An Interesting Question
This came up on Twitter and I must admit, I am of two minds about it.
A poster posted a photo link showing a pink Batgirl outfit for very little girls (or boys, if they are so inclined!).
My first reaction wasn’t, “Oh, man, here we go again, enforcing gender roles on children, everything has to be pink for girls, so typical!”
My first reaction was along the lines of, “Oh, that is adorable.”
But was I right, or were the people who said the first thing right?
It’s very interesting…some people immediately objected to the idea of a pink Batgirl outfit. They felt it was forcing girls to be pink and princess-y and all the stereotype stuff.
I see their point and it’s clearly true that that happens a lot.
But I also have a niece who loves superheroes and is simply DRAWN to pink and always has been. If there were a thousand Batgirl costumes and one pink one, there is absolutely no question which one she would choose.
I also have to say, I go to cons all year long, and see adorable kids in Batgirl uniforms, many of which are purchased, not home-made. I have to say I see dozens and dozens in the more traditional colors for every one I see that is pink.
But maybe cons are different. Maybe there are stores where pink is the only choice, and if a little girl wants to be Batgirl, she HAS to be pink. That would bug me.
But I do have a problem seeing the harm, when a little girl has a choice, of letting her make up her own mind. I don’t find the costume problematic in itself.
Am I wrong? Am I missing something? What do you guys think. I admit, I haven’t given it much thought yet so I’m curious to know.
