Gendered artifacts help communicate what society believes males and females are like and how they should behave (Gamble, p. 103). As mentioned in the example with the movie Matilda below, pink is associated with femininity. It is a soft, not harsh color- again emphasizing submissiveness and sweetness in women. Recently, a popular form of spotlighting has been the use of the phrase “real men wear pink.” Since this color is generally used to define femininity, men have begun expressing how “manly” they are by feeling comfortable associating themselves with an artifact that is normally associated with women. Men want for others to believe that they are so closely associated with being a “real man” and not feminine at all. They show this through wearing a shirt that basically says “I can do something that is normally feminine, but I’m so masculine that this gendered artifact won’t even make you question my manliness.”
Gamble, T. K., & Gamble, M. W. (2003). The Gender Communication Connection. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.
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