Pink is not offensive
In my entire adult life, I have faced judgement from extended family members. This is primarily since I have chosen to walk a path that’s unheard of in my family. An independent female who chooses her career over her family. So modern!Tch! Tch!
A male boss once told me that I would not like to take up a project because it means a lot of travel and I just got married. I have not yet understood the correlation between marriage and work portfolio. Yet, this is a normal scenario in so many offices. I had even resorted to hiding the fact that I got married to ensure clients and colleagues don’t treat me weirdly.
A nosy relative (like most older relatives) kept warning me how difficult it is to have kids post thirty and I should not delay it. I politely said that I want to focus on my career and the gasp of disdain, shock and judgement failed to surprise me. Even my close friends and relatives who are generally supporting or mostly they keep mum about my choices were shocked that I had a half-etched plan to study abroad for two years while my husband is in India. How unwifely of me!
Most of my friends have gone through this and sometimes we laugh away the censure or sometimes we react badly and make the situation worse. All we ask is not to judge our choices. But, that’s really unfair. We ourselves are guilty of judging our female friends, colleagues and family members who have chosen to walk on a pro-society path. We are biased against anybody different from us. So, the radical women in my life cannot understand why somebody would choose to get married as soon as college is over? Or, plan a kid before 25. Or, leave a well-paying job to take care of kids. Is it not unfair to judge women who have made these choices?
Women lead a life that is interspersed with so many tough choices. Can we stop questioning their choices and truly believe they are selecting what best suits them? It is okay to sometimes select a stereotyped or pink path if that truly makes you happy. If a girl wants to wear a pink frilly tuille, it is okay. If a woman wants to have a kid early and be a stay at home mum, it is okay. If a woman chooses not to marry, it is okay. It is up to us and all we ask is from the entire world — Make all our choices judgement free.