I am sure there are reasons we are drawn to certain colours at certain times of our lives. My love of orange in junior high coincided with a few years of serious self-discovery and self-creation. Orange was bold and quirky but often underestimated and undervalued in a way that completely mirrored my own feelings. When I started to use the word “rainbow” to answer the favourite colour question, I was blossoming into a bright, colourful person discovering a harmony in many aspects of my life. Around the time I got married, bold blues and greens attracted me, both more mature yet bright and fun nonetheless.
My preference of colour has changed along with my growth but one thing that has remained constant, at least as far back as I can remember, is my dislike of the colour pink.
For better or for worse, pink evokes femininity and girliness. Despite being female, I never wanted to draw attention to that distinction in such a bold way. Pink separates the boys from the girls, even before they leave the womb. As a young girl growing up in a not-quite-post-feminist world, I needed to believe that there was nothing that made me different or less than the boys. Pink would set me apart at a time that I really needed to believe I was the same.
Now, things are different.
Pink is my favourite colour.
I rejected it for a while, but as time went on I realized that I was being drawn to the rosy hues. At first I didn’t understand the shift. Pink is just so girly… so flimsy… so fluffy. I love drawing attention to the parts of me that are strongly feminine, but throwing the colour pink around just seemed disingenuous. A colour cannot define me. My body, my pregnancies, my breastfeeding, my running, my successes – those set me apart as a woman.
Still, I was starting to surround myself with pink things. Pink electronics. Pink clothing. Pink fingernail polish. Pink phone cases. Pink sneakers. Pink pink pink pink pink.
There are reasons we are drawn to certain colours. There are reasons why I find myself drawn to the colour pink in my stage of life right now.
When I married my dear husband, my sense of aesthetic had to be open to compromise. We combined our belongings and set up our apartment in accordance to what was available and affordable to us. Our styles either needed to merge or make allowances for the other. It was both exciting and unsettling.
Then the boys came. One right after the other. My living space morphed again, this time more drastically.
In my role as a boy Mom, I do not try to force male archetypes onto my children. I do not argue when Cameron wants to call himself a princess one day or asks to exchange a boy happy meal toy for a girl one or when he tells me that pink is one of his favourite colours. We bought him toys according to his preferences and it just so happened that he preferred cars and trains. Our house is filled with sports paraphernalia and my husband had a blast decorating the nursery in the stylings of the Toronto Maple Leafs, with my oldest boy’s encouragement. I was being overtaken with blue and balls and cars and superheroes.
I am living in a Man-cave.
I live in a world that is no longer alien, but still a little foreign to me. I love the things my children love because they love them, but I don’t necessarily need to bury myself in it. I maintain my own sense of self by asserting my aesthetic in small ways. And yes, as the only female in a decidedly male home, pink has been a way to bring a little bit of femininity into my world.
This post was inspired by Old School Blogging, a fun retro blogging meme that brings back surveys. I still have nightmares about the surveys I filled one blog with, and I can’t bring myself to put them on this one, but I did feel like at least one of the questions could be a great starting point for a blog post.
What does your favourite colour say about you?
Interesting. I have a boy and two girls and I think that’s more than enough pink in my life. But I do notice I am somewhat more drawn to brighter, more cheerful colours as I get older.
I like the world we live in – made up of colors and shapes and you and me and all of us, diverse and beautiful – a mixed bouquet, so to speak. I know I’ve always loved blue and all it’s various shades, claiming it away from “boys” a very long time ago – at least for myself although I imposed it on my ‘baby’ girls when they had little to say about it! Just recently had a minor tiff relating to new travel mugs – one a lovely Mediterranean blue (which I immediately ‘owned’) and the other a dull olive green. Needless to say, husband #1, is arguing that because it’s blue, it should be his. SIGH. Nope…not on your life!
Haha. I have to ask – who is husband #2?
I love that you claim blue away from boys while I claim pink to step away from the boys (a little).
Laura O’Rourke recently posted..My Favourite Colour
Hahahaha! Yet to be determined…have to keep #1 on his toes! ;)
I have honestly have gotten into pink more since my daughter was born. I hardly had the impulse to dress her in pink when she was a baby. Now that she makes her own wardrobe choices I have no say. Now I have learned to embrace it because of her. I think pink is cool now … but she says its “punk”.
Have always loved that quote from Hepburn!
Alma recently posted..Lacy Knit Shawl
I’ve never been drawn to pink.
Not even now, being surrounded by so much blue :)
I do find that I love the bright cheery colours more, choosing them over black, blue, neutrals. Must be old age.
Alison recently posted..My Motherhood Report Card
I’m trying very hard to brighten up my wardrobe with bright colours over blacks and neutrals. I used to ONLY wear black shirts and jeans.
Laura O’Rourke recently posted..My Favourite Colour
My favorite colour is green, but just as a protest to ‘boys like blue’. Simeon’s favorite colours at the moment are pink and purple. We are also trying to do the modern parent thing and be cool with that.
Christopher D Drew recently posted..Good News Sackville- SugaRush
Way to go! Being modern is awesome – until Dan gives Cameron the choice of bedroom paint colour (WORST IDEA EVER!) and Cameron decides on pink and orange and blue (BARF!). Not happening. Noooooooo.
Laura O’Rourke recently posted..My Favourite Colour
What you need to do is get the chalkboard paint and let him have a wall he can colour pink, orange and blue to his hearts content!
Christopher D Drew recently posted..Good News Sackville- SugaRush
I want to do chalkboard paint somewhere, but I’m a bit wary about the bedroom. I’m allergic to dust though, so that probably explains my reluctance to put it where people sleep.
Laura O’Rourke recently posted..My Favourite Colour
Good point
Christopher D Drew recently posted..Good News Sackville- SugaRush
What a great question! Ever since I can remember having a favorite color ( and from stories my parents tell me from before I can remember) my favorite has been yellow. While I am attracted to different colors or color combinations depending on my mood or what I’m using it for (hot pink + grey, purple + grey, coral + mint etc.) I think deep down yellow is ultimately still my favorite color. While I don’t often wear yellow, my bedroom is no longer yellow (we’re renting) etc. it represents a lot of things for me. Not to mention, whenever someone asks my family what I like they immediately answer “yellow”….so I kind of haven’t been able to waiver on my decision.
Lately yellow represents bright, cheery, hope, good news, determination….that there is something bright and shiny or warm and inviting or positive at the end of all of this. There is a silver linning to every situation.
I am holding onto this bright color more strongly than ever lately. Living thousands of kms away from my family (despite trying very hard to secure work closer to them), being in a profession that is now more than ever being bashed by the public etc. yellow offers some positivity!
Oh my goodness! I TOTALLY identify with this! As a little girl, pink was my MOST favorite color (I had all brothers), once I was in middle school, I HATED pink. Despised it. LOATHED it. And now recently, as my sons are born and I am the lone vagina in this castle, pink has become a color I like again. it’s feminine and pretty and makes me feel a little lighter…like the princess of the house.
Which is all funny since I have always been fairly against all gender stereotypes. Ha!
Katie Sluiter recently posted..June is…
I’ve always liked pink. Different shades, of course, but now I’m crazy about deep, sassy magentas and fuschias and decidedly “grown-up” tones. (But red will always be my favorite.) :)
Keely recently posted..The Gals Have Some News.
I resisted both pink and purple, and yet I am surrounded by both those colors. So that says a lot.
I love the quote from Audrey Hepburn, and the way it’s done (all in pink!)
Lady Jennie recently posted..Life in the Trenches – Chapter 24
I love your take. Even though you did only answer ONE question… ;-) (I tease!)
Can you at least tell me, is it cake or pie for you? lol.
I was raised around all boys and ended up being quite the girly-girl despite that. Although I did go through a little tomboy phase, much to my mother’s chagrin. .. And now K LOVES pink!!
My favorite colors tend to be spa like colors. I think that means I like calm but I wish I had more of it sometimes…
Elaine A. recently posted..You Be the Judge (a mini vlog included)
Pink has ALWAYS been my favorite color. I’m glad you came around to like it.
Jennifer recently posted..Dark Dawn
As a kid I always liked blue. Royal blue is my favorite shade. When I was in high school a girl told me I looked good in red, so in addition to the white, black, sports grey, and blue shirts, I added red. Over the last ten years or so, I’ve started adding earthy colors. Now, I like almost every color so long as it’s bold. I don’t like soft colors. I want color to do to my eyes what rock does to my ears.
My house has a red room, a blue room, a green room and one room with blue, fuscia, and green.
Michael Lombardi recently posted..A Face for Radio
Hi Laura – Pink is a fantastic color! Pair it with navy, black, white, khaki or lime green and you’ve got a stellar combo…just to name a few options. Thanks for the PINKspiration!