Personal Brand Stereotypes #3: The Curse of the Pink Shirt

April 4, 2008 at 11:21 am | In Misc, Personal Branding, Positioning, Reputation Management | 12 Comments

For all of you who are new to this series, my first post was about tall individuals are immediately called basketball players and my second post was about how glasses make you look smart. Today , I wanted to examine the curse of the pink shirt.  Of course women can freely wear pink shirts, but when it comes to men, do you really consider them homosexuals just for putting one on?

In 2005, it was “okay” for men to wear pink in our culture. Some people are still aggressive and irritated by men who wear pink and feel they deserve to get kicked in the teeth. This discussion has surfaced on occasion and then goes back into hibernation for another generation to comment on. Just like the last post, I even found a Yahoo! Answers dialog boasting the question “Does a pink shirt on guys indicate or symbolize them as gay”?

Here are some responses:

Personal Brand - Pink Shirt

  • “Guys wearing pink shirts look gay. no matter how straight they say they are, its gay. lol when gangsters and thugs wear pink im just like wow, i didnt know they were gay.. its a gay thing, thats how straight ppl let a little gay into their lives.” (Man)
  • “Guys wearing pink shirts look gay. no matter how straight they say they are, its gay. lol when gangsters and thugs wear pink im just like wow, i didnt know they were gay.. its a gay thing, thats how straight ppl let a little gay into their lives.” (Man)
  • “I personally think a pink shirt on a straight guy is nothing more than proof that he is secure in his own sexuality.”(Woman)
  • “Yeah, as much as a girl wearing blue says she’s a lesbian…..The color of the clothes people wear mean nothing about their sexuality.” (Woman)

Analysis

Who is surprised that men think it’s gay, while women think it’s normal? I’m not at all. I actually never wore pink until I graduated from college. My roommate wore pink all the time and girls actually liked it. I think it worked well for him because no other guy was wearing it, so it became a differentiator of sorts. The majority of girls list pink as their favorite color and guys tend to pick blue. When a guy wears a pink shirt, girls will like it, but question their sexuality at first, even if they don’t do it intentionally. I think it’s a lot about the attitude you convey when you’re wearing the pink shirt. If you are acting “manly” and confident, I think the pink shirt might even work in your favor. On new years I wore a pink shirt and the first comment I received was “you have guts..I like that” from a girl.  If you take a step back and think, why do people make such a big deal over a shirt?  If you met a man wearing a pink shirt, would you ignore him or make fun of him?

Coming up next

In the 3rd part of this series I will go over “The Hippie Phenomenon.” When you look at someone with a tye-die shirt, a scruffy beard and a collection of Grateful Dead CD’s, I think you would consider them a hippie.  I will examine how this idea was born and the effect on these individuals over time.

12 Comments »

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  1. Hey Dan,
    Nice post!!!

    I have tagged you in the ‘8 little known things about me’ meme.

    http://blog.joshanstey.com/index.php/2008/04/04/8-little-known-things-about-me/

    Check it out and keep it going.

    Have a great day.

    Comment by Josh Anstey — April 4, 2008 #

  2. “Real Men” look great in anything because they have real confidence. Would have thought that The Sartorialist…

    http://thesartorialist.com

    …would have helped fellas feel more secure about being fashionable by now. For example…

    http://bp1.blogger.com/_qjpwnPW4c1o/R-uMnGQgbxI/AAAAAAAADKs/Wo9ze7iNVhk/s400/Pinkshoesweb.jpg
    http://bp0.blogger.com/_qjpwnPW4c1o/R-As82kfXxI/AAAAAAAADIU/vmg72213Sag/s1600-h/RobertRblueweb.jpg
    http://bp3.blogger.com/_qjpwnPW4c1o/R-e3zmQgbmI/AAAAAAAADJU/Qlyq3EzZ78g/s400/Linoweb.jpg

    Really, it’s okay.

    Looking forward to Part 3 of the series, Dan. Will you talk about hairstyles deemed “alternative” like dreadlocks, mohawks and hair color?

    Comment by Natasha — April 4, 2008 #

  3. @Natasha – I was going to do that after the “hippie” post.

    Comment by Dan Schawbel — April 4, 2008 #

  4. I have no problem wearing pink and it’s quite common over here. But then I do live in Liberal thinking Holland ;)

    I think this type of thinking is quite outdated, some people may still feel that way but generally it has been acceptable for straight men to wear pink for quite some time.

    I’ve got pink swimming trunks which I wear often in the summer and I get more compliments about them then people questioning your sexuality….like you say, it can also work as a differentiator.

    Comment by Daan Jansonius — April 4, 2008 #

  5. I wouldn’t make fun because that’s not nice. :)

    Pink isn’t automatically off-limits for guys, at least not the pastel version. Can’t say I’ve ever seen a guy wearing a real deep or neon type pink though, even though girls do.

    Comment by Michael Henreckson — April 4, 2008 #

  6. Ha – great post! I’m a very straight guy and proud owner of two pink dress shirts. I’m careful not to overuse them, lest their attention-grabbing power were to diminish. I can’t tell you how many “man wearing pink” comments I’ve gotten.

    I don’t, however, own any lavender dress shirts (nor do I plan to).

    Comment by timcourtney — April 5, 2008 #

  7. Change the name of the color from “pink” to “salmon” and you have skirted your sexuality issues. LOL.

    Comment by The Office Newb — April 5, 2008 #

  8. Thanks for sharing everyone. Glad I’m not alone!

    Comment by Dan Schawbel — April 5, 2008 #

  9. Thanks, Dan. I look forward to that post, too! It’s a fun series.

    Comment by Natasha — April 6, 2008 #

  10. [...] #3 – Men who wear pink are homosexual [...]

    Pingback by Personal Brand Stereotypes #8: Choose Your Major Wisely « Personal Branding Blog - Dan Schawbel — April 14, 2008 #

  11. I find some of the responses on this quite hilarious. I have two pink shirts, I have a cerise tie (thats right cerise) and I even presented on a ten part series for students here on UK TV wearing a pink jumper.

    Maybe I dont get hassle because pink suits my lovely chocolate brown skin! LOL.

    I think those who have hang ups about whether or not is homosexual have their own issues. I am heterosexual but if someone wants to think that I am gay because I wear pink then they just have to build a bridge and get over it. Brand Dave still remains strong.

    Comment by David McQueen — May 21, 2008 #

  12. I can’t bring my self to do it – I keep trying but fail at pulling on the pink shirt – any tips?

    Comment by Louis — January 30, 2009 #


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