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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
Lifestyle
Jo Khan

My petty gripe: Using pink to denote ‘HARK, THIS BE A WOMAN’ is beyond the power of my lady brain to comprehend

A pink Pantone card on fire in front of a pink background
‘The most enraging part of the pink-equals-woman agenda is that sometimes, when there are options, I actually want to choose the pink.’ Illustration: Victoria Hart

A few years ago I wandered through a large motorcycle store in search of a nice leather jacket. I wanted something classic. Simple, cafe-racer vibes, black or brown – no frills, literal or figurative. Easy, right?

At the back of the shop I found the (limited) women’s range and nearly threw up in my mouth. It’s no wonder these jackets were tucked away. Was that … an embroidered flower? Some flowing cursive script? Why, for the love of two-wheeled transportation everywhere, would I want pink on my motorbike jacket?

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