Dr Aldina Braganza e Gomes is a clinical psychologist, psychotherapist and associate professor, HOD, Dept of Psychology Carmel College
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Pink boothies! How ironic. The color pink seemed to have grabbed the limelight this elections. I am not a big fan of pink, I rather prefer a deep maroon, but then it’s not about preferences but more about gender stereotypes. I question the role of the pink booths on many counts but mostly because of the gender stereotypes we are perpetuating.
We live in a time when science has taken such huge strides in understanding prejudices and stereotypes. Gender roles today no longer holds the same kind of beckoning that it once did. In fact pink has been out of fashion in women's wear for a while now and is pink really the color of the young Indian women. What has pink balloons and teddy bears got to do with the first time female voter?
A simple research into the colour pink suggests that pink as seen by some artist is more ‘Toning down the passion of red with the purity of white’. It has a subtle virgin passion to its inducements. In fact softer pinks are associated with romance and the blush of a young woman's cheeks. Like that observed with the fair European maiden phenomenon. Not the dusky Indian maiden whose blush is more a deep maroon tan.
In fact, pink takes on different meanings in different places.
In Japan, the color pink has a masculine association. The annual spring blooming of the pink-blossomed cherry trees (the Sakura) is said to represent the young Japanese warriors who fell in battle in the prime of life (the Samurai).
The pink ribbon has been chosen internationally as a symbol of hope and awareness in the fight against breast cancer.
Across the globe, a pink triangle is frequently used to represent gays, lesbians, and bisexual’s rights more as a symbol to showcase their battle.
In American traditions, pink is about the female traits of purity and tenderness.
Pink is a borrowed cliché of all that our society is trying hard to battle. The patriarchy that is forever wanting to bind the female as pure, and tender.
Sexual stereotypes are everywhere: We see them in commercials, where happy moms dance around their homes in celebration of a functional mop. We see them in movies, where stoic male heroes rescue clueless damsels.
Gender is in fact a social construct, not a biological one. One is born male or female, but becomes a man or woman in large part by abiding by the often arbitrary standards of what constitutes masculinity or femininity within his or her respective culture. In our culture, for example, femininity is a construct of the patriarchy's expressions of submission.
It's true that in recent years we are trying hard to make advances to establish equality between the sexes. The system has brought forth very strong laws that protect discriminatory inequality. The fight is not against men but against the once-entrenched sexual prejudices. The misconceptions about men and women that have been passed down through generations as a matter of convenience.
So if we are liberating in our beliefs and attitudes, then we cannot fall back on such clichés as pink booths, balloons and teddy bears. Why should anyone be restricted from playing football or from wearing the color pink, just because of their gender?
It's easy for us to observe the ways the media is guilty of exploiting the differences between men and women and exaggerating stereotypes to sell products. Yet it's considerably harder for us to identify the way our own preconceptions impact our relationships.
Sexual stereotypes confuse people's thinking about the differences between men and women. These timeworn attitudes overstate the qualities that distinguish the sexes, and put them in artificial categories.
Typical stereotypes of men would have them being tough, powerful, unfeeling, insensitive, and logical; afraid to commit or driven by sexuality; and, professionally, career driven, and capable.
Typical stereotypes of women involve them being helpless, emotional, sensitive, unstable, and irrational; easily forming deep emotional attachments and less interested in sex; and, professionally, less interested in their careers and more driven toward marriage and motherhood.
These traits may seem black and white or exaggerated, but to varying degrees, a surprising number of people buy into their validity”and too often, men and women conduct their lives to preserve these illusions.
When we look at some of the ways society depicts men and women, we can see how these depictions actually pit men and women against each other. The problem is exacerbated by the fact that people are often criticised or ridiculed for not complying with these stereotypes. For example, men who openly express affection may be teased for being "soft" or "whippy." Women who seek power have been called "ruthless" or "cold.”
So without thinking, by giving young female’s teddy bears and young men, pens we are encouraging stereotypes. And of course there are the cost of these teddy bears and pens that are from the tax payers’ pockets. So in a way I have paid for encouraging stereotypes in my own society while battling hard for the fact that women make equally good doctors, engineers and pilots.
