I recently finished reading Pink Think by Lynn Peril. This book discusses how pop culture in the 1940s-early 1970s re-inforced gender stereotypes. Normally, I avoid this kind of thing because I'm not sure how I feel about middle class white women jumping on the "we're oppressed" bandwagon. Women all deal with some form of injustice, but I believe this is compounded by the classist and racist society that we live in. I saw a review of this book on salon.com and I was intrigued instead of drinking my normal hatorade.
The main thing that sets this book apart from similar things I've read is that it's hilarious. There were times I had to restrain myself from howling with laughter on the T (and thereby becoming one of those crazy people on the Orange Line). The author's use of humor and lack of pretention is refreshing as is her use of specific examples (products, books, advertisements) to back up some of her ideas. There was mention throughout the book that the ads/products/advice books/etc that she was discussing did not fit the socio-economic realities of most women's lives. Again, that was refreshing because I'm often really turned off by the fact that this is ignored. Finally, I really enjoyed the section on gender stereotypes aimed at men and boys during this period since these things also negatively impact guys.
This got me thinking about modern-day "pink think" and how it worms its insidious way into women's lives today. The worst morass of it I've encountered as an adult is around my upcoming wedding. There's a billion dollar wedding industry that tries to convince women (even women like me who are old enough to know better) that they need to spend the equivalent of a downpayment on a house on "their special day". Much of the mainstream advise to brides centers around what to buy, how to conform to certain beauty standards, and how to order the people you love around. Unfortunately, most "alternative" advise is similar. The consumption is still there although you might buy 400 rubber bats and paint Elvis mutton-chops on them instead of buying the equivalent number of white roses.
Another insidious bit of "pink think" in media aimed either at brides or women in general is the whole idea that the male partner is like a prop in the whole thing. Not to mention the fact that these weddings are usually between straight couples from the same ethnic group. We're still ending up with more of a traditional wedding than I thought we would, but I think we've managed to avoid much of the insidiousness. The main thing is that we're both too busy with our lives to get caught up in it. If anyone is the 'zilla, it's the man in my life because he's the one who cares a lot more about the little details than I do. We both wanted a great party with no hoopla or gifts and that's pretty much what we're getting. This doesn't mean, though that the phrase "your special day" hasn't gotten really frickin' old...
