We are always asked, as we tool around Seoul in service to the Lil Buddha, if she is a boy or a girl. This is a fine question, since of course the gender of babies is hard to tell. The fact that she is the cutest little girl baby is not readily apparent beneath all of the layers, alas.

But the reason that it strikes me is that Lark is so often dressed in pink. Pink is the universal sign of "I am a girl baby although you can't possibly tell the difference." Or so I thought.

Now, I must state for the record, I despise pink. I had hoped that just because she is a girl she could be free of society's construct of the feminine baby, which is centered on the color pink. Nevertheless, given the very much appreciated, big money-saving gifts of innumerable family and friends, Lark has piles of pink everything--hats, jackets, shoes, onesies, all of that stuff. We are talking seriously pink




People ask if this pink Nanook is a girl or a boy.

The reason is of course is that pink is entirely another color over here. It is free of any gender coloration I guess. There is no hesitation to wear it. Men where pink shirts and pink ties very commonly, something you don't see in the U.S. outside of the Preppie Handbook.

It hasn't quite reached the level of the current Thai craze for pink shirts, selling at the rate of 40,000 a month because the King sported one, but it is interesting to behold.

Comments

Unknown said…
Seems like at least some in South Korea find the whole pink/blue thing an issue: South Korean photographer JeongMee Yoon Pink/Blue project
Here's an awesome picture of the artist's daughter surrounded by her collection of gender-specifically colored items. Just a preview of your house in a few years, I'm sure.

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