Some people might find it a little naïve to think that a colour could save the world. And then, of all colours, pink. That pink we were given along with dolls, ribbons, princesses and everything else that was supposed to teach us, from an early age, how a woman should be: sweet, pretty, polite and, preferably, never too loud. Pink was almost like a little pastel box we were expected to stay inside. Well, I think it’s time we gave pink a new job.
Maybe pink can become the colour of female power.
Not the loud, aggressive kind of power that needs to dominate a room to prove it exists, but a much more interesting kind: the strength to keep going when we are tired, to start again when something ends, to take care of others without completely forgetting ourselves. The strength to say no without feeling guilty, to speak up when something matters, and, most importantly, to stop waiting for permission to be who we are.
Women have been trained our entire lives to handle everything. We organise families, careers, dinners, holidays and, quite often, the emotional wellbeing of everyone around us. We remember birthdays, appointments, what is missing from the fridge and that phone call someone forgot to make. And then, at the end of the day, we somehow still find the energy to wonder whether we were good enough. Perhaps this is where we need to change the rules. We don’t necessarily need to become even better at doing everything. Maybe we need to become better at deciding what we actually want to do — and at understanding that we don’t have to do it all alone.
Because the real strength of women isn’t about becoming solitary superheroes. It is about standing beside one another.
About looking at another woman without automatically seeing a competitor. About saying, “Go for it. I believe in you.” And perhaps, years later, hearing the same words from her. Imagine what could happen if some of the energy we spend comparing ourselves, doubting ourselves and wondering whether we are beautiful enough, young enough, successful enough, thin enough, clever enough — enough of anything the world has decided we should be — were instead used to lift one another up. That would be quite a revolution. And knowing women, we’d probably organise it beautifully.
That is why I like pink. Not really because of the colour itself, but because of the irony. Something that was once used to make us look sweeter and more delicate can become a symbol of women who have no intention of being merely sweet and delicate. We can have pink nails and very clear boundaries. We can wear a pink dress and run a company. We can be gentle and absolutely uncompromising when it matters. We can cry, be afraid, make mistakes, change our minds and still keep moving forward. We don’t have to choose between being feminine and being strong, as if those two things could not possibly exist in the same woman.
Maybe, then, pink won’t actually save the world. But women who decide to take their lives into their own hands might just change it. Women who use their voices, their knowledge, their creativity, their experience and their sensitivity. Women who stop waiting to be invited to the table and simply take a seat. Women who can say “enough” when something isn’t right and, with exactly the same confidence, say “why not?” when an opportunity appears. Women who open doors for those coming after them, who reach out to another woman when she has run out of courage, and who no longer apologise for wanting more.
And if we happen to wear something pink while doing it, even better. Because if we’re going to change the world, we might as well make it a little prettier along the way. And there is one thing I truly believe: optimism is not naïveté. Sometimes it is an act of courage. Believing that things can change is the first step. Deciding that we can be part of that change is the second. Doing it together might be the most important one.
So yes, let me say it: perhaps pink really will save the world. Not because it is pink, but because behind that colour there will be us. Women who have stopped waiting for the right moment, the right permission, the right approval. Women who have realised that being strong doesn’t mean becoming someone else. It means taking everything we are — our softness, our stubbornness, our humour, our vulnerability, our ambition — and turning all of it into strength.
And if we are going to save the world, let’s do it together. And perhaps, just for fun, let’s wear pink while we’re at it.
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