In the Pink

Wandering far afield today: to the golf course. Recent news on the national scene includes this story of a biographer of the President-elect being kicked off the golf course by none other than the President-elect. As per usual, this post is not about the merits of that decision, but rather on a smaller but pesky detail.

What he was wearing.

Actually, not what he was wearing when he was kicked off the golf course, but what he was wearing when he was interviewed in television. He was wearing an entirely pink golfing ensemble and the Internet commenters just went wild. I confess that, for about the first ten comments, I thought it was amusing.

How rare it is for a man to catch flak for what he was wearing. The shoe on the other foot for a change.

And then the truth of what was happening sunk in. This man was being vilified because he had the audacity to wear pink. And everyone knows that pink is a "girl color." The deep-seated bias against women in our culture was rearing its ugly yet again. It's more than bias. There's really a pervasive hatred of all things perceived to be "female" that comes through in these comments.

The worst thing that could be said about him was that he was "girly". Let that sink in a little.

I take back my initial amusement. It isn't funny if it happens to anyone. What you wear shouldn't negate what you have to say or who you are.