It may come as a surprise to many but pink was not always a colour associated with girlishness. Baby girls were not always dressed in powder pink nor did parents always tie blue bibs on their sons. According to the Guardian, women’s magazines and journals in the early 1900s showed that the convention of the time recommended pink for the boy and blue for the girl. They reasoned that pink was a more decided and stronger colour suitable for the boy while blue, which is more delicate and dainty, was prettier for the girl.

As the colour swatches switched gender camps after World War II, the strict gender and colour association is still prevalent. Targeted marketing of children’s products is an unmistakable wholesale lifestyle industry where toy stores, for example, can shape a child’s universe by assigning gender stereotypes and expectations.

The power of pink, however, is not limited to just toys, dolls, dresses and gaming consoles. Its implied sexism is widespread, argue twin sisters Emma and Abi Moore. The Moores, with young children of their own of both genders, launched a campaign urging British parents to challenge the coloured culture of pink that reinforces gender stereotypes.

Pink may just be a colour, but limiting its use in targeted marketing sets some boundaries to what young girls can dream of achieving. Its cultural connotations — combined with consumer marketing, parental preference and peer pressure — create a value system that prefers “beauty over brains”, say the sisters.

“It sells children a lie — that there is only one way to be a ‘proper girl’ — and it sets them on a journey, at a very, very early age,” says Abi of the offerings for young children at toy stores. “It’s a signpost, telling them that beauty is more valued than brains; it limits horizons, and it restricts ambitions.”

The campaign Pinkstinks aims to offer girls positive alternative role models and to challenge what is perceived as rampant and unacceptable gender stereotyping in childhood. While it has its detractors, many of whom have responded strongly to the sisters’ perceived leftist and feminist strain, the campaign has struck a chord with parents and children who struggle to find gender-neutrality when it comes to colour.

To date, the campaign has been featured in 27 countries — from South Africa to New Zealand — where the debate on the culture of pink has sparked diverse reactions.

One email from a child encourages the duo to “carry on and make it easier for girls like me to try different things without feeling like an outsider”, while another from a mother praises them for “giving parents a focus for change, to raise our daughters to aspire to dignity, goodness and equality rather than big boobs and tiny waists”.

It has also come to the attention of a minister in the government, Bridget Prentice, who urged British parents not to purchase pink clothes and toys during the Christmas shopping season, saying that they “were funnelling girls into pretty, pretty, jobs”.

Visit www.pinkstinks.co.uk for more information.

BargainHunt

The two new treatments by Clarins — the Super Restorative Wake-Up Lotion and Super Restorative Replenishing Comfort Mask — were developed to soothe and enhance your skin’s appearance and vitality, guaranteeing a fresh face when you roll out of bed in the morning. The lightweight lotion includes green coffee, ginseng, oat sugars and hibiscus extracts that eliminate impurities and restore your skin’s glow while the mask contains mango oil, shea butter, Pueraria lobata and parsley that help boost collagen production and lighten complexion. The lotion (RM148) and mask (RM225) are available at Clarins counters nationwide.

Splurge of the week

The late actress Ingrid Bergman is honoured in Montblanc’s new Diva line with the Special Edition Ingrid Bergman La Donna writing instrument, inspired by her outstanding talent, riveting persona, sophisticated elegance and charismatic radiance. The La Donna fountain pen (RM3,100), ballpoint pen (RM2,100) and rollerball pen (RM2,460) feature sleek, black, precious resin barrels and lacquered metal caps with pleated patterns, finished with red gold-plated fittings. Available at Montblanc boutiques at Suria KLCC and Pavilion KL.

Pirates’ Top Hits
TorrentFreak has released a study on the most-pirated movies last year, based on the site’s torrent downloads data tracking. It revealed Paramount Pictures’ worst fears — that its box office hit Star Trek was downloaded nearly 11 million times from illegal file-sharing sites. Here’s the complete list of pirates’ top hits for 2009.

Film    Estimated downloads       Worldwide Box Office (US$)
Star Trek      10,960,000      385,459,120 (RM1.32 billion)
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen      10,600,000      834,969,807
RocknRolla      9,430,000      25,728,089
The Hangover      9,180,000      459,422,869
Twilight      8,720,000      384,997,808
District 9      8,280,000      204,570,836
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince      7,930,000      929,359,401
State of Play      7,440,000      87,784,194
X-Men Origins: Wolverine      7,200,000      373,062,569
Knowing       6,930,000      183,260,464


Facts and trivia on Malaysia
Ever stared at a steaming bowl of gearbox or torpedo soup at your local warung and pondered its ingredients? Ever wondered who were the most notorious murderers in Malaysia and who were their victims? You may just find your answers in Malaysia at Random, a quirky tome comprising a cornucopia of Malaysian trivia complete with illustrations — there is even an anatomy chart of the Ramli Burger Special for those wondering what makes the perfect Ramli burger!

It’s everything you want to know or didn’t know you wanted to know about your country, and it’s perfect for friends and family from overseas who often try to make sense of our way of life. Charmingly random (as its name suggests) in its presentation of facts, the reader can expect citations from government documents; facts on cultural symbols and motifs; indigenous history, songs, games and food; notorious and historical personalities; local legends, myths and taboos; and even the most mundane of trivia, such as mistranslated television and film subtitles.

Malaysia at Random is priced at RM49.90 and available at most bookstores nationwide.

This article appeared in Options, the lifestyle pullout of The Edge Malaysia, Issue 788, Jan 11 – 17, 2010