Michael Higbee

Kathy Buckert

Response Essay

28 Feb. 2014

In her essay “Pink Think,” Lynn Peril argues against the trend of societal pressure on women to adhere to a code of “femininity” clearly laying out what it is and how it has evolved over the years; it's just a shame she presents such a poorly laid out argument on a topic that doesn't hold any where near as much relevance in today's society as it once did.  While I may have grown up with a different perspective on the subject being a male, I experienced similar values and pressure that most men do growing up or “blue think” if you will. “ Pink Think,” also seems to neglect the fact that we're living in a totally different time than this essay seems to paint us in with the shifts in societal attitudes and culture. 

Lynn Peril begins “Pink Think,” by honing in on what beauty contest victors have to say on such topics as how to properly put on a bathing suit, or the responses to questions posed to them such as what to do in case they have some sort of wardrobe malfunction while walking down the runway.  She also brings up a writer from Ladies Home Journal telling readers that sex for a woman is purely for procreation and the true feeling of an orgasm can't be achieved until after you've had children.  Peril then goes on to list some of the common conceptions of “pink think” listing the emollient nature girls are expected to be both physically and psychologically.  Then she continues on to list some of the stereotypes that go hand in hand with this way of thinking such as “all women are bad drivers”.  She then reflects on how pink think was used during periods of war and unrest such as WW2 and the cold war in regards to a woman's role in the workplace and home.  She concludes her essay calling back to popular culture embracing “pink think” from 1940s-70s with an example of a board game and pointing out that the overall attitude is still lingering to modern times. ( Peril, 246-249.) 

The nicest way I can put it is what a load of antiquated horseshit!  Constantly throughout the essay Peril mentions “experts”, with the only examples given being beauty pageant contestants and a magazine writer (who has no degree in biology nor sexuality as far as Google is telling me) presenting a load of pseudoscience on sexuality to support her viewpoint to make it seem like she has a leg to stand on. 

In what reality is this woman living in where beauty contests, their judges, or even their victors have any relevance on society or the way a child is brought up by their families?  Since when did non accredited writers offering opinion pieces with no facts to back them up become “experts”?  If anything listing these examples did more to hurt her argument than solidify it with me.  While some may be drawn in by the hype, it's just that with little substance to back it up.  While it's true that these attitudes were very much a reality for some women growing up it brings us to a more important argument, actual equality amongst the sexes under the law, or even how much a role pop culture and societal pressures have on the type of person a child grows up to be.  Why not question why legislation about a serious issue such as domestic violence is called The Violence Against Women Act of 1994 instead of the Domestic Violence Act (gasp could it be a reflection on society's overall attitude that the male is always the aggressor in domestic situations)?  Rather than reflect on “Rosie the Riveter” why don't we examine the circumstances that lead to the women working those jobs and the economic impact all the returning troops coming home to no jobs would have had.  Why not take a gander at periods of time such as the cold war or even WW2 how the government has a tenancy to present things that serve as a distraction to the actual issues at hand to keep the populace lulled? 

Peril never even stops to think that some women may actually enjoy these things, but rather has a narrow focus on just what she dislikes.  She never takes the time to examine that males have such pressures placed on them as well.  Her point of girls being required to take home economics can have the counterpoint brought up about about boys taking some sort of shop class or woodworking, also ignoring the fact that the majority of schools now offer you the choice between these electives.  If we want to use beauty pageants as a standard then we also have sports or say bodybuilding competitions.  She also seems to be ignoring that there are inherent biological differences to the sexes which generally put affect the build of our bodies (suiting us for different types of work) and hormonal differences which affect the way we think and our emotional responses.  It's amazing that in an argument about what a problem she views this as in society she doesn't seem to cross the threshold of the 1970s in her presentation of facts and only mentions that it is still a problem today in her closing without anything to back it up (not even a modern day Miss America champion).  It's almost the same problem I view with a lot of modern day feminist ideals and goals as they are so far removed from their origins and the concept of equality that it brings Animal Farm to mind, “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.” 

One of the biggest problems we face today in our American society is taking things at face value without researching the facts or presenting multiple sides to an argument.  We have a constant 24/7 media cycle with opinions often getting touted as fact with little more than an apology when someone actually calls them out serving for a disclaimer.  Argument from ignorance such as this does nothing to actually allow people to form their own opinions on a topic.  It actually keeps society from naturally evolving and keeps us in a constant battle of black vs white rather than shades of gray.  If anything maybe people will finally realize that with such a wealth of information at our fingertips with the internet, libraries, and the various databases containing multitudes of articles and essays on topics that if you actually are going to have an opinion on something you should put a bit of work into researching it instead of relying solely on a poorly presented essay like “Pink Think.” 

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