Pink as Power: The Evolution of the Color Pink

Throughout history, society has pushed the message that in order to be taken seriously and to be viewed as equals to our male counterparts, we must distance ourselves from anything associated with femininity. In schools, teachers reward assertiveness while dismissing softness as weakness. Workplaces encourage pantsuits and sternness while warning that dresses, warmth, or empathy would undermine authority. Advertisers, too, reinforce this divide, packaging pink and all it symbolizes as frivolous, girly, and unserious. Together, these forces place women in a double bind: either abandon femininity to earn respect, or embrace it and risk being dismissed. But what if real equality requires neither bargain at all? What if the act of reclaiming pink, along with the qualities long diminished by culture and commerce, is itself a form of resistance? Reclaiming pink is more than a style choice. It’s a reminder that true equality is not about giving up femininity to gain respect, but about demanding that women be respected in the fullness of who they are. 

At first, pink wasn't seen as a girl’s color. Since it comes from red, a color tied to strength and energy, people often linked it with boys. In 1918, an article even said that the rule was “pink for boys and blue for girls” because pink was thought to be the stronger color. By the 1940s, marketing and social trends flipped this, making pink the more feminine color. Hollywood and fashion started to pick up on the trend of “pink for girls” and made pink glamorous and feminine with icons like Marilyn Monroe, Dior’s styles, and Barbie. Around the same time, toy companies pushed pink for girls products, creating gender norms that still shape how we see pink today.

At the start of second wave feminism, many feminists rejected pink, viewing it as a symbol of forced femininity. But by the late 20th century, some began reclaiming the color as a form of resistance. Wearing pink unapologetically signaled that femininity could be strong and political. Around this time, celebrities such as Madonna began to embrace pink in costumes and music videos, reframing the color as a symbol of power and influence. At the same time, Mattel deliberately leaned into pink as Barbie’s brand identity. Barbie’s world of pink, from her packaging to her outfits, came to represent possibility for girls and women. She could be a doctor, an astronaut, or even president, all without giving up femininity. In this way, pink shifted from a marker of limitation to a color of ambition and empowerment. 

Today, pink has transformed into a color of empowerment rather than limitation. From the pink hats of the 2017 Women's March to bold runway collections by designers like Valentino and Jacquemus, pink is now often used to signal strength. The rise of “millennial pink” in the 2010s made the shade more neutral and widely popular. Brands like Glossier embraced this new kind of pink as their trademark color and Balenciaga and Gucci also began to incorporate pink into their campaigns. Unlike most other colors, pink has a long history and special meaning. For example, today, when men wear pink, people often think they are making some kind of statement because we connect pink so strongly with girls or feminism. With most other colors, we don’t attach this much meaning or message.

Ultimately, reclaiming pink is about challenging the idea that femininity equals weakness. When women embrace pink on their own terms, they reject the idea that power and femininity can’t coexist. True equality doesn’t mean rejecting femininity, it means respecting it—no matter what femininity looks like to you.