The concept “Beyond pink for girls” addresses not only the color but the gender-stereotyping system. Change begins from home, from parents, let’s discuss how it should be okay for a girl to have her choice beyond the societal standard.

What’s your favorite color? When asked this question, a girl would say, “Pink” and a boy would say, “Blue”. If a guy pops up wearing pink, can you guess the number of eyes on him? If you have noticed, a little girl is often seen wearing pink, with dolls in her hands, and even her toys more often reflect household work because we live in the kind of society we have. No cars, no cycle, no karate, nothing that is supposed to be played by boys. The color pink is pretty, not lying. Not to say that every girl, each one of them loves it but we are talking about the majority here. We often hear the word, “girly things” which is defined as something suitable for girls rather than for boys. How about we stop labeling the gender to have their favorites and let’s just liberate them for having their choice. Choice of their color, their dress-up style, their career options, and their life. How about we start thinking beyond pink?

She is a girl, beyond pink, beyond every rule that stops her from growth, embracing all the work and things that come under her competency, and just moving on in life as an individual. She is a person who pursues life with a purpose. She can love the color blue or white or black or none or every one of them, that is up to her. We know, we are trying to bring change in the world, in technology, in academics, in the moon, in the ocean, in the constitution book, so, we might as well change our mind towards the division of work or choice based on genders. And to this, parents can play a prominent role. The world is not of the color pink or blue - the world is full of rainbows. Pink is the cheeks, whether it be of a boy or a girl. Tears are heavy for both of them. The idea of conceptualizing that upbringing of a different gender needs to be different is unfair. It is about sharpening skills, acknowledging mistakes, learning new things, being humble, and finding the purpose rather than about the “girly things” and “boys things”. What can be the ways to parent beyond the colors?

  • Buy gender-neutral toys:

Yes, that is easy, right? The toys might have marketed pink toys for girls and blue for boys. But, how about we do not fall for that and buy neutral colors for both genders? As a parent, encourage your child to play with crossgender characters, from an early age. After a certain age, one gender might dislike, anything labeled for a certain gender. 

  • How about calling them kids/students, instead of girls or boys?

The point of this is to avoid segregation between the genders. Especially, before puberty, making them understand that they are not the “opposite” groups is very essential. Otherwise, it might create the concept of some kind of rivalry from an early age.

  • Do not let the gender stereotypes get into their head:

We live in a technological world. The kids will be exposed to gender stereotyping through that and they might feel that pink is for girls only. And if not from technology, they might see that in books as well. However, in this situation, parents/elders have to give them several exceptional rules. You could show them some pictures where boys are wearing pink shirts or carrying pink wallets, to keep them away from gender stereotypes.

  • Are you assigning home chores based on gender?

I hope not. Girls can cook and boys can cook as well. Girls can have a choice of becoming a football player too, as much as boys do. Everything starts from home, so you might as well be careful about this. 

  • Don’t compliment girls only on their appearance:

Compliments might bring a smile to their face, however, complimenting only on their appearance impacts them negatively. Instead, compliment their progress, improvement, and achievements. They might have topped the school or learned a bicycle. Compliment on her hard work and encourage her that she can be successful and become independent. 

Gender stereotyping not only segregates genders but also negatively impacts children. It affects their self-esteem, personal development, and skills. Girls are expected to have a certain kind of personality because they are “girls”. Similarly, boys have to deal with all the downhills all alone because they are not allowed to be vulnerable. Let’s not assume that boys are interested in football and karate whereas girls are interested in dancing and makeup. Not to say that they are not allowed to have such interest but let them decide. Let’s be more open-minded and smash the concept of sexism to make a happy world and happy home.