# Pink locker rooms and a knee jerk feminist.
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pink-locker-rooms-and-a-knee-jerk-feminist/322982
**Category:** The BBQ Pit
**Created:** [September 23, 2005, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pink-locker-rooms-and-a-knee-jerk-feminist/322982 "2005-09-23T00:23:34Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 3
### Author:  [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)
#### Post date: [September 23, 2005, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pink-locker-rooms-and-a-knee-jerk-feminist/322982/41 "2005-09-23T17:11:30Z")
If green were a “soothing color,” and the locker room were painted green, would that be an insult to hippies?
Why can’t we all just agree that the pink walls of the locker room are intended to help some of the opposing players get in touch with their feminine side, and are therefore a subversive act of fighting misogyny. How about **that** , professor?
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### Author:  [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)
#### Post date: [September 23, 2005, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pink-locker-rooms-and-a-knee-jerk-feminist/322982/42 "2005-09-23T17:26:30Z")
It is proven that colours affect us psychologically, and the effect pink has on humans is calming ( [drunk-tank pink](http://www.colormatters.com/body_pink.html) ). Unfortunately, because it has given rise to this non-issue, pink is also the colour associated with femininity. Watermelons and menorrahs are not psychologically calming. They are not germane to this discussion at hand.
Do the visiting teams feel uncomfortable in a “girlie-coloured” room? Probably. Is that an insult to women? No. Guys feel uncomfortable lots of places that are traditionally female strongholds (lingerie stores, fabric stores, beauty shops); that doesn’t mean the guys demean or insult women; these locations are simply outside of their normal comfort zone. Most guys don’t have pink rooms at home; the pink locker room is also outside of their normal comfort zone. It’s not a comment on how strong or weak women are; it’s a fairly clever way of decreasing the aggression in a visiting team and throwing them off balance by putting them outside their comfort zone.
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### Author:  [@beagledave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beagledave)
#### Post date: [September 23, 2005, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pink-locker-rooms-and-a-knee-jerk-feminist/322982/43 "2005-09-23T17:38:04Z")
This is my favorite quote from her blog…
> [@](#):
>
> …-it makes it more difficult to attract students, athletes, and professors to come here when they perceive it as an institution that endorses sexist and homophobic practices.
Yeah…I picture the following conversation happening in thousands of homes across the fruited plain…
“Well I **was** going to study sociology at the University of Iowa…but then I discovered, that **GASP** , they have pink urinals in the visiting locker room at the football stadium!!! I’m tearing up my application and going to UC Berkeley instead.”
:smack:
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### Author:  [@Lord\_Ashtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Ashtar)
#### Post date: [September 23, 2005, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pink-locker-rooms-and-a-knee-jerk-feminist/322982/44 "2005-09-23T17:44:44Z")
It is at all possible that the color pink is both associated with women and happens to have a calming effect? One does not exclude the other, you know.
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### Author:  [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)
#### Post date: [September 23, 2005, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pink-locker-rooms-and-a-knee-jerk-feminist/322982/45 "2005-09-23T18:03:22Z")
> [@uglybeech](#):
>
> Or putting a giant menorah in the locker room.
It would send a subliminal message that would make players on the opposing team think they were badass Israeli Army troops or Mossad agents. Either that, or make them feel guilty for playing football on Shabbat. ;j
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### Author:  [@twin\_infinitive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twin_infinitive)
#### Post date: [September 23, 2005, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pink-locker-rooms-and-a-knee-jerk-feminist/322982/46 "2005-09-23T18:39:38Z")
> [@Excalibre](#):
>
> **NinjaChick** , and the rest of you - why do you deny something so obvious as the color symbolism of pink? You might as well base your argument on a claim that water is dry.
The color symbolism of pink is irrelevent.
The fact is, it does have a mellowing effect.
According to your twisted logic, there is absolutely no way to utilize that mellowing effect without insulting women. Your opinion, and that of the professor, has no merit.
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### Author:  [@Zabali\_Clawbane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zabali_Clawbane)
#### Post date: [September 23, 2005, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pink-locker-rooms-and-a-knee-jerk-feminist/322982/47 "2005-09-23T18:45:28Z")
> [@twin infinitive](#):
>
> The color symbolism of pink is irrelevent.
>
> The fact is, it does have a mellowing effect.
> According to your twisted logic, there is absolutely no way to utilize that mellowing effect without insulting women. Your opinion, and that of the professor, has no merit.
Why don’t you read the rest of **NinjaChick** ’s post before snapping at her? She actually agrees with you if I haven’t misread her post. :wally
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### Author:  [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)
#### Post date: [September 23, 2005, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pink-locker-rooms-and-a-knee-jerk-feminist/322982/48 "2005-09-23T18:45:20Z")
> [@Marley23](#):
>
> I can’t think of a clearer way to say it than I did, or else I would do so. We’re not talking about a casual observation here. It’s delivered in a derogatory manner. “You, like a woman, are weak and bad at football!” It may be true or even obviously true. That doesn’t mean it isn’t intended as an insult.
Of course it’s insulting but I see it as insulting to the other team, not to women. As in, “Playing you would be like playing women, which we all agree would be a farce.” If there were some color that we associated with 42 year old, out of shape men and they painted the locker room that color, I wouldn’t be offended.
OTOH, the whole “I picked pink because it’s calming” is patently absurd.
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### Author:  [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)
#### Post date: [September 23, 2005, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pink-locker-rooms-and-a-knee-jerk-feminist/322982/49 "2005-09-23T19:07:51Z")
> [@KRM](#):
>
> Of course it’s insulting but I see it as insulting to the other team, not to women. As in, “Playing you would be like playing women, which we all agree would be a farce.”
Right. What she’s saying, and I don’t think she’s really wrong, is that using women as the basis for an insulting comparison is, in itself, insulting to women.
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### Author:  [@SparrowHawk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SparrowHawk)
#### Post date: [September 23, 2005, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pink-locker-rooms-and-a-knee-jerk-feminist/322982/50 "2005-09-23T19:12:43Z")
> [@Zabali\_Clawbane](#):
>
> Why don’t you read the rest of **NinjaChick** ’s post before snapping at her? She actually agrees with you if I haven’t misread her post. :wally
I think you’ve misread **twin infinitive** ’s post. His issue appears to be with **Excalibre** , who was the one snapping at **Ninja Chick**.
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### Author:  [@twin\_infinitive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twin_infinitive)
#### Post date: [September 23, 2005, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pink-locker-rooms-and-a-knee-jerk-feminist/322982/51 "2005-09-23T19:14:41Z")
> [@KRM](#):
>
> Of course it’s insulting but I see it as insulting to the other team, not to women. As in, “Playing you would be like playing women, which we all agree would be a farce.” If there were some color that we associated with 42 year old, out of shape men and they painted the locker room that color, I wouldn’t be offended.
>
> OTOH, the whole “I picked pink because it’s calming” is patently absurd.
No, it isn’t.
Think about it… WHY did pink come to be associated with women?
Was it random? Someone picked it out of a hat?
Or, perhaps, is it because of the fact that pink has a mellow, non-aggressive quality on its own?
Now, what if pink wasn’t assoicated with women. What if the color which was associated with women was also known to cause hyper-aggressive behavior. Do you honestly think the locker room would have been painted that color?
If not, then you can no longer argue that the color was chosen to call the other team women.
If so, then you are an idiot.
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### Author:  [@Zabali\_Clawbane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zabali_Clawbane)
#### Post date: [September 23, 2005, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pink-locker-rooms-and-a-knee-jerk-feminist/322982/52 "2005-09-23T19:14:58Z")
> [@SparrowHawk](#):
>
> I think you’ve misread **twin infinitive** ’s post. His issue appears to be with **Excalibre** , who was the one snapping at **Ninja Chick**.
You are correct, and I apologize **twin infinitive**. Mea Culpa. :o
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### Author:  [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)
#### Post date: [September 23, 2005, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pink-locker-rooms-and-a-knee-jerk-feminist/322982/53 "2005-09-23T19:16:05Z")
You can twist these things into whatever convoluted knot that you want to. Your imagination is the only limit. Isn’t she guilty of stereotyping the thought processes of male coaches? The only real evidence that she has says that they believed that pink was soothing. Insisting that it most be otherwise requires predjudice against male coaches. Who knows what other prejudices she holds against jocks. Jocks should be very wary of taking her classes lest they be discriminated against.
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### Author:  [@Excalibre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Excalibre)
#### Post date: [September 23, 2005, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pink-locker-rooms-and-a-knee-jerk-feminist/322982/54 "2005-09-23T19:16:56Z")
> [@KRM](#):
>
> OTOH, the whole “I picked pink because it’s calming” is patently absurd.
I’m just astonished that people really seem to be so credulous as to believe that ridiculous claim. I’m not sure if the people who keep repeating it are just being completely insincere or are simply stupid. I mean, the implication of the pink locker room is _obvious_, and it’s inconceivable that the coach didn’t know what it meant when he decided to paint the locker room that color.
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### Author:  [@Zabali\_Clawbane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zabali_Clawbane)
#### Post date: [September 23, 2005, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pink-locker-rooms-and-a-knee-jerk-feminist/322982/55 "2005-09-23T19:18:30Z")
I thought pink came to be associated with women in Victorian times, before that it was considered “aggressive” and “virile” and a male color. Then the Victorians began associating the color blue with boys, and needed a color for girls. 😕[This link](http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=238733), and the links that lead from it seem to back me up a bit.
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### Author:  [@Big-Ole-Steve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Big-Ole-Steve)
#### Post date: [September 23, 2005, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pink-locker-rooms-and-a-knee-jerk-feminist/322982/56 "2005-09-23T19:21:32Z")
> [@Zabali\_Clawbane](#):
>
> Why don’t you read the rest of **NinjaChick** ’s post before snapping at her? She actually agrees with you if I haven’t misread her post. :wally
**twin infinitive** was responding to Excalibre’s comments to **Ninja Chick** in his post.
He wasn’t responding to her point, but was, in effect, agreeing with her by disagreeing with someone who rebutted her.
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### Author:  [@beagledave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beagledave)
#### Post date: [September 23, 2005, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pink-locker-rooms-and-a-knee-jerk-feminist/322982/57 "2005-09-23T19:23:10Z")
> [@KRM](#):
>
> OTOH, the whole “I picked pink because it’s calming” is patently absurd.
No it’s not.
When Fry was a psychology student at Baylor, the whole notion of “the psychology of color” was starting to become the new “thing”.
Previous link: [http://bacweb.the-bac.edu/~michael.b.williams/baker-miller.html](http://bacweb.the-bac.edu/~michael.b.williams/baker-miller.html)
Others:
1. [http://psychology.about.com/library/bl/blcolor\_pink1.htm](http://psychology.about.com/library/bl/blcolor_pink1.htm)
2. [http://www.carpetbuyershandbook.com/psychology\_of\_color.htm](http://www.carpetbuyershandbook.com/psychology_of_color.htm)
3. [http://www.colormatters.com/body\_pink.html](http://www.colormatters.com/body_pink.html)
4. [http://www.infoplease.com/spot/colors1.html](http://www.infoplease.com/spot/colors1.html)
5. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinnick\_Stadium](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinnick_Stadium)
I’m NOT suggesting that pink isn’t often interpreted as “a girl’s color”…but Fry made his decision based upon what he believed was the passive/non aggressive nature of the color. I think it’s a dubious claim, but at least one other Big 10 coach was suckered into worrying about it a bit. At this point, it’s more tradition than anything else at Iowa.
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### Author:  [@Big-Ole-Steve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Big-Ole-Steve)
#### Post date: [September 23, 2005, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pink-locker-rooms-and-a-knee-jerk-feminist/322982/58 "2005-09-23T19:22:38Z")
> [@Big-Ole-Steve](#):
>
> **twin infinitive** was responding to Excalibre’s comments to **Ninja Chick** in his post.
>
> He wasn’t responding to her point, but was, in effect, agreeing with her by disagreeing with someone who rebutted her.
Gotta learn to preview, gotta learn to preview…
Appologies, **Zabali\_Clawbane**
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### Author:  [@Excalibre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Excalibre)
#### Post date: [September 23, 2005, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pink-locker-rooms-and-a-knee-jerk-feminist/322982/59 "2005-09-23T19:29:05Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#):
>
> You can twist these things into whatever convoluted knot that you want to. Your imagination is the only limit. Isn’t she guilty of stereotyping the thought processes of male coaches? The only real evidence that she has says that they believed that pink was soothing. Insisting that it most be otherwise requires predjudice against male coaches. Who knows what other prejudices she holds against jocks. Jocks should be very wary of taking her classes lest they be discriminated against.
No, she has the evidence of his actions. He had the locker room painted pink, and the message of the pink locker room is obvious. The calming effect is something called an _excuse_. The intention of it was to try to psyche the opposing team out by suggesting that they’re women. Personally, as I’ve said, I think that’s acceptable within the realm of the locker room - locker rooms are obviously not centers of feminist thought, and that’s okay. But you only need to look at his actions - the message sent by a pink locker room is obvious.
And this predictable response is absurd. Whenever anyone claims something is racist, or sexist, or homophobic (whether it’s an accurate claim or not), the crowds here immediately jump to declare that the person who spotted the discrimination is somehow racist or sexist or homophobic for noticing. What is this? It takes one to know one? I’m rubber and you’re glue?
Does it make the world a better place if we can’t even speculate on the existence of racism or sexism? Is it so wrong to even look for these things? Is sexism going to go away if we all hide our heads in the sand and pretend it’s not there?
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### Author:  [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)
#### Post date: [September 23, 2005, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pink-locker-rooms-and-a-knee-jerk-feminist/322982/60 "2005-09-23T19:34:09Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#):
>
> Who knows what other prejudices she holds against jocks. Jocks should be very wary of taking her classes lest they be discriminated against.
Speaking of stupid paranoia…
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