An interesting article from Collectors Weekly

[intaglio]

Girlie Pens, Again? Why Ordinary Things Go Pink

Between the late ’40s and the early ’70s, everything from golf balls and telephones to toy trains—and yes, ballpoint pens—were made in pastel “for her” colors and marketed toward women. The 1962 pastel Lady Capri pen by Paper Mate was billed as “completely feminine” and “practical for women who demand heavy duty pen elegance,” able to write “even over cold cream.” (See an advertisement at top.)

Feminist writer Lynn Peril, the author of Pink Think: Becoming a Woman in Many Uneasy Lessons, explains that mid-century manufacturers realized that if you take an ordinary object, turn it pink, and put the word “Lady” in front of the name, then you’ve created a product “for women” that can be sold for more money.

/snip

“It’s only been within the last 50 years or so that it’s really come down hard on ‘Pink is for girls,’” Peril says. “Even in the late ’50s, pink was a fashion color that was for men or for women. So you had Elvis wearing awesome pink shirts and pink suits and driving a pink Cadillac, because pink is the ‘it’ color of 1955. It’s probably not until after that people started getting into the idea that pink is ‘for girls only.’ And now that’s the only thing that it means, right?”

Though, personally, I think that the The Lady Lionel train set is cool -

- damn! do I have to hand over my man card???

[sufrommich]

1. The questions asked on the "lady pens" Amazon page

are hilarious.Good find.

[mountain grammy]

2. In 1959, the Hartford Courant took away my paper route when they realized I was a girl.

I was 11 and took over the route from a friend (male) and never missed a morning. Since my first name is Pat, nothing was said for the two months I delivered the paper until I met the distributor, then I lost the job.
I kind of liked all the pink pens. At least someone was acknowledging girls could actually write, even if we weren't allowed to work.

[MadrasT]

3. Great read, thanks.

“I’m happy that people are seeing right through the Bic for Her positioning,” Peril says. “But I have to say, I was a bit shocked. I didn’t realize that the level of idiocy that those pens represent was still going on. We’ve really jumped backward with the gendered products introduced in the last 10 years, and it’s disconcerting. I’d thought we’d left this idiocy in the dust, but no, it’s back.”

I go a little nuts when I walk through Target and see this Lego bullshit in the SHOCKING PINK toy aisles...

[Blue_Adept]

4. LEGO Bullshit?

Considering the sales of the sets are doing phenomenal, more than LEGO expected, it's worked.

Largely because we hear repeatedly that girls don't want to go down the LEGO aisle since it's filled with men and their young sons.

There's a good range of toys that LEGO is working through with the Friend range and it's getting a lot of girls - and a lot of boys - into picking them up and building with them.

My two girls always loved building legos, but we'd never build the actual sets (i.e. all my Star Wars LEGO sets and other stuff). We'd build all sorts of other things with them. Just like kids here will.

But hey, LEGO. Controversy.

For Katrina, she had some interest in Lego before, but it really took off with the Friends line. I never, ever told her old style Lego was boy Lego. She never said that either, until just recently. She just likes girl Lego.

http://www.newsoptimist.ca/article/20131205/BATTLEFORD0304/312059985/-1/battleford/lego-has-more-8216-friends-8217-these-days

The LEGO Friends concept development spanned four years and involved more than 3500 girls and their mothers around the world to understand what girls who have previously not been attracted to LEGO play, would expect from a construction toy.

http://aboutus.lego.com/en-us/news-room/2013/february/lego-friends-doubled-expectations-for-sales-in-2012

[MadrasT]

5. You have your opinion, I have mine.

Legos were just fine before they pink-i-fied them.



If we didn't genderize the crap out of the toy lanes and market straight-up Legos as "for boys", then it wouldn't be an issue.

[xulamaude]

6. That ad!

Brought back a lot of memories. My best friend looked very much like that girl and we would play Fisher Price town in the garage on rainy days. Good times...

Also the graphic: ha!

[nomorenomore08]

14. As a childhood Lego enthusiast, I would have to concur with that!

[MineralMan]

7. There has been a recent rash of pink things

having to do with outdoor activities. Guns and fishing equipment now come in pink, for example. My wife, who enjoys fishing, said of these: "WTF?" She would not ever purchase such a thing, I can guarantee. Fishing equipment is not gender-related in any way.

[Blue_Adept]

9. But style is.

And some people just want things in a particular color. Especially in this age of get anything you want in any color customization you want.

My daughter is a first degree black belt and has had the standard gray/black bag for several years since training for her tests. This Christmas she found out there are pink gear bags as well and was ecstatic to have one.

Should she be denied having that because it's pink?

[MineralMan]

10. I have no problem with things in colors at all.

The problem for me is the assumption that women won't buy fishing tackle unless it is pink. That's just silly.

[Blue_Adept]

11. That's the wrong assumption.

They know women buy fishing tackle already. Maybe not great numbers, but they do.

They're applying the law of business here to get more customers is all.

A great deal of products used to be just one color. But the last decade has seen a range of things coming out in all sorts of colors. It's all about personalization.

[PassingFair]

8. I LOVE that "Collector's Weekly" website!

I think I lost 2 days to it last month!

Also, does it make me a proponent of the patriarchy if
I WANT THAT LADY CAPRI PEN?

I think it's cool.

[sufrommich]

12. I love that site too. Have you ever been

to the Retronaut site?It's a great time waster too.

[PassingFair]

13. no..but I'll check it out!