they're standing in front of girls toys and clothes and it looks like it got hosed down by a candy-colored paint machine. Bubble gum pink, fuschia pink, hot pink, powder pink - you name it, they make it - all for girls. For parents who cringe at this abundance of pink-ness, there is a new campaign, called PinkStinks, which addresses this very issue: pink is NOT the only color for girls, and should be an option and not a pre-requisite for being a proper "girl". PinkStinks has created a lot of buzz, controversy, and excitement around the topic of what it means to girl in today's modern society. I think that the name is a bit striking to most people, as it sounds like the campaign is anti-pink, but in reality (I think) that it's just asking us to re-examine our own roles in our daughter's lives and make sure that they have every avenue open to them: pink or rainbow-colored. PinkStinks stems from the idea that each girl should have her own voice, her own opinions, her own decisions, and not be forced at such an early age to want to be a princess or see pink as their only option.
Basically, it all boils down to choices. Whether or not you like the idea of PinkStinks, it's definitely got you thinking - which is exactly the whole point behind it. We as parents need to be constantly challenged so that we can offer our children all options - even ones that may rub us the wrong way. Boys wearing nail polish and pink, girls wearing boyties and sneakers, they're all healthy expressions of who the children are (at the moment!) and reassure the child that we love them no matter what, which is ultimately what parenting is and should be about!
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Congratulations go out to Luisa for winning last week's Biodegradable BecoPotty Giveaway! Thank you to all of you who participated!







