Pink Lincolns Split
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Pink is a pale tint of
red Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–750 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a seconda ...
, the color of the pink flower. It was first used as a
color Color (or colour in English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English; American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, see spelling differences) is the visual perception based on the electromagnetic spectrum. Though co ...
name in the late 17th century. According to surveys in Europe and the United States, pink is the color most often associated with charm, politeness, sensitivity, tenderness, sweetness, childhood, femininity, and
romance Romance may refer to: Common meanings * Romance (love), emotional attraction towards another person and the courtship behaviors undertaken to express the feelings ** Romantic orientation, the classification of the sex or gender with which a pers ...
. A combination of pink and white is associated with innocence, whereas a combination of pink and black links to eroticism and
seduction In sexuality, seduction means enticing someone else into sexual intercourse or Human sexual activity, other sexual activity. Strategies of seduction include conversation and Sexual script theory, sexual scripts, paralanguage, paralingual featur ...
. In the 21st century, pink is seen as a symbol of femininity, though it has not always been seen this way. In the 1920s,
light red Varieties of the color red may differ in hue, chroma (also called saturation, intensity, or colorfulness), lightness (or value, tone, or brightness), or in two or three of these qualities. Variations in value are also called tints and shades, a ...
, which is similar to pink, was seen as a color that reflected
masculinity Masculinity (also called manhood or manliness) is a set of attributes, behaviors, and roles generally associated with men and boys. Masculinity can be theoretically understood as Social construction of gender, socially constructed, and there i ...
.


In nature and culture

File:Color icon pink v2.svg, Various shades of pink File:Dianthus.jpg, The color pink takes its name from the flowers called pinks, members of the genus ''
Dianthus ''Dianthus'' ( ) is a genus of about 340 species of flowering plants in the family Caryophyllaceae, native mainly to Europe and Asia, with a few species in north Africa and in southern Africa, and one species (''D. repens'') in arctic North Am ...
''. File:Rosa Queen Elizabeth1ZIXIETTE.jpg, In most European languages, pink is known as ''rose'' or ''rosa'', after the
rose A rose is either a woody perennial plant, perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred Rose species, species and Garden roses, tens of thousands of cultivar ...
flower. File:Cherry blossoms in the Tsutsujigaoka Park.jpg, Cherry blossoms in Sendai, Miyagi, Japan. In Japanese the word for cherry blossom pink is (), and peach blossoms (). File:Greater Flamingoes (Phoenicopterus roseus) after taking off W2 IMG 9857.jpg, Greater pink
flamingo Flamingos or flamingoes () are a type of wading bird in the family Phoenicopteridae, which is the only extant family in the order Phoenicopteriformes. There are four flamingo species distributed throughout the Americas (including the Caribbe ...
es in flight over Pocharam Lake in
Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...
, India. File:Barite-Rhodochrosite-tcm01a.jpg,
Rhodochrosite Rhodochrosite is a manganese carbonate mineral with chemical composition Manganese(II) carbonate, MnCO3. In its pure form (rare), it is typically a rose-red colour, but it can also be shades of pink to pale brown. It Streak (mineralogy), streak ...
is one of the many pink gemstones.


Etymology and definitions

The color pink is named after the flowers, pinks,
flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...
s in the genus ''
Dianthus ''Dianthus'' ( ) is a genus of about 340 species of flowering plants in the family Caryophyllaceae, native mainly to Europe and Asia, with a few species in north Africa and in southern Africa, and one species (''D. repens'') in arctic North Am ...
,'' and derives from the frilled edge of the flowers. The verb "to pink" dates from the 14th century and means "to decorate with a perforated or punched pattern" (possibly from German ''picken'', "to peck"). It has survived to the current day in ''
pinking shears Pinking shears are scissors with saw-toothed blades instead of straight blades. They produce a zigzag pattern instead of a straight edge. Before pinking scissors were invented, a pinking punch or pinking iron was used to punch out a decorative ...
'', hand-held scissors that cut a zig-zagged line to prevent fraying.


History, art and fashion

The color pink has been described in literature since ancient times. In the ''
Odyssey The ''Odyssey'' (; ) is one of two major epics of ancient Greek literature attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest surviving works of literature and remains popular with modern audiences. Like the ''Iliad'', the ''Odyssey'' is divi ...
'', written in approximately 800 BCE,
Homer Homer (; , ; possibly born ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Despite doubts about his autho ...
wrote "Then, when the child of morning, rosy-fingered dawn appeared..." Roman poets also described the color. '' Roseus'' is the
Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
word meaning " rosy" or "pink."
Lucretius Titus Lucretius Carus ( ; ;  – October 15, 55 BC) was a Roman poet and philosopher. His only known work is the philosophical poem '' De rerum natura'', a didactic work about the tenets and philosophy of Epicureanism, which usually is t ...
used the word to describe the
dawn Dawn is the time that marks the beginning of twilight before sunrise. It is recognized by the diffuse sky radiation, appearance of indirect sunlight being Rayleigh scattering, scattered in Earth's atmosphere, when the centre of the Sun's disc ha ...
in his
epic poem In poetry, an epic is a lengthy narrative poem typically about the extraordinary deeds of extraordinary characters who, in dealings with gods or other superhuman forces, gave shape to the mortal universe for their descendants. With regard to ...
''On the Nature of Things'' (''
De rerum natura (; ''On the Nature of Things'') is a first-century BC Didacticism, didactic poem by the Roman Republic, Roman poet and philosopher Lucretius () with the goal of explaining Epicureanism, Epicurean philosophy to a Roman audience. The poem, writte ...
''). Pink was not a common color in the fashion of the Middle Ages; nobles usually preferred brighter reds, such as
crimson Crimson is a rich, deep red color, inclining to purple. It originally meant the color of the kermes dye produced from a scale insect, '' Kermes vermilio'', but the name is now sometimes also used as a generic term for slightly bluish-red col ...
. However, it did appear in women's fashion and religious art. In the 13th and 14th centuries, in works by
Cimabue Giovanni Cimabue ( , ; – 1302), Translated with an introduction and notes by J.C. and P Bondanella. Oxford: Oxford University Press (Oxford World's Classics), 1991, pp. 7–14. . also known as Cenni di Pepo or Cenni di Pepi, was an Italian p ...
and
Duccio Duccio di Buoninsegna ( , ; – ), commonly known as just Duccio, was an Italian painter active in Siena, Tuscany, in the late 13th and early 14th century. He was hired throughout his life to complete many important works in government and religi ...
, the Christ child was sometimes portrayed dressed in pink, the color associated with the body of Christ. In the high Renaissance painting the ''
Madonna of the Pinks The ''Madonna of the Pinks'' (c. 1506 – 1507, ) is an early devotional painting usually attributed to Italian Renaissance master Raphael. It is painted in oils on highly toxic yew wood, a first for a Raphael, and now hangs in the National Galler ...
'' by
Raphael Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino (; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), now generally known in English as Raphael ( , ), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of paintings by Raphael, His work is admired for its cl ...
, the Christ child is presenting a pink flower to the
Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...
. The pink was a symbol of marriage, showing a spiritual marriage between the mother and child. During the Renaissance, pink was mainly used for the flesh color of
white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
faces and hands. The pigment commonly used for this was called light cinabrese; it was a mixture of the red earth pigment called
sinopia Sinopia (also known as sinoper, named after the now Turkish city Sinop, Turkey, Sinop) is a dark reddish-brown natural earth pigment, whose reddish colour comes from hematite, a dehydrated form of iron oxide. It was widely used in Classical A ...
, or
Venetian red Venetian red is a light and warm (somewhat unsaturated) pigment that is a darker shade of red. The composition of Venetian red changed over time. Originally it consisted of natural ferric oxide (Fe2O3, partially hydrated) obtained from the red ...
, and a white pigment called ''Bianco San Genovese'', or lime white. In his famous 15th century manual on painting, ''Il Libro Dell'Arte'',
Cennino Cennini Cennino d'Andrea Cennini (; – before 1427) was an Italian painter influenced by Giotto. He was a student of Agnolo Gaddi in Florence. Gaddi trained under his father, called Taddeo Gaddi, who trained with Giotto. He is remembered mainly f ...
described it this way: "This pigment is made from the loveliest and lightest sinopia that is found and is mixed and mulled with St. John's white, as it is called in Florence; and this white is made from thoroughly white and thoroughly purified lime. And when these two pigments have been thoroughly mulled together (that is, two parts cinabrese and the third white), make little loaves of them like half walnuts and leave them to dry. When you need some, take however much of it seems appropriate. And this pigment does you great credit if you use it for painting faces, hands, and nudes on walls..." File:East in Libadakia, Serifos, Greece.jpg, The Greek poet
Homer Homer (; , ; possibly born ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Despite doubts about his autho ...
wrote of "the child of morning, rose-fingered dawn" in the ''
Odyssey The ''Odyssey'' (; ) is one of two major epics of ancient Greek literature attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest surviving works of literature and remains popular with modern audiences. Like the ''Iliad'', the ''Odyssey'' is divi ...
''. Sunrise at
Serifos Serifos () is a Greek island in the Aegean Sea, located in the western Cyclades, south of Kythnos and northwest of Sifnos. It is part of the Milos regional unit. The area is and the population was 1,241 at the 2021 census. It is located about ...
, Greece. File:Cimabue, The Virgin and Child Enthroned with Two Angels.jpg, In the early Renaissance, the infant Jesus was sometimes shown dressed in pink, the color associated with the body of Christ. This is ''The Virgin and Child Enthroned with Two Angels'', by
Cimabue Giovanni Cimabue ( , ; – 1302), Translated with an introduction and notes by J.C. and P Bondanella. Oxford: Oxford University Press (Oxford World's Classics), 1991, pp. 7–14. . also known as Cenni di Pepo or Cenni di Pepi, was an Italian p ...
. (1265–1280) File:Duccio di Buoninsegna - Madonna and Child (no. 593) - WGA06706.jpg, In the 1280s,
Duccio Duccio di Buoninsegna ( , ; – ), commonly known as just Duccio, was an Italian painter active in Siena, Tuscany, in the late 13th and early 14th century. He was hired throughout his life to complete many important works in government and religi ...
also painted the Christ child dressed in pink File:Kneeling knight received a swan-crested helmet.jpg, A knight in red receiving a helmet from a damsel in pink, from an English manuscript of ''The Romance of Alexander'' (1338–1344). File:Raphael Madonna of the Pinks.jpg, In the painting ''
Madonna of the Pinks The ''Madonna of the Pinks'' (c. 1506 – 1507, ) is an early devotional painting usually attributed to Italian Renaissance master Raphael. It is painted in oils on highly toxic yew wood, a first for a Raphael, and now hangs in the National Galler ...
'' by
Raphael Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino (; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), now generally known in English as Raphael ( , ), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of paintings by Raphael, His work is admired for its cl ...
, c. 1506–07, the Christ Child gives a pink flower to the
Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...
, symbolizing the union between the mother and child.


18th century

Pink was particularly championed by
Madame de Pompadour Jeanne Antoinette Poisson, Marquise de Pompadour (, ; 29 December 1721 – 15 April 1764), commonly known as Madame de Pompadour, was a member of the French court. She was the official chief mistress of King Louis XV from 1745 to 1751, and rema ...
(1721–1764), the mistress of King
Louis XV of France Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reached maturity (then defi ...
, who wore combinations of pale blue and pink, and had a particular tint of pink made for her by the Sevres porcelain factory, created by adding nuances of blue, black and yellow. While pink was quite evidently the color of seduction in the portraits made by George Romney of
Emma, Lady Hamilton Dame Emma Hamilton (born Amy Lyon; 26 April 176515 January 1815), known upon moving to London as Emma Hart, and upon marriage as Lady Hamilton, was an English maid, model, dancer and actress. She began her career in London's demi-monde, beco ...
, the future mistress of Admiral
Horatio Nelson Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronte ( – 21 October 1805) was a Royal Navy officer whose leadership, grasp of strategy and unconventional tactics brought about a number of decisive British naval victories during the French ...
, in the late 18th century, it had the completely opposite meaning in the portrait of Sarah Barrett Moulton painted by
Thomas Lawrence Sir Thomas Lawrence (13 April 1769 – 7 January 1830) was an English people, English portrait painter and the fourth president of the Royal Academy. A child prodigy, he was born in Bristol and began drawing in Devizes, where his father was a ...
in 1794. In this painting, it symbolized childhood, innocence and tenderness. Sarah Moulton was just eleven years of age when the picture was painted, and died the following year. File:Boucher, François - Marquise de Pompadour at the Toilet-Table.jpg,
Madame de Pompadour Jeanne Antoinette Poisson, Marquise de Pompadour (, ; 29 December 1721 – 15 April 1764), commonly known as Madame de Pompadour, was a member of the French court. She was the official chief mistress of King Louis XV from 1745 to 1751, and rema ...
, the mistress of
Louis XV of France Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reached maturity (then defi ...
, made pink and blue the leading fashion colors in the Court of Versailles. She had a special pink tint created for her by the Sevres porcelain factory. This portrait by
François Boucher François Boucher ( , ; ; 29 September 1703 – 30 May 1770) was a French painter, draughtsman and etcher, who worked in the Rococo style. Boucher is known for his idyllic and voluptuous paintings on classical themes, decorative allegories ...
was painted in 1758. File:Galerie des Modes 3.jpg, Pink had become a popular color throughout Europe by the late 18th century. It was associated with both romanticism and seduction. This fashion plate is from 1778 to 1787. File:George Romney - Lady Hamilton (as a Bacchante) 3.jpg,
Emma, Lady Hamilton Dame Emma Hamilton (born Amy Lyon; 26 April 176515 January 1815), known upon moving to London as Emma Hart, and upon marriage as Lady Hamilton, was an English maid, model, dancer and actress. She began her career in London's demi-monde, beco ...
, later the mistress of Admiral
Horatio Nelson Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronte ( – 21 October 1805) was a Royal Navy officer whose leadership, grasp of strategy and unconventional tactics brought about a number of decisive British naval victories during the French ...
, had herself painted by English painter George Romney posing as a
Bacchante In Greek mythology, maenads (; ) were the female followers of Dionysus and the most significant members of his retinue, the ''thiasus''. Their name, which comes from μαίνομαι (''maínomai'', “to rave, to be mad; to rage, to be angry ...
, dressed in pink. (1782–1784) File:Pinkie detailed.jpg, The portrait of Sarah Moulton, popularly known as "Pinkie", by Sir
Thomas Lawrence Sir Thomas Lawrence (13 April 1769 – 7 January 1830) was an English people, English portrait painter and the fourth president of the Royal Academy. A child prodigy, he was born in Bristol and began drawing in Devizes, where his father was a ...
(1794). Here pink represented youth, innocence and tenderness. File:D'Holbach.jpg, Paul-Henri Thiry, Baron d'Holbach by
Louis Carmontelle Louis Carrogis Carmontelle (15 August 1717 – 26 December 1806) was a French dramatist, painter, architect, set designer, author, and designer of one of the earliest examples of the French landscape garden, Parc Monceau in Paris. He also invent ...
. Pink was worn regardless of gender.


19th century

In 19th century England, pink ribbons or decorations were often worn by young boys; boys were simply considered small men, and while men in England wore red uniforms, boys wore pink. In fact the clothing for children in the 19th century was almost always white, since, before the invention of chemical dyes, clothing of any color would quickly fade when washed in boiling water. Queen Victoria was painted in 1850 with her seventh child and third son, Prince Arthur, who wore white and pink. In late nineteenth-century France, Impressionist painters working in a pastel color palette sometimes depicted women wearing the color pink, such as
Edgar Degas Edgar Degas (, ; born Hilaire-Germain-Edgar De Gas, ; 19 July 183427 September 1917) was a French Impressionist artist famous for his pastel drawings and oil paintings. Degas also produced bronze sculptures, prints, and drawings. Degas is e ...
' image of ballet dancers or
Mary Cassatt Mary Stevenson Cassatt (; May 22, 1844June 14, 1926) was an American painter and printmaker. She was born in Allegheny, Pennsylvania (now part of Pittsburgh's North Side (Pittsburgh), North Side), but lived much of her adult life in France, whe ...
's images of women and children. File:Queen Victoria with Prince Arthur.jpg,
Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...
in 1850 or 1851 with her third son and seventh child, Prince Arthur. In the 19th century, baby boys often wore white and pink. Pink was seen as a masculine color, while girls often wore white and blue. File:American School, Young Boy with Whip, ca. 1840.jpg, Young boy in pink, American school of painting (about 1840). Both girls and boys wore pink in the 19th century. File:Princesaleopoldina.jpg,
Princess Leopoldina of Brazil Princess Leopoldina of Brazil (Leopoldina Teresa Francisca Carolina Miguela Gabriela Rafaela Gonzaga; 13 July 1847 – 7 February 1871) was the daughter of Emperor Pedro II and Empress Teresa Cristina. She shared the first name of her grandmot ...
in pink gown (1853) File:Edgar Germain Hilaire Degas 079.jpg, ''Dancers in pink, between scenes''. Edgar Degas File:Claude Monet - Springtime - Google Art Project.jpg, The Impressionist painter
Claude Monet Oscar-Claude Monet (, ; ; 14 November 1840 – 5 December 1926) was a French painter and founder of Impressionism painting who is seen as a key precursor to modernism, especially in his attempts to paint nature as he perceived it. During his ...
used pink, blue and green to capture the effects of light and shadows on a white dress in '' Springtime'' (1872). File:Girl in a Bonnet Tied with a Large Pink Bow by Mary Cassatt.jpg, Mary Cassatt, ''Girl in a Bonnet Tied with a Large Pink Bow'', 1909. Oil on canvas (68 x 57.2 cm). Private Collection.


20th century - present

A dress parade, held in 1949, at the famous Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York, caused a stir among attendees due to the vibrant pink tones in the dresses and garments. The journalists and critics of the time, seeking to know Mexican designer Ramón Valdiosera's inspiration, asked him about the origin of the color. The artist simply replied that that pink was already part of Mexican culture, which the New York fashion critic Perle Mesta then described as Mexican Pink. The First inauguration of Dwight D. Eisenhower (1953), when Eisenhower's wife
Mamie Eisenhower Mary Geneva "Mamie" Eisenhower (; November 14, 1896 – November 1, 1979) was First Lady of the United States from 1953 to 1961 as the wife of President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Born in Boone, Iowa, she was raised in a wealthy household in Colo ...
wore a pink dress as her inaugural gown, is thought to have been a key turning point in the association of pink as a color associated with girls. Mamie's strong liking of pink led to the public association with pink being a color that "ladylike women wear." The 1957 American musical ''
Funny Face ''Funny Face'' is a 1957 American musical romantic comedy film directed by Stanley Donen and written by Leonard Gershe, containing assorted songs by George and Ira Gershwin. Although having the same title as the 1927 Broadway musical ''Funny ...
'' also played a role in cementing the color's association with women.Archived a
Ghostarchive
and th
Wayback Machine
In the 20th century, pinks became bolder, brighter, and more assertive, partly because of the invention of chemical dyes that did not fade. The pioneer in the creation of the new wave of pinks was the Italian designer
Elsa Schiaparelli Elsa Schiaparelli ( , , ; 10 September 1890 – 13 November 1973) was an Italian fashion designer from an Italian nobility, aristocratic background. She created the Schiaparelli (fashion house), house of Schiaparelli in Paris in 1927, which she ...
(1890–1973), who was aligned with the artists of the
surrealist Surrealism is an art movement, art and cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists aimed to allow the unconscious mind to express itself, often resulting in the depiction of illogical or dreamlike s ...
movement, including
Jean Cocteau Jean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau ( , ; ; 5 July 1889 11 October 1963) was a French poet, playwright, novelist, designer, film director, visual artist and critic. He was one of the foremost avant-garde artists of the 20th-c ...
. In 1931 she created a new variety of the color, called
shocking pink Pink colors are usually light or desaturated shades of Red, reds, Rose (color), roses, and Magenta, magentas which are created on computer and television screens using the RGB color model and in printing with the CMYK color model. As such, it ...
, made by mixing
magenta Magenta () is a purple-red color. On color wheels of the RGB color model, RGB (additive) and subtractive color, CMY (subtractive) color models, it is located precisely midway between blue and red. It is one of the four colors of ink used in colo ...
with a small amount of white. She launched a perfume called Shocking, sold in a bottle in the shape of a woman's torso, said to be modelled on that of
Mae West Mary Jane "Mae" West (August 17, 1893 – November 22, 1980) was an American actress, singer, comedian, screenwriter, and playwright whose career spanned more than seven decades. Recognized as a prominent sex symbol of her time, she was known ...
. Her fashions, co-designed with artists like Cocteau, featured the new pinks. In
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...
in the 1930s and 1940s, inmates of
Nazi concentration camps From 1933 to 1945, Nazi Germany operated more than a thousand concentration camps (), including subcamp (SS), subcamps on its own territory and in parts of German-occupied Europe. The first camps were established in March 1933 immediately af ...
who were accused of
homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or Human sexual activity, sexual behavior between people of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexu ...
were forced to wear a
pink triangle A pink triangle is a symbol for the LGBT community. Initially intended as a badge of shame, it was later reappropriated as a positive symbol of self-identity. It originated in Nazi Germany in the 1930s and 1940s as one of the Nazi concentratio ...
. Because of this, the pink triangle has become a symbol of the modern
gay rights movement Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) movements are social movements that advocate for LGBTQ people in society. Although there is not a primary or an overarching central organization that represents all LGBTQ people and their i ...
. The transition to pink as a sexually differentiating color for girls occurred gradually, through the selective process of the marketplace, in the 1930s and 40s. In the 1920s, some groups had described pink as a masculine color, an equivalent to red, which was considered for men but lighter for boys. But stores nonetheless found that people were increasingly choosing to buy pink for girls, and blue for boys, until this became an accepted norm in the 1940s. File:mamie eisenhower.gif, Mamie Eisenhower in her pink inaugural gown, painted in 1953 by Thomas Stevens File:Shocking Pink Schiaparelli.jpg, Shocking pink, a mix of magenta with a little white, was the signature color of Italian fashion designer
Elsa Schiaparelli Elsa Schiaparelli ( , , ; 10 September 1890 – 13 November 1973) was an Italian fashion designer from an Italian nobility, aristocratic background. She created the Schiaparelli (fashion house), house of Schiaparelli in Paris in 1927, which she ...
. File:Dinner in Honor of Andre Malraux.jpg,
Jacqueline Kennedy Jacqueline Lee Kennedy Onassis ( ; July 28, 1929 – May 19, 1994) was an American writer, book editor, and socialite who served as the first lady of the United States from 1961 to 1963, as the wife of President John F. Kennedy. A popular f ...
, the wife of President
John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...
, made pink a popular high-fashion color. File:Gentlemen Prefer Blondes Movie Trailer Screenshot (34).jpg, Pink combined with black or violet is associated with seduction.
Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe ( ; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; June 1, 1926 August 4, 1962) was an American actress and model. Known for playing comic "Blonde stereotype#Blonde bombshell, blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex ...
in the trailer for the film '' Gentlemen Prefer Blondes'' (1953). File:Kelly Sullivan at the Oscars.jpg, Pink
lipstick Lipstick is a cosmetics, cosmetic product used to apply coloration and texture to lips, often made of wax and oil. Different pigments are used to produce color, and minerals such as silica may be used to provide texture. The use of lipstick ...
is thought to attract attention and harmonize with flesh colors, clothes, and fashion accessories. File:DebrettevillePink.jpg, Detail of "Pink," a poster created by Sheila de Bretteville in 1973. It was meant to explore the notions of gender associated with the color pink for an
American Institute of Graphic Arts The American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) is a professional organization for design. Its members practice all forms of communication design, including graphic design, typography, interaction design, user experience, branding and identity. The ...
exhibition about color. File:Royal Wedding Stockholm 2010-Lejonbacken-012 (cropped).jpg,
Queen Silvia of Sweden Silvia (born Silvia Renate Sommerlath; 23 December 1943) is Queen of Sweden as the wife of King Carl XVI Gustaf. She has held this title since her marriage to Carl XVI Gustaf in 1976. The king and queen have three children: Crown Princess Vict ...
wearing a pink dress and the Pink Topaz Demi-Parure paired with a diamond tiara, 2010


Science and nature


Optics

In optics, the word "pink" can refer to any of the pale shades of colors between bluish
red Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–750 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a seconda ...
to red in hue, of medium to high lightness, and of low to moderate
saturation Saturation, saturated, unsaturation or unsaturated may refer to: Chemistry *Saturated and unsaturated compounds, a classification of compounds related to their ability to resist addition reactions ** Degree of unsaturation **Saturated fat or satu ...
. Although pink is generally considered a
tint In color theory, a tint is a mixture of a color with white, which increases lightness, while a shade is a mixture with black, which increases darkness. A tone is produced either by mixing a color with gray, or by both tinting and shading. ...
of red, the colors of most tints of pink are slightly bluish, and lie between red and
magenta Magenta () is a purple-red color. On color wheels of the RGB color model, RGB (additive) and subtractive color, CMY (subtractive) color models, it is located precisely midway between blue and red. It is one of the four colors of ink used in colo ...
. A few variations of pink, such as salmon color, lean toward orange.


Sunrises and sunsets

As a ray of white sunlight travels through the atmosphere, some of the colors are scattered out of the beam by air molecules and
airborne particles Particulate matter (PM) or particulates are microscopic particles of solid or liquid matter suspended in the air. An ''aerosol'' is a mixture of particulates and air, as opposed to the particulate matter alone, though it is sometimes defined ...
. This is called
Rayleigh scattering Rayleigh scattering ( ) is the scattering or deflection of light, or other electromagnetic radiation, by particles with a size much smaller than the wavelength of the radiation. For light frequencies well below the resonance frequency of the scat ...
. Colors with a shorter wavelength, such as blue and green, scatter more strongly, and are removed from the light that finally reaches the eye. At
sunrise Sunrise (or sunup) is the moment when the upper rim of the Sun appears on the horizon in the morning, at the start of the Sun path. The term can also refer to the entire process of the solar disk crossing the horizon. Terminology Although the S ...
and
sunset Sunset (or sundown) is the disappearance of the Sun at the end of the Sun path, below the horizon of the Earth (or any other astronomical object in the Solar System) due to its Earth's rotation, rotation. As viewed from everywhere on Earth, it ...
, when the path of the sunlight through the atmosphere to the eye is longest, the blue and green components are removed almost completely, leaving the longer wavelength orange, red and pink light. The remaining pinkish sunlight can also be scattered by cloud droplets and other relatively large particles, which give the sky above the horizon a pink or reddish glow. File:Sunrise in Southeast Alaska - NOAA.jpg, Sunrise in southeast Alaska. Sunsets and sunrises are sometimes pink because of an optical effect called
Rayleigh scattering Rayleigh scattering ( ) is the scattering or deflection of light, or other electromagnetic radiation, by particles with a size much smaller than the wavelength of the radiation. For light frequencies well below the resonance frequency of the scat ...
. File:Sunset in santa monica.jpg, Sunset in
Santa Monica, California Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...
.


Geology

File:Topaz-170679.jpg, Pink
topaz Topaz is a silicate mineral made of aluminium, aluminum and fluorine with the chemical formula aluminium, Alsilicon, Sioxygen, O(fluorine, F, hydroxide, OH). It is used as a gemstone in jewelry and other adornments. Common topaz in its natural ...
from
Ouro Preto Ouro Preto (, ), formerly Vila Rica (, ), is a Municipalities of Brazil, municipality in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. The city, a former Brazilian Gold Rush, colonial mining town located in the Serra do Espinhaço mountains, was designated a ...
, Brazil. File:Corundum-215337.jpg,
Corundum Corundum is a crystalline form of aluminium oxide () typically containing traces of iron, titanium, vanadium, and chromium. It is a rock (geology), rock-forming mineral. It is a naturally transparency and translucency, transparent material, but ...
, or pink sapphire, from the
Dodoma Region Dodoma Region (''Mkoa wa Dodoma'' in Swahili language, Swahili) is one of Tanzania's 31 administrative Regions of Tanzania, regions. The regional capital is the city of Dodoma, which is also the capital of Tanzania. Dodoma region is located in c ...
of
Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...
File:Calcite-163756.jpg,
Calcite Calcite is a Carbonate minerals, carbonate mineral and the most stable Polymorphism (materials science), polymorph of calcium carbonate (CaCO3). It is a very common mineral, particularly as a component of limestone. Calcite defines hardness 3 on ...
from Bou Azzer,
Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...
File:Barite-Rhodochrosite-tcm01a.jpg,
Barite Baryte, barite or barytes ( or ) is a mineral consisting of barium sulfate (Ba S O4). Baryte is generally white or colorless, and is the main source of the element barium. The ''baryte group'' consists of baryte, celestine (strontium sulfate), ...
-
Rhodochrosite Rhodochrosite is a manganese carbonate mineral with chemical composition Manganese(II) carbonate, MnCO3. In its pure form (rare), it is typically a rose-red colour, but it can also be shades of pink to pale brown. It Streak (mineralogy), streak ...
from the
Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Guangxi,; officially the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China, located in South China and bordering Vietnam ( Hà Giang, Cao Bằng, Lạng Sơn, and Quảng Ninh Provinces) and the ...
in China. File:Clinochlore-tuc1030y.jpg,
Clinochlore The chlorites are the group of phyllosilicate minerals common in low-grade metamorphic rocks and in altered igneous rocks. Greenschist, formed by metamorphism of basalt or other low-silica volcanic rock, typically contains significant amounts ...
from Erzerum Province, Turkey File:Raw rose quartz.jpg, alt=Rough rose quartz, Rough
rose quartz Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silica (silicon dioxide). The atoms are linked in a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon–oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall chemical f ...
File:Quad Riding sand (3662075336).jpg,
Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park is a state park in southwestern Utah, United States, located between Mount Carmel Junction and Kanab, south and west of U.S. Highway 89 in Kane County. The park features uniquely pink-hued sand dunes located ...
in
Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...
. The color is from Navajo Sandstone, reddish hematite mixed with white quartz grains File:Angels Landing 17 (4211104246).jpg, Angel's Landing in
Zion National Park Zion National Park is a national park of the United States located in southwestern Utah near the town of Springdale. Located at the junction of the Colorado Plateau, Great Basin, and Mojave Desert regions, the park has a unique geography and a ...
in
Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...
is made of pink sandstone. File:Plage de sable rose à Tikehau.JPG, A pink sand beach on
Tikehau Tikehau (meaning ''Peaceful Landing'' in TuamotuanOfficial Tikehau Tourism Site< ...
in
French Polynesia French Polynesia ( ; ; ) is an overseas collectivity of France and its sole #Governance, overseas country. It comprises 121 geographically dispersed islands and atolls stretching over more than in the Pacific Ocean, South Pacific Ocean. The t ...


Biology

File:Strigilla carnaria.jpg, A Strigilla carnaria shell from
Dominica Dominica, officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island country in the Caribbean. It is part of the Windward Islands chain in the Lesser Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean Sea. The capital, Roseau, is located on the western side of t ...
, in the
West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...
. File:Frogfish ocellated.jpg, An Ocelated frogfish ( Antennarius ocellatus), from
East Timor Timor-Leste, also known as East Timor, officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is a country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the coastal exclave of Oecusse in the island's northwest, and ...
. The frogfish is camouflaged to look like a rock covered with algae or seaweed; it lies motionless and waits for its prey to come to it. File:Iggy pink.jpg, The pink iguana of the Galapagos Islands was first identified in 1986 and first recognized as a distinct
species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...
in 2009. File:Sousa chinensis head.jpg, The Pink Dolphin is a freshwater
river dolphin River dolphins are a polyphyletic group of fully aquatic mammals that reside exclusively in freshwater or brackish water. They are an informal grouping of dolphins, which itself is a paraphyletic group within the infraorder Cetacea. Extant rive ...
which lives in the
Orinoco The Orinoco () is one of the longest rivers in South America at . Its drainage basin, sometimes known as the Orinoquia, covers approximately 1 million km2, with 65% of it in Venezuela and 35% in Colombia. It is the List of rivers by discharge, f ...
,
Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology company * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek myth ...
and Araguaia/
Tocantins River The Tocantins River ( , Parkatêjê dialect, Parkatêjê: ''Pyti'' ɨˈti is a river in Brazil, the central fluvial artery of the country. In the Tupi language, its name means "toucan's beak" (''Tukã'' for "toucan" and ''Ti'' for "beak"). It ...
systems of
Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
,
Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...
,
Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...
,
Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...
,
Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...
and
Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...
. It is an
endangered species An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, inv ...
and has a brain 40% larger than a human's. File:2012-kruger-albino-elephant.jpg, The so-called "
white elephant A white elephant is a possession that its owner cannot dispose of without extreme difficulty, and whose cost, particularly that of maintenance, is out of proportion to its usefulness. In modern usage, it is a metaphor used to describe an object, ...
" is revered in several countries in
Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...
and is naturally pinkish gray. They are actually
albino Albinism is the congenital absence of melanin in an animal or plant resulting in white hair, feathers, scales and skin and reddish pink or blue eyes. Individuals with the condition are referred to as albinos. Varied use and interpretation of ...
elephants. File:Sow with piglet.jpg, The
pig The pig (''Sus domesticus''), also called swine (: swine) or hog, is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is named the domestic pig when distinguishing it from other members of the genus '' Sus''. Some authorities cons ...
has been domesticated over ten thousand years and selectively bred to have a pink skin, without
melanin Melanin (; ) is a family of biomolecules organized as oligomers or polymers, which among other functions provide the pigments of many organisms. Melanin pigments are produced in a specialized group of cells known as melanocytes. There are ...
, which farmers traditionally have preferred to a dark color. File:Flamingos Laguna Colorada.jpg,
Flamingo Flamingos or flamingoes () are a type of wading bird in the family Phoenicopteridae, which is the only extant family in the order Phoenicopteriformes. There are four flamingo species distributed throughout the Americas (including the Caribbe ...
es in
Laguna Colorada __NOTOC__ Laguna Colorada (''Red Lagoon'') is a shallow salt lake (geography), salt lake in the southwest of the altiplano of Bolivia, within Eduardo Avaroa Andean Fauna National Reserve and close to the border with Chile, notable for the Red, r ...
,
Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...
. The pink or reddish color of flamingos comes from
carotenoid Carotenoids () are yellow, orange, and red organic pigments that are produced by plants and algae, as well as several bacteria, archaea, and fungi. Carotenoids give the characteristic color to pumpkins, carrots, parsnips, corn, tomatoes, cana ...
proteins in their diet of animal and plant
plankton Plankton are the diverse collection of organisms that drift in Hydrosphere, water (or atmosphere, air) but are unable to actively propel themselves against ocean current, currents (or wind). The individual organisms constituting plankton are ca ...
. An unhealthy or malnourished flamingo, or one kept in captivity and not fed sufficient carotene, is usually pale or white. File:Roseate Spoonbill - Myakka River State Park.jpg, A
Roseate spoonbill The roseate spoonbill (''Platalea ajaja'') is a social wading bird of the ibis and spoonbill family, Threskiornithidae. It is a resident breeder in both South and North America. The roseate spoonbill's pink color is diet-derived, consisting of ...
in
Myakka River State Park Myakka River State Park is a Florida State Park, that is located east of Interstate 75 in Sarasota County and a portion of southeastern Manatee County on the Atlantic coastal plain. This state park consists of , making it one of the state's l ...
in
Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...
. Its pink color, like that of the flamingo, comes from the
carotenoid Carotenoids () are yellow, orange, and red organic pigments that are produced by plants and algae, as well as several bacteria, archaea, and fungi. Carotenoids give the characteristic color to pumpkins, carrots, parsnips, corn, tomatoes, cana ...
pigments in its diet. File:Lophochroa leadbeateri -Palmitos Park, Gran Canaria, Spain -mating-8a.jpg, The Lophochroa leadbeateri, commonly known as Major Mitchell's Cockatoo or the pink cockatoo, is a native of the arid interior regions of Australia. File:Lake Hillier 2 Middle Island Recherche Archipelago NR IV-2011.JPG,
Lake Hillier Lake Hillier is a saline lake on the edge of Middle Island, the largest of the islands and islets that make up the Recherche Archipelago in the Goldfields-Esperance region, off the south coast of Western Australia. It is particularly notable ...
, Australia, the color is caused by algae


Pink coloration of meat and seafood

Raw
beef Beef is the culinary name for meat from cattle (''Bos taurus''). Beef can be prepared in various ways; Cut of beef, cuts are often used for steak, which can be cooked to varying degrees of doneness, while trimmings are often Ground beef, grou ...
is red, because the muscles of
vertebrate Vertebrates () are animals with a vertebral column (backbone or spine), and a cranium, or skull. The vertebral column surrounds and protects the spinal cord, while the cranium protects the brain. The vertebrates make up the subphylum Vertebra ...
animals, such as cows and pigs, contain a
protein Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residue (biochemistry), residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including Enzyme catalysis, catalysing metab ...
called
myoglobin Myoglobin (symbol Mb or MB) is an iron- and oxygen-binding protein found in the cardiac and skeletal muscle, skeletal Muscle, muscle tissue of vertebrates in general and in almost all mammals. Myoglobin is distantly related to hemoglobin. Compar ...
, which binds oxygen and
iron Iron is a chemical element; it has symbol Fe () and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, forming much of Earth's o ...
atoms. When beef is cooked, the myoglobin proteins undergo oxidation, and gradually turn from red to pink to brown; that is, from rare to medium to well-done. Pork contains less myoglobin than beef and therefore is less red; when heated, it changes from pinkish-red to less pink to tan or white.
Ham Ham is pork from a leg cut that has been preserved by wet or dry curing, with or without smoking."Bacon: Bacon and Ham Curing" in '' Chambers's Encyclopædia''. London: George Newnes, 1961, Vol. 2, p. 39. As a processed meat, the term '' ...
, though it contains myoglobins like beef, undergoes a different transformation. Traditional hams, such as
prosciutto Prosciutto ( ; ), also known as ''prosciutto crudo'', is an uncooked, unsmoked, and dry-cured ham. It is usually served thinly sliced. Several regions in Italy have their own variations of ''prosciutto crudo'', each with degrees of protected ...
, are made by taking the hind leg or thigh of a pig, covering it with sea salt, which removes the moisture content, and then letting it dry or cure for as long as two years. The salt (
sodium nitrate Sodium nitrate is the chemical compound with the chemical formula, formula . This alkali metal nitrate salt (chemistry), salt is also known as Chile saltpeter (large deposits of which were historically mined in Chile) to distinguish it from ordi ...
) permits the ham to retain its original pink color, even when dried out. Supermarket hams are made by a different and faster process; they are brined, or infused with a salt-water solution, containing
sodium nitrite Sodium nitrite is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula . It is a white to slightly yellowish crystalline powder that is very soluble in water and is hygroscopic. From an industrial perspective, it is the most important nitrite sa ...
, which transfers
nitric oxide Nitric oxide (nitrogen oxide, nitrogen monooxide, or nitrogen monoxide) is a colorless gas with the formula . It is one of the principal oxides of nitrogen. Nitric oxide is a free radical: it has an unpaired electron, which is sometimes den ...
, which bonds with the myoglobin to form the traditional pink cured ham color. The shells and flesh of
crustacean Crustaceans (from Latin meaning: "those with shells" or "crusted ones") are invertebrate animals that constitute one group of arthropods that are traditionally a part of the subphylum Crustacea (), a large, diverse group of mainly aquatic arthrop ...
s such as
crab Crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura (meaning "short tailed" in Greek language, Greek), which typically have a very short projecting tail-like abdomen#Arthropoda, abdomen, usually hidden entirely under the Thorax (arthropo ...
s,
lobster Lobsters are Malacostraca, malacostracans Decapoda, decapod crustaceans of the family (biology), family Nephropidae or its Synonym (taxonomy), synonym Homaridae. They have long bodies with muscular tails and live in crevices or burrows on th ...
s and
shrimp A shrimp (: shrimp (American English, US) or shrimps (British English, UK)) is a crustacean with an elongated body and a primarily Aquatic locomotion, swimming mode of locomotion – typically Decapods belonging to the Caridea or Dendrobranchi ...
contain a pink
carotenoid Carotenoids () are yellow, orange, and red organic pigments that are produced by plants and algae, as well as several bacteria, archaea, and fungi. Carotenoids give the characteristic color to pumpkins, carrots, parsnips, corn, tomatoes, cana ...
pigment called
astaxanthin Astaxanthin is a keto- carotenoid within a group of chemical compounds known as carotenoids or terpenes. Astaxanthin is a metabolite of zeaxanthin and canthaxanthin, containing both hydroxyl and ketone functional groups. It is a lipid-solu ...
. Their shells, naturally blue-green, turn pink or red when cooked. The flesh of the
salmon Salmon (; : salmon) are any of several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the genera ''Salmo'' and ''Oncorhynchus'' of the family (biology), family Salmonidae, native ...
also contains astaxanthin, which makes it pink. Farm-bred salmon are sometimes fed these pigments to improve their pinkness, and it is sometimes also used to enhance the color of
egg yolk Among animals which produce eggs, the yolk (; also known as the vitellus) is the nutrient-bearing portion of the egg whose primary function is to supply food for the development of the embryo. Some types of egg contain no yolk, for example bec ...
s. File:Rostas (ready and served).JPG,
Roast beef Roast beef is a dish of beef that is roasted, generally served as the main dish of meal. In the Anglosphere, roast beef is one of the meats often served at Sunday lunch or dinner. Yorkshire pudding is a standard side dish. Sliced roast beef ...
gets its distinctive pink color from
myoglobin Myoglobin (symbol Mb or MB) is an iron- and oxygen-binding protein found in the cardiac and skeletal muscle, skeletal Muscle, muscle tissue of vertebrates in general and in almost all mammals. Myoglobin is distantly related to hemoglobin. Compar ...
, which gradually turns from red to pink to brown (rare to medium to well-done) when heated. File:Prosciutto.jpg, Prosciutto hams also get their pink color from salt combined with the natural protein called
myoglobin Myoglobin (symbol Mb or MB) is an iron- and oxygen-binding protein found in the cardiac and skeletal muscle, skeletal Muscle, muscle tissue of vertebrates in general and in almost all mammals. Myoglobin is distantly related to hemoglobin. Compar ...
. File:Shelled northern shrimp.jpg, The shells and flesh of steamed
shrimp A shrimp (: shrimp (American English, US) or shrimps (British English, UK)) is a crustacean with an elongated body and a primarily Aquatic locomotion, swimming mode of locomotion – typically Decapods belonging to the Caridea or Dendrobranchi ...
contain a natural
carotenoid Carotenoids () are yellow, orange, and red organic pigments that are produced by plants and algae, as well as several bacteria, archaea, and fungi. Carotenoids give the characteristic color to pumpkins, carrots, parsnips, corn, tomatoes, cana ...
pigment called
astaxanthin Astaxanthin is a keto- carotenoid within a group of chemical compounds known as carotenoids or terpenes. Astaxanthin is a metabolite of zeaxanthin and canthaxanthin, containing both hydroxyl and ketone functional groups. It is a lipid-solu ...
, which turns pink when heated. The same process turns cooked lobster and crab from blue-green to red when they are boiled. File:Asparagus with salmon.jpg, The meat of the
salmon Salmon (; : salmon) are any of several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the genera ''Salmo'' and ''Oncorhynchus'' of the family (biology), family Salmonidae, native ...
is also colored pink by the natural
carotenoid Carotenoids () are yellow, orange, and red organic pigments that are produced by plants and algae, as well as several bacteria, archaea, and fungi. Carotenoids give the characteristic color to pumpkins, carrots, parsnips, corn, tomatoes, cana ...
pigment called
astaxanthin Astaxanthin is a keto- carotenoid within a group of chemical compounds known as carotenoids or terpenes. Astaxanthin is a metabolite of zeaxanthin and canthaxanthin, containing both hydroxyl and ketone functional groups. It is a lipid-solu ...
.


Plants and flowers

Pink is one of the most common colors of flowers; it serves to attract the insects and birds necessary for
pollination Pollination is the transfer of pollen from an anther of a plant to the stigma (botany), stigma of a plant, later enabling fertilisation and the production of seeds. Pollinating agents can be animals such as insects, for example bees, beetles or bu ...
and perhaps also to deter predators. The color comes from natural pigments called
anthocyanins Anthocyanins (), also called anthocyans, are water-soluble vacuolar pigments that, depending on their pH, may appear red, purple, blue, or black. In 1835, the German pharmacist Ludwig Clamor Marquart named a chemical compound that gives flow ...
, which also provide the pink in
raspberries The raspberry is the edible fruit of several plant species in the genus ''Rubus'' of the Rosaceae, rose family, most of which are in the subgenus ''Rubus#Modern classification, Idaeobatus''. The name also applies to these plants themselves. Ras ...
. Pink_Rose_In_The_Rain_(216504571).jpg, A pink
rose A rose is either a woody perennial plant, perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred Rose species, species and Garden roses, tens of thousands of cultivar ...
in the rain. Clematite_chantily_01.JPG, A
clematis ''Clematis'' is a genus of about 380 species within the buttercup family, Ranunculaceae. Their garden hybrids and cultivars have been popular among gardeners, beginning with ''Clematis'' 'Jackmanii', a garden staple since 1862; more cultivars ...
Chantilly. Flickr_-_brewbooks_-_Pink_Hibiscus_-_Brisbane_(1).jpg, A pink
hibiscus ''Hibiscus'' is a genus of flowering plants in the Malva, mallow family, Malvaceae. The genus is quite large, comprising List of Hibiscus species, several hundred species that are Native plant, native to warm temperate, Subtropics, subtropical ...
from Australia. Tulip cv. 26.JPG, Pink
tulips Tulips are spring-blooming perennial herbaceous bulbiferous geophytes in the ''Tulipa'' genus. Their flowers are usually large, showy, and brightly coloured, generally red, orange, pink, yellow, or white. They often have a different coloure ...
in the botanical gardens of
Moscow State University Moscow State University (MSU), officially M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University,. is a public university, public research university in Moscow, Russia. The university includes 15 research institutes, 43 faculties, more than 300 departments, a ...
. Dahlia_-_%22Gilt_Edge%22_cultivar.jpg, A pink
dahlia ''Dahlia'' ( , ) is a genus of bushy, tuberous, herbaceous perennial plants native to Mexico and Central America. Dahlias are members of the Asteraceae (synonym name: Compositae) family of dicotyledonous plants, its relatives include the sun ...
Gemeine_Pfingstrose.JPG, A pink
peony The peony or paeony () is any flowering plant in the genus ''Paeonia'', the only genus in the family Paeoniaceae. Peonies are native to Asia, Europe, and Western North America. Scientists differ on the number of species that can be distinguish ...
. Magnolia 'Susan' 03.JPG, A flower of a
magnolia ''Magnolia'' is a large genus of about 210 to 340The number of species in the genus ''Magnolia'' depends on the taxonomic view that one takes up. Recent molecular and morphological research shows that former genera ''Talauma'', ''Dugandiodendr ...
tree Rhododendron_catawbiense_01.JPG, A pink
rhododendron ''Rhododendron'' (; : ''rhododendra'') is a very large genus of about 1,024 species of woody plants in the Ericaceae, heath family (Ericaceae). They can be either evergreen or deciduous. Most species are native to eastern Asia and the Himalayan ...
Spiraea_japonica_Alpina3.jpg, ''
Spiraea japonica ''Spiraea japonica'', the Japanese meadowsweet or Japanese spiraea, is a plant in the family Rosaceae. Synonyms for the species name are ''Spiraea bumalda'' Burv. and ''Spiraea japonica'' var. ''alpina'' Maxim. Description ''Spiraea japonica'' ...
'' flowers. Cerisier_du_Japon_Prunus_serrulata.jpg, A Japanese cherry tree (''
Prunus serrulata ''Prunus serrulata'' or Japanese cherry is a species of cherry tree that grows wild in Japan, China, Korea, Vietnam, Taiwan, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Philippines, Malaysia, Indones ...
'') in bloom. Hyazinthen.JPG, Pink
hyacinth ''Hyacinthus'' is a genus of bulbous herbs, and spring-blooming Perennial plant, perennials. They are fragrant flowering plants in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Scilloideae and are commonly called hyacinths (). The genus is native predomin ...
flowers Phlox paniculata.jpg, ''
Phlox paniculata ''Phlox paniculata'' is a species of flowering plant in the Polemoniaceae, phlox family (Polemoniaceae). It is native plant, native to parts of the eastern and central United States. It is extensively cultivated in temperate climate, temperate r ...
''


Pigments - Pinke

In the 17th century, the word ''pink'' or ''pinke'' was also used to describe a yellowish pigment, which was mixed with blue colors to yield greenish colors. Thomas Jenner's ''A Book of Drawing, Limning, Washing'' (1652) categorises "Pink &
blew "Blew" is a song by American rock band Nirvana, written by vocalist and guitarist Kurt Cobain. It is the first song on the band's debut album ''Bleach'', released in June 1989 by Sub Pop. The song was re-released on Tupelo Records as the title ...
bice Bice, from the French ''bis'', originally meaning dark-coloured, is a green or blue pigment. In French the terms ''vert bis'' and ''azur bis'' mean dark green and dark blue respectively. Bice pigments were generally prepared from basic copper ca ...
" amongst the
green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a com ...
s (p.  38), and specifies several admixtures of greenish colors made with pink—e.g. "Grasse-green is made of Pink and Bice, it is shadowed with
Indigo InterGlobe Aviation Limited (d/b/a IndiGo), is an India, Indian airline headquartered in Gurgaon, Haryana, India. It is the largest List of airlines of India, airline in India by passengers carried and fleet size, with a 64.1% domestic market ...
and Pink … French-green of Pink and Indico hadowed withIndico" (pp. 38–40). In
William Salmon William Salmon (2 June 1644–1713) was an English empiric doctor and a writer of medical texts. He advertised himself as a "Professor of Physick". Salmon held an equivocal place in the medical community. He led apothecaries in opposing atte ...
's ''Polygraphice'' (1673), "Pink yellow" is mentioned amongst the chief
yellow Yellow is the color between green and orange on the spectrum of light. It is evoked by light with a dominant wavelength of roughly 575585 nm. It is a primary color in subtractive color systems, used in painting or color printing. In t ...
pigments (p. 96), and the reader is instructed to mix it with either
Saffron Saffron () is a spice derived from the flower of '' Crocus sativus'', commonly known as the "saffron crocus". The vivid crimson stigma and styles, called threads, are collected and dried for use mainly as a seasoning and colouring agent ...
or
Ceruse Venetian ceruse or Venetian white, also known as and Spirits of Saturn, was a 16th-century cosmetic used as a skin whitener. It was in great demand and considered the best available at the time, supposedly containing the best quality white lea ...
for "sad" or "light" shades thereof, respectively.


Sonics

*
Pink noise Pink noise, noise, fractional noise or fractal noise is a signal (information theory), signal or process with a frequency spectrum such that the power spectral density (power per frequency interval) is inversely proportional to the frequenc ...
(), also known as 1/f noise, in
audio engineering Audio most commonly refers to sound, as it is transmitted in signal form. It may also refer to: Sound *Audio signal, an electrical representation of sound * Audio frequency, a frequency in the audio spectrum *Digital audio, representation of soun ...
is a signal or process with a frequency spectrum such that the power spectral density is proportional to the reciprocal of the frequency.


Lighting

*
Grow light A grow light is an electric light that can help plants grow. Grow lights either attempt to provide a light spectrum similar to that of the sun, or to provide a spectrum that is more tailored to the needs of the plants being cultivated (typically a ...
s often use a combination of red and blue wavelengths, which generally appear pink to the human eye. *Pink
neon sign In the signage industry, neon signs are electric signs lighted by long luminous gas-discharge tubes that contain rarefied neon or other gases. They are the most common use for neon lighting, which was first demonstrated in a modern form in Decem ...
s are generally produced using one of two different methods. One method is to use neon gas and a blue or purple phosphor, which generally produces a warmer (more reddish) or more intense shade of pink. Another method is to use an argon/mercury blend and a red phosphor, which generally produces a cooler (more purplish) or softer shade of pink. *Pink
LED A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor device that emits light when current flows through it. Electrons in the semiconductor recombine with electron holes, releasing energy in the form of photons. The color of the light (corresp ...
s can be produced using two methods, either with a blue LED using two phosphors (yellow for the first phosphor, and red, orange, or pink for the second), or by placing a pink dye on top of a white LED. Color shifting was a common issue with early pink LEDs, where the red, orange, or pink phosphors or dyes faded over time, causing the pink color to eventually shift towards white or blue. These issues have been mitigated by the more recent introduction of more fade-resistant phosphors.


Engineering

*Insulation manufactured by
Owens Corning Owens Corning is an American company that develops and produces insulation, roofing, and fiberglass composites and related products. It is the world's largest manufacturer of fiberglass composites. It was formed in 1935 as a partnership between ...
is dyed pink, with the
Pink Panther ''The Pink Panther'' is an American media franchise primarily focusing on a series of comedy-mystery films featuring an inept French police detective, Inspector Jacques Clouseau. The franchise began with the release of the film ''The Pink Panthe ...
as its corporate mascot. The company holds a trademark on the color pink for insulation products in order to prevent competitors from using it, and is the first company in the United States to trademark a color. *The United States
Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices The ''Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Streets and Highways'' (usually referred to as the ''Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices'', abbreviated MUTCD) is a document issued by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) of the Unit ...
specifies fluorescent pink as an optional color for
traffic sign Traffic signs or road signs are signs erected at the side of or above roads to give instructions or provide information to road users. The earliest signs were simple wooden or stone milestones. Later, signs with directional arms were introduc ...
s used for incident management as an alternative to the traditional orange in order to distinguish them from construction zone signs.


In symbolism and culture


Common associations and popularity

According to public opinion surveys in Europe and the United States, pink is the color most associated with charm, politeness, sensitivity, tenderness, sweetness, softness, childhood, the feminine, and the romantic. Although it did not have any strong negative associations in these surveys, few respondents chose pink as their favorite color. Pink was the favorite color of only two percent of respondents. There was a notable difference between men and women in regards to a preference for pink; three percent of women chose pink as their favorite color, compared with less than one percent of men. Many of the men surveyed were unable to even identify pink correctly, confusing it with
mauve Mauve ( ; ) is a pale purple color named after the mallow flower (French: ). The first use of the word ''mauve'' as a color was in 1796–1798 according to the ''Oxford English Dictionary'', but its use seems to have been rare before 1859. ...
. Pink was also more popular with older people than younger. In Japan, pink is the color most commonly associated with springtime due to the blooming cherry blossoms. This is different from surveys in the United States and Europe where
green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a com ...
is the color most associated with springtime.


Pink in other languages

In many languages, the word for the color pink is based on the name of the
rose A rose is either a woody perennial plant, perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred Rose species, species and Garden roses, tens of thousands of cultivar ...
flower; like ''rose'' in French; ''roze'' in Dutch; ''rosa'' in German, Latin, Portuguese, Catalan, Spanish, Italian, Swedish and Norwegian (
Nynorsk Nynorsk (; ) is one of the two official written standards of the Norwegian language, the other being Bokmål. From 12 May 1885, it became the state-sanctioned version of Ivar Aasen's standard Norwegian language (''Landsmål''), parallel to the Da ...
and
Bokmål Bokmål () (, ; ) is one of the official written standards for the Norwegian language, alongside Nynorsk. Bokmål is by far the most used written form of Norwegian today, as it is adopted by 85% to 90% of the population in Norway. There is no cou ...
); ''rozovyy/розовый'' in Russian; ''różowy'' in Polish; ורוד (''varód'') in Hebrew; গোলাপি (''golapi'') in Bangla; and गुलाबी (''gulābee'') in Hindi. In English "rose", too, often refers to both the flower and the color. In Danish, Faroese and Finnish, the color pink is described as a lighter shade of red: ''lyserød'' in Danish, ''ljósareyður'' in Faroese and ''vaaleanpunainen'' in Finnish, all meaning "light red". Similarly, some Celtic languages use a term meaning "whitish red": ''gwynnrudh'' in Cornish, ''bándearg'' in Irish, ''bane-yiarg'' in Manx, ''bàn-dhearg'' in Scottish Gaelic (which also uses ''liath-dhearg'' "greyish/pale red" and ''pinc'' from English). In Icelandic, the color is called ''bleikur'', originally meaning "pale". In the Japanese language, the traditional word for pink, , takes its name from the peach blossom. There is a separate word for the color of the cherry blossom: ''sakura-iro''. In recent times a word based on the English version, , has begun to be used. In Chinese, the color pink is named with a compound noun 粉紅色, meaning "powder red" where the powder refers to substances used for women's make-up. The Thai word for the color, ชมพู (''chom-puu''), derives ultimately from Sanskrit जम्बू (''jambū'') " rose apple".


Idioms and expressions

* In the pink. To be in top form, in good health, in good condition. In Romeo and Juliet, Mercutio says; "I am the very pink of courtesy." Romeo: Pink for flower? Mercutio: Right. Romeo: Then my pump is well flowered." * To see pink elephants means to hallucinate from alcoholism. The expression was used by American novelist
Jack London John Griffith London (; January 12, 1876 – November 22, 1916), better known as Jack London, was an American novelist, journalist and activist. A pioneer of commercial fiction and American magazines, he was one of the first American authors t ...
in his book ''
John Barleycorn "John Barleycorn" is an England, English and Scotland, Scottish folk song. The song's protagonist is John Barleycorn, a personification of barley and of the beer made from it. In the song, he suffers indignities, attacks, and death that corres ...
'' in 1913. * Pink slip. To be given a pink slip means to be fired or dismissed from a job. It was first recorded in 1915 in the United States. * The phrase "
pink-collar worker A pink-collar worker is someone working in the care-oriented career field or in fields historically considered to be women's work. This may include jobs in the beauty industry, nursing, social work, teaching, secretarial work, or child care. ...
" refers to persons working in jobs conventionally regarded as "
women's work Women's work is a field of labour assumed to be solely the realm of women and associated with specific stereotypical jobs considered as uniquely feminine or domestic duties throughout history. It is most commonly used in reference to the unpaid la ...
". *
Pink money Pink money describes the purchasing power of the LGBT community, often especially with respect to political donations. With the rise of the LGBT rights movement, pink money has gone from being a fringe or marginalized market to a thriving indus ...
, ''the pink pound'' or ''pink dollar'' is an economic term which refers to the spending power of the
LGBT LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The gro ...
community.
Advertising Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a Product (business), product or Service (economics), service. Advertising aims to present a product or service in terms of utility, advantages, and qualities of int ...
agencies sometimes call the gay market the ''pink economy''. * Tickled pink means extremely pleased. * The Pink Tax refers to the invisible price women must pay for goods that are created and advertised specifically for them. It is the tendency for products targeted specifically toward women to be more expensive than those targeted toward men.


Architecture

Early pink buildings were usually built of brick or
sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...
, which takes its pale red color from hematite, or iron ore. In the 18th century - the golden age of pink and other pastel colors - pink mansions and churches were built all across Europe. More modern pink buildings usually use the color pink to appear exotic or to attract attention. File:2018-10-19 Buenos Aires by Sandro Halank–002.jpg,
Casa Rosada The ''Casa Rosada'' (), , is the president of the Argentine Republic's official workplace, located in Buenos Aires. The palatial mansion is known officially as ''Casa de Gobierno'' ("House of Government" or "Government House"). Normally, the pre ...
, or the "Pink House", in
Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...
, built between 1713 and 1855 as a fort and then customs house, is the official residence and office of the President of Argentina. File:Vääksy - Vesijärventie 1.jpg, A pink building in
Vääksy Vääksy is a village and seat of the municipality of Asikkala in southern Finland. It is located on an isthmus between Päijänne and Vesijärvi, about north of Lahti Lahti (; ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Päijät-H ...
,
Asikkala Asikkala () is a municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. Its seat is in Vääksy, at the shores of the Lake Päijänne. It is located in the provinces of Finland, province of Southern Finland and is part of the Päijänne Tavastia regi ...
, Finland. File:Kannur City Centre, Kerala, India.jpg, The City Center in
Kannur Kannur (), formerly known in English as Cannanore, is a city and Municipal corporation (India), municipal corporation in the state of Kerala, India. It is the administrative headquarters of the Kannur district and situated north of the maj ...
, India. File:Ostankino Palace (4325331247).jpg,
Ostankino Palace Ostankino Palace is a former summer residence and private opera theatre of the Nikolai Sheremetev, Sheremetev family, originally situated several kilometres to the north of central Moscow. It is a part of the North-Eastern Administrative Okrug of t ...
, outside of Moscow, is an 18th-century country house built by
Pyotr Sheremetev Pyotr Borisovich Sheremetev () (1713–1788) was a Russian nobleman and courtier, the richest man in Russia aside from the tsar; he was the son of Boris Sheremetev. When his father Boris died in 1719, tsar Peter promised to be "like a father" ...
, then the richest man in Russia. File:Macau Government Headquarters 01.JPG,
Macau Government Headquarters The Macau Government Headquarters (; ), formerly Governor's Palace () is the official office of the Chief Executive of Macau and has been since 1999. It is located in São Lourenço. History Built in 1849 by Tomás de Aquino, architect, for A ...
(1849), an example of Portuguese colonial architecture and the Pombaline style in
Macau Macau or Macao is a special administrative regions of China, special administrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). With a population of about people and a land area of , it is the most List of countries and dependencies by p ...
. File:Royal Hawaiian Hotel seen from the sea.jpg, The
Royal Hawaiian Hotel The Royal Hawaiian Hotel is a beachfront luxury hotel located in Waikiki in Honolulu, Hawaii, on the island of Oahu. It is part of The Luxury Collection brand of Marriott International. One of the first hotels established in Waikiki, the Royal ...
in
Honolulu Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...
, Hawaii, built in 1927, was the first hotel on Waikiki Beach. Its pink color was designed to match an exotic setting, and to contrast with the blue of the sea and green of the landscape. File:Interesting Building Angle of Georgia-Pacific Tower Atlanta.jpg, The
Georgia-Pacific Tower Georgia-Pacific Center is a , 1,567,011 sq.ft skyscraper in downtown Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It contains 52 stories of office space and was finished in 1982. Before the six-year era of tall skyscrapers to be built in Atlanta, it was At ...
in
Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...
(1981), a modernist pink skyscraper. File:Canada Place Building Edmonton.jpg, Canada Place Building, in
Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...
,
Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...
, Canada (1988) a
post-modernist Postmodernism encompasses a variety of artistic, cultural, and philosophical movements that claim to mark a break from modernism. They have in common the conviction that it is no longer possible to rely upon previous ways of depicting the worl ...
style government office building. File:USBancorpTowerI5k.jpg, "big Pink" The
US Bancorp Tower The U.S. Bancorp Tower (also known as "Big Pink") is a 42-story, skyscraper in Portland, Oregon. It is the second tallest building in the city after Wells Fargo Center, and with its nearly office space, it is the largest in Oregon in terms of ...
in
Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...
pink granite and windows(ground breaking 1981 dedicated 1983) File:Norfolk Royale Hotel - geograph.org.uk - 16384.jpg, The Norfolk Royale Hotel in
Bournemouth Bournemouth ( ) is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority area, in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. At the 2021 census, the built-up area had a population of 196,455, making it the largest ...
,
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
was built between 1840 and 1850. File:BahamianParliamentPanorama.jpg, The
Bahamian Parliament Building The Bahamian Parliament Building is the home of the House of Assembly of the Parliament of the Bahamas, located in Parliament Square, Bay Street, in the Bahaman capital of Nassau. The coral pink-colored building was constructed in 1815 by Loy ...
was built in 1815. File:삼풍백화점.jpg, The
Sampoong Department Store collapse On June 29, 1995, the Sampoong Department Store (; Hanja: 三豐百貨店) in Seocho District, Seoul, South Korea collapsed due to a Structural integrity and failure, structural failure. The collapse killed 502 people and injured 937, making it ...
in
Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...
,
South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...
(1987 to 1995) File:Palácio das Necessidades 1997.JPG,
Necessidades Palace The Necessidades Palace () is a historic building in the Largo do Rilvas, a public square in Lisbon, Portugal. It serves as headquarters of the Portuguese Foreign Ministry. The palace has been classified as a Property of Public Interest since 19 ...
, headquarters of the Portuguese Foreign Ministry. It served previously as a royal residence. File:Museu Imperial 03 (cropped).JPG, The
Imperial Museum of Brazil The Museu Imperial de Petrópolis is a museum in the historic center of Petrópolis, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is housed in the Petrópolis Imperial Palace, the former summer residence of Emperor Pedro II (reigned 1831–1889), which was built st ...
. Formerly used as the summer residence by the Brazilian imperial family. File:Palácio Presidencial de São Tomé e Príncipe, São Tomé.jpg, The Presidential Palace of São Tomé, built in the late 19th century.


Food and beverages

According to surveys in Europe and the United States, pink is the color most associated with sweet foods and beverages. Pink is also one of the few colors to be strongly associated with a particular aroma, that of roses. Many
strawberry The garden strawberry (or simply strawberry; ''Fragaria × ananassa'') is a widely grown Hybrid (biology), hybrid plant cultivated worldwide for its fruit. The genus ''Fragaria'', the strawberries, is in the rose family, Rosaceae. The fruit ...
and
raspberry The raspberry is the edible fruit of several plant species in the genus ''Rubus'' of the Rosaceae, rose family, most of which are in the subgenus ''Rubus#Modern classification, Idaeobatus''. The name also applies to these plants themselves. Ras ...
-flavored foods are colored pink and light red as well, sometimes to distinguish them from
cherry A cherry is the fruit of many plants of the genus ''Prunus'', and is a fleshy drupe (stone fruit). Commercial cherries are obtained from cultivars of several species, such as the sweet '' Prunus avium'' and the sour '' Prunus cerasus''. The na ...
-flavored foods that are more commonly colored dark red (although raspberry-flavored foods, particularly in the United States, are often colored blue as well). The drink Tab was packaged in pink cans, presumably to subconsciously convey a sweet taste. The pink color in most packaged and processed foods, ice creams, candies and pastries is made with artificial
food coloring Food coloring, color additive or colorant is any dye, pigment, or substance that imparts color when it is added to food or beverages. Colorants can be supplied as liquids, powders, gels, or pastes. Food coloring is commonly used in commercia ...
. The most common pink food coloring is
erythrosine Erythrosine, also known as E127 and Red No. 3, is an organoiodine compound, specifically a derivative of fluorone. It is a red-pink dye used for food coloring, cosmetics, hair coloring, pet products, and diverse industrial colorings. It is the ...
, also known as Red No. 3, an
organoiodine compound Organoiodine chemistry is the study of the synthesis and properties of organoiodine compounds, or organoiodides, organic compounds that contain one or more carbon–iodine bonds. They occur widely in organic chemistry, but are relatively rare ...
, a derivative of
fluorone Fluorone is a heterocyclic chemical compound. It forms the core structure for various chemicals, most notably fluorone dyes, including fluorescein, erythrosine and rhodamine. It is an isomer of xanthone, sometimes referred to as an isoxanthon ...
, which is a cherry-pink synthetic.Phyllis A. Lyday "Iodine and Iodine Compounds" in Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry, 2005, Wiley-VCH, Weinheim It is usually listed on package labels as E-127. Another common red or pink (particularly in the United States where erythrosine is less frequently used) is
Allura Red AC Allura Red AC, also known as FD&C Red 40 or E129, is a red azo dye commonly used in food. It was developed in 1971 by the Allied Chemical Corporation, who gave the substance its name. It is usually supplied as its red sodium salt but can al ...
(E-129), also known as Red No. 40. Some products use a natural red or pink food coloring,
Cochineal The cochineal ( , ; ''Dactylopius coccus'') is a scale insect in the suborder Sternorrhyncha, from which the natural dye carmine is derived. A primarily sessility (motility), sessile parasitism, parasite native to tropical and subtropical Sout ...
, also called
carmine Carmine ()also called cochineal (when it is extracted from the Cochineal, cochineal insect), cochineal extract, crimson Lake pigment, lake, or carmine lake is a pigment of a bright-red color obtained from the aluminium coordination complex, compl ...
, made with crushed insects of the family
Dactylopius coccus The cochineal ( , ; ''Dactylopius coccus'') is a scale insect in the suborder Sternorrhyncha, from which the natural dye carmine is derived. A primarily sessile parasite native to tropical and subtropical South America through North America ( ...
. File:Choco pink.jpg, Pink is the color most commonly associated with sweet tastes File:Strawberry Ice Cream Cone (5076899310).jpg, A
strawberry ice cream Strawberry ice cream is a flavor of ice cream made with strawberry or strawberry flavoring. It is made by blending in fresh strawberries or strawberry flavoring with the eggs, cream, vanilla, and sugar used to make ice cream. Most strawberry ic ...
cone File:Pink Cotton Candy.jpg,
Cotton candy Cotton candy, also known as candy floss (candyfloss) and fairy floss, is a spun sugar confection that resembles cotton. It is made by heating and liquefying sugar, and spinning it centrifugally through minute holes, causing it to rapidly cool ...
File:Macarons filled with raspberries at Lawry's The Prime Rib, Mandarin Orchard Singapore - 20100309.jpg, A
macaron A macaron ( , ) or French macaroon ( ) is a sweet meringue-based confection made with egg white, icing sugar, granulated sugar, almond meal, and often food colouring. Since the 19th century, a typical Parisian-style macaron has been a ...
with
raspberries The raspberry is the edible fruit of several plant species in the genus ''Rubus'' of the Rosaceae, rose family, most of which are in the subgenus ''Rubus#Modern classification, Idaeobatus''. The name also applies to these plants themselves. Ras ...
File:Bunga Kuda.jpg, Bunga kuda (also known as bunga pundak) is a traditional dessert in
Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...
, containing a coconut filling File:Chi chi dango.jpg,
Chi chi dango __NOTOC__ Chi may refer to: __NOTOC__ Greek *Chi (letter) (Χ or χ), the twenty-second letter of the Greek alphabet Chinese * ''Chi'' (length) (尺), a traditional unit of length, about ⅓ meter *Chi (mythology) (螭), a dragon * Chi (surname) ...
is a sweet dessert made of rice flour. It is of Japanese origin, and very popular in Hawaii File:Bandol rose.jpg, Traditional
rosé A rosé () is a type of wine that incorporates some of the wine color, color from the grape skins, but not enough to qualify it as a red wine. It may be the oldest known type of wine, as it is the most straightforward to make with the Macerati ...
wines get their color when temporarily fermented with dark purple grapeskins File:Rose Champagne Bubbles.jpg, Pink
champagne Champagne (; ) is a sparkling wine originated and produced in the Champagne wine region of France under the rules of the appellation, which demand specific vineyard practices, sourcing of grapes exclusively from designated places within it, spe ...
takes its color either when temporarily fermented with the skins of dark purple grapes, or by adding a small amount of red wine


Gender

In Europe and the United States, pink is often associated with girls, while blue is associated with boys. These colors were first used as
gender Gender is the range of social, psychological, cultural, and behavioral aspects of being a man (or boy), woman (or girl), or third gender. Although gender often corresponds to sex, a transgender person may identify with a gender other tha ...
markers just prior to World War I (for either girls or boys), and pink was first established as a female gender indicators in the 1940s. In the 20th century, the practice in Europe varied from country to country, with some assigning colors based on the baby's complexion, and others assigning pink sometimes to boys and sometimes to girls. Many have noted the contrary association of pink with boys in 20th-century America. An article in the trade publication ''Earnshaw's Infants' Department'' in June 1918 said: One reason for the increased use of pink for girls and blue for boys was the invention of new chemical dyes, which meant that children's clothing could be mass-produced and washed in hot water without fading. Prior to this time, most small children of both sexes wore white, which could be frequently washed. Another factor was the popularity of blue and white sailor suits for young boys, a fashion that started in the late 19th century. Blue was also the usual color of school uniforms, for boys and girls. Blue was associated with seriousness and study, while pink was associated with childhood and softness. By the 1950s, pink was strongly associated with femininity, but to an extent that was "neither rigid nor universal" as it later became. One study by two neuroscientists in ''
Current Biology ''Current Biology'' is a biweekly peer-reviewed scientific journal that covers all areas of biology, especially molecular biology, cell biology, genetics, neurobiology, ecology, and evolutionary biology. The journal includes research artic ...
'' examined color preferences across British and Chinese cultures and found significant differences between male and female responses. Both groups favored blues over other hues, but women had more favorable responses to the reddish-purple range of the spectrum and men had more favorable responses to the greenish-yellow middle of the spectrum. Despite the fact that the study used adults in mainstream cultures, and both groups preferred blues, and responses to the color ''pink'' were never even tested, the popular press represented the research as an indication of an innate preference by girls for pink. The misreading has been often repeated in market research, reinforcing American culture's association of pink with girls on the basis of imagined innate characteristics. As of 2008 various feminist groups and the
Breast Cancer Awareness Month Breast Cancer Awareness Month (BCAM), also referred to in the United States as National Breast Cancer Awareness Month (NBCAM), is an annual international health campaign organized by major breast cancer charities every October to increase aware ...
use the color pink to convey empowerment of women.Pink: The Color
" "Part 2: Girl Culture A to Z" - In: Mitchell, Claudia and Jacqueline Reid-Walsh (editors). ''Girl Culture: Studying girl culture : a readers' guide'' or ''Girl Culture: An Encyclopedia Volume 1''. ABC-CLIO (Greenwood Publishing Group), 2008. , 9780313339097. p
473
"It is important to note its significance to femininity as a Western phenomenon, because the color is a sign of masculinity in Japan and signifies a welcome embrace in India. ..f pink with femininity has been strategically used in gendered terms to convey strength and pride: pink is the color of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and many feminist groups have adopted the color pink as a sign of empowerment."
See Google Books search result
/ref> Breast cancer charities around the world have used the color to symbolize support for people with breast cancer and promote awareness of the disease. A key tactic of these charities is encouraging women and men to wear pink to show their support for breast cancer awareness and research. Pink has symbolized a "welcome embrace" in India and masculinity in Japan. File:Female baby.jpg, In the United States and Europe, baby girls are often dressed in pink and white. File:Pierre-Auguste Renoir - Sailor Boy (Portrait of Robert Nunès) - BF325 - Barnes Foundation.jpg, Boy in a sailor suit (1883). The blue sailor suit helped make blue instead of pink the color for boys in the 20th century. File:Shriya Saran bridal week 2010.png, Indian actress
Shriya Saran Shriya Saran Bhatnagar ( born 11 September 1982) is an Indian actress who primarily works in Telugu language, Telugu, Tamil language, Tamil and Hindi films. Although Saran aspired to become a dancer, she became an actress and made her film deb ...
. In many cultures, pink is associated with femininity. File:Herero women.jpg, Women of the
Herero people The Herero () are a Bantu people, Bantu ethnic group inhabiting parts of Southern Africa. 178,987 Namibians identified as Ovaherero in the 2023 census. They speak Otjiherero, a Bantu language. Though the Herero primarily reside in Namibia, there ...
from
Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...
. Pink stands out. File:Three Nuns in Pink (8398117658).jpg, Three nuns in pink in
Yangon Yangon, formerly romanized as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar. Yangon was the List of capitals of Myanmar, capital of Myanmar until 2005 and served as such until 2006, when the State Peace and Dev ...
,
Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...
. File:"Gender reveal" cake cut open.jpg, A cake with a pink middle layer indicating a baby girl at a
gender reveal party A gender reveal party is a party held during pregnancy to reveal the baby's sex to the expectant parents' family and friends, and sometimes to the parents themselves. Prenatal sex discernment technology furnishes the necessary information. The ...


Toys

Toys aimed at girls often display pink prominently on packaging and the toy themselves. This is a relatively recent trend, with toys from the 1920s to the 1960s not being gendered by color (though they were gendered by a focus on domesticity and nurturing). The current color-based gendering of toys can be traced back to the deregulation of children's television programs. This allowed toy companies to produce shows that were designed specifically to sell their products, and gender was an important differentiator of these shows and the toys they were advertising. In its 1957 catalog,
Lionel Trains Lionel, LLC is an American designer and importer of toy trains and model railroads that is headquartered in Concord, North Carolina. Its roots lie in the 1969 purchase of the Lionel product line from the Lionel Corporation by cereal conglomerate ...
offered for sale a pink model
freight train A freight train, also called a goods train or cargo train, is a railway train that is used to carry cargo, as opposed to passengers. Freight trains are made up of one or more locomotives which provide propulsion, along with one or more railroad ...
for girls. The
steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, Fuel oil, oil or, rarely, Wood fuel, wood) to heat ...
and coal car were pink and the freight cars of the freight train were various pastel colors. The
caboose A caboose is a crewed North American railroad car coupled at the end of a freight train. Cabooses provide shelter for crew at the end of a train, who were formerly required in switching and shunting; as well as in keeping a lookout for load ...
was
baby blue Baby blue, also known as light blue, is a tint of azure, which is one of the pastel colors. The first recorded use of ''baby blue'' as a color name in English was in 1892. Variations of baby blue Beau blue Beau blue is a light tone of ba ...
. It was a marketing failure because any girl who might want a
model train Railway modelling (UK, Australia, New Zealand, and Ireland) or model railroading (US and Canada) is a hobby in which rail transport systems are modelled at a reduced scale. The scale models include locomotives, rolling stock, streetcars, ...
would want a realistically colored train, while boys in the 1950s did not want to be seen playing with a pink train. However, today it is a valuable collector's item.


Sexuality

As noted above, pink combined with black or violet is commonly associated with eroticism and seduction. * In street slang, ''the pink'' sometimes refers to the
vagina In mammals and other animals, the vagina (: vaginas or vaginae) is the elastic, muscular sex organ, reproductive organ of the female genital tract. In humans, it extends from the vulval vestibule to the cervix (neck of the uterus). The #Vag ...
. * In Russian, pink (''розовый'', ''rozovyj'') is used to refer to
lesbian A lesbian is a homosexual woman or girl. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate nouns with female homosexu ...
s, and
light blue Light blue is a color or range of colors, typically a lightened shade with a hue between cyan and blue. The first use of "light blue" as a color term in English language, English is in the year 1915. In Russian and some other languages, there ...
(''голубой'', ''goluboj'') refers to gay men. * In Japan, a genre of low budget, erotic cinema is referred to as . * In India, Pink colored turbans are worn at Hindu weddings. * Pink can be an informal synonym for
homosexual Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between people of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" exc ...
, similarly to
lavender ''Lavandula'' (common name lavender) is a genus of 47 known species of perennial flowering plants in the sage family, Lamiaceae. It is native plant, native to the Old World, primarily found across the drier, warmer regions of the Mediterranean ...
.


Politics

* Pink, being a 'watered-down' red, is sometimes used in a derogatory way to describe a person with mild
communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...
or
socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...
beliefs (see
Pinko {{Short description, American political insult for someone sympathetic to communism ''Pinko'' is a pejorative term for a person on the left of the political spectrum. The term has its origins in the notion that ''pink'' is a lighter shade of ''red,' ...
). * The term ''
little pink Little Pink () is a term used to describe young Chinese nationalists on the internet. Some Western critics have described Little Pink as "ultranationalist". The Little Pink are different from members of the 50 Cent Party or Internet Water Army, ...
'' (小粉红) is used to describe the young nationalists on the internet in mainland China. * The term '' pink revolution'' is sometimes used to refer to the overthrow of President
Askar Akayev Askar Akayevich Akayev (, ; born 10 November 1944) is a Kyrgyz former politician who served as President of Kyrgyzstan from 1990 until being overthrown in the March 2005 Tulip Revolution. Education and early career Akayev was born in Kyzyl-B ...
and his government in the Central Asian republic of
Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan, officially the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia lying in the Tian Shan and Pamir Mountains, Pamir mountain ranges. Bishkek is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Kyrgyzstan, largest city. Kyrgyz ...
after the
parliamentary elections A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. General elections ...
of February 27 and March 13, 2005, although it is more commonly called the ''
Tulip Revolution The Tulip Revolution, also known as the First Kyrgyz Revolution, led to Kyrgyzstan's then-President of Kyrgyzstan, President Askar Akayev's fall from power. The revolution began after Kyrgyz parliamentary elections, 2005, parliamentary elections ...
''. * The Swedish feminist party Feminist Initiative uses pink as their color. *
Code Pink Code Pink: Women for Peace (often stylized as CODEPINK) is a left-wing, anti-war organization registered in the United States as a 501(c)(3) organization. It focuses on issues such as drone strikes, the Guantanamo Bay detention camp, Palestini ...
is an American women's anti-globalization and anti-war group founded in 2002 by activist
Medea Benjamin Medea Benjamin (born Susan Benjamin on September 10, 1952) is an American political activist who, along with Jodie Evans and others, co-founded Code Pink.
. The group has disrupted Congressional hearings and heckled President Obama at his public speeches. *The TRS party of Telangana, India has pink as its primary color *It was a common practice to color the
British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...
pink on maps. *Supporters of
Philippine President The president of the Philippines (, sometimes referred to as ) is the head of state, head of government and chief executive of the Philippines. The president leads the executive branch of the Philippine government and is the commander-in- ...
ial candidate and former
Vice President A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...
Leni Robredo Maria Leonor "Leni" Gerona Robredo (; Gerona; born April 23, 1965) is a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the 14th vice president of the Philippines from 2016 to 2022. She is the mayor-elect of Naga, Camarines Sur, having won the ...
used pink to show their solidarity with her in her 2022 presidential campaign.


Social movements

Pink is often used as a symbolic color by groups involved in issues important to women, as well as to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. * A Dutch newsgroup about homosexuality is called ''nl.roze'' (''roze'' being the Dutch word for pink), while in Britain,
Pink News ''PinkNews'' is a UK-based online newspaper marketed to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning community (LGBTQ+) in the UK and worldwide. It was founded by Benjamin Cohen in July 2005, initially released in print, b ...
is a gay newspaper and online news service. There is a magazine called ''Pink'' for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community which has different editions for various
metropolitan area A metropolitan area or metro is a region consisting of a densely populated urban area, urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories which share Industry (economics), industries, commercial areas, Transport infrastructure, transport network ...
s. In France Pink TV is an LGBT cable channel. * In Ireland, Support group for Irish ''Pink'' Adoptions defines a ''pink'' family as a relatively neutral umbrella term for the single gay men, single lesbians, or same-gender couples who intend to adopt, are in the process of adopting, or have adopted. It also covers adults born/raised in such families. The group welcome the input of other people touched by adoption, especially people who were adopted as children and are now adults. *
Pinkstinks Pinkstinks is a campaign founded in London in May 2008 by twin sisters Emma Moore and Abi Moore (born 1971, London) to raise awareness of what they claim is damage caused by gender stereotyping of children. Pinkstinks claims that the marketi ...
, a campaign founded in London in May 2008 to raise awareness of what they claim is the damage caused by
gender Gender is the range of social, psychological, cultural, and behavioral aspects of being a man (or boy), woman (or girl), or third gender. Although gender often corresponds to sex, a transgender person may identify with a gender other tha ...
stereotyping In social psychology, a stereotype is a generalized belief about a particular category of people. It is an expectation that people might have about every person of a particular group. The type of expectation can vary; it can be, for example ...
of children. * The
Pink Pistols The Pink Pistols are an LGBTQ gun rights organization in the United States and Canada. Their motto is "Pick on someone your own caliber". History Inspired by a Salon.com article written by Jonathan Rauch, Krikket (aka Doug Krick), a libertarian ...
is a gay
gun rights The right to keep and bear arms (often referred to as the right to bear arms) is a legal right for people to possess weapons (arms) for the preservation of life, liberty, and property. The purpose of gun rights is for self-defense, as well as ...
organization. * The
pink ribbon The pink ribbon is an international symbol of breast cancer awareness. Pink ribbons, and the color pink in general, identify the wearer or promoter with the breast cancer brand and express moral support for people with breast cancer. Pink rib ...
is the international symbol of
breast cancer Breast cancer is a cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a Breast lump, lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, Milk-rejection sign, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipp ...
awareness. Pink was chosen partially because it is so strongly associated with femininity. File:Pink ribbon.svg, The
pink ribbon The pink ribbon is an international symbol of breast cancer awareness. Pink ribbons, and the color pink in general, identify the wearer or promoter with the breast cancer brand and express moral support for people with breast cancer. Pink rib ...
has been a symbol of
breast cancer Breast cancer is a cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a Breast lump, lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, Milk-rejection sign, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipp ...
awareness since 1991. File:White House illuminated pink in 2017.jpg, The
White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...
illuminated in pink for
Breast Cancer Awareness Month Breast Cancer Awareness Month (BCAM), also referred to in the United States as National Breast Cancer Awareness Month (NBCAM), is an annual international health campaign organized by major breast cancer charities every October to increase aware ...
.


Technology

Pieces of
consumer electronics Consumer electronics, also known as home electronics, are electronic devices intended for everyday household use. Consumer electronics include those used for entertainment, Communication, communications, and recreation. Historically, these prod ...
, which are most often in monochrome colors, have also been made and released in pink, most often targeted at female customers. It has been noted that pink colored technology tends to be more expensive than the equivalent product in different colors. File:Nintendo DS Rose.JPG,
Nintendo DS Lite The is a foldable handheld game console produced by Nintendo, released globally across 2004 and 2005. The DS, an initialism for "Developers' System" or "Dual Screen", introduced distinctive new features to handheld games: two LCD screens worki ...
File:Motov3.JPG, Hot pink colored Motorola RAZR V3 File:Sony Vaio W Pink.png, Sony Vaio W
netbook A netbook is a small-sized laptop computer; they were primarily sold from 2007 until around 2013, designed mostly as a means of accessing the Internet and being significantly less expensive than regular-sized laptops. At their inception in l ...
computer with mouse in pink File:Lenco Portable Stereo Radio CD player, Veendam (2019) 01.jpg, Lenco-branded radio and
CD player A CD player is an electronic device that plays audio compact discs, which are a digital audio, digital optical disc data storage format. CD players were first sold to consumers in 1982. CDs typically contain recordings of audio material such a ...
boombox A boombox is a transistorized portable music player featuring one or two cassette tape players/recorders and AM/FM radio, generally with a carrying handle. Beginning in the mid-1990s, a CD player was often included. Sound is delivered thro ...
in pink File:Don't steal music. - Flickr - Trinity.jpg, Pink colored
iPod Mini The iPod Mini (stylized and marketed as the iPod mini) is a digital audio player that was designed and marketed by Apple Inc. It was positioned as a smaller, midrange model in Apple's iPod product line to complement the iPod Classic. The devi ...
File:Instax Mini 8.png, Pink colored Instax Mini 8 camera


Academic dress

* In the French
academic dress Academic dress is a traditional form of clothing for academia, academic settings, mainly tertiary education, tertiary (and sometimes secondary schools, secondary) education, worn mainly by those who have obtained a university degree (or simila ...
system, the five traditional fields of study (Arts, Science, Medicine, Law and Divinity) are each symbolized by a distinctive color, which appears in the
academic dress Academic dress is a traditional form of clothing for academia, academic settings, mainly tertiary education, tertiary (and sometimes secondary schools, secondary) education, worn mainly by those who have obtained a university degree (or simila ...
of the people who graduated in this field. Redcurrant, an extremely red shade of pink, is the distinctive color for Medicine (and other health-related fields) .


Heraldry

The word pink is not used for any tincture (color) in heraldry, but there are two fairly uncommon tinctures which are both close to pink: * The heraldic color of
rose A rose is either a woody perennial plant, perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred Rose species, species and Garden roses, tens of thousands of cultivar ...
is a modern innovation, mostly used in Canadian heraldry, depicting a reddish pink color like the shade usually called
rose A rose is either a woody perennial plant, perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred Rose species, species and Garden roses, tens of thousands of cultivar ...
. * In French heraldry, the color
carnation ''Dianthus caryophyllus'' ( ), commonly known as carnation or clove pink, is a species of ''Dianthus'' native to the Mediterranean Basin, Mediterranean region. Its exact natural range is uncertain due to extensive cultivation over the last 2,00 ...
is sometimes used, corresponding to the skin color of a light skinned Caucasian human. This can also be seen as a pink shade but is usually depicted slightly more brownish beige than the rose tincture.


Calendars

* In
Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
, pink is associated with Tuesday on the
Thai solar calendar The Thai solar calendar (, , "solar calendar") was adopted by King Chulalongkorn (Rama V) in 1888 Common Era, CE as the Siamese version of the Gregorian calendar, replacing the Thai lunar calendar as the legal Thai calendar (though the latter i ...
. Anyone may wear pink on Tuesdays, and anyone born on a Tuesday may adopt pink as their color.


The press

Pink is used for the newsprint paper of several important newspapers devoted to business and sports, and the color is also connected with the press aimed at the LGBTQIA community. Since 1893 the London ''
Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...
'' newspaper has used a distinctive
salmon pink Salmon is a warm color ranging from light orange (colour), orange to pink, named after the color of salmon flesh. The first recorded use of ''salmon'' as a color name in English language, English was in 1776. The actual color of salmon flesh va ...
color for its newsprint, originally because pink dyed paper was less expensive than bleached white paper. Today the color is used to distinguish the newspaper from competitors on a press kiosk or news stand. In some countries, the ''salmon press'' identifies economic newspapers or economics sections in "white" newspapers. Some sports newspapers, such as ''
La Gazzetta dello Sport (; English: "The Sports Gazette") is an Italian Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper dedicated to coverage of various sports. Founded in 1896, it is the most widely read daily newspaper of any type in Italy (in 2018). History and profile was fou ...
'' in Italy, also use pink paper to stand out from other newspapers. It awards a pink jersey to the winner of Italy's most important bicycle race, the
Giro d'Italia The Giro d'Italia (; ), also known simply as the Giro, is an annual stage race, multiple-stage bicycle racing, bicycle race primarily held in Italy, while also starting in, or passing through, other countries. The first race was organized in 19 ...
. (See #Sports).


Law

* In England and Wales, a brief delivered to a
barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...
by a
solicitor A solicitor is a lawyer who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and enabled to p ...
is usually tied with pink ribbon. Pink was traditionally the color associated with the defense, while white ribbons may have been used for the
prosecution A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the adversarial system, which is adopted in common law, or inquisitorial system, which is adopted in Civil law (legal system), civil law. The prosecution is the ...
.


Literature

* In Spanish and Italian, a
romantic novel A romance or romantic novel is a genre fiction novel that primarily focuses on the relationship and romantic love between two people, typically with an emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending. Authors who have contributed to the developm ...
is known as a "pink novel" (''novela rosa'' in Spanish, ''romanzo rosa'' in Italian). * In
Nathaniel Hawthorne Nathaniel Hawthorne (né Hathorne; July 4, 1804 – May 19, 1864) was an American novelist and short story writer. His works often focus on history, morality, and religion. He was born in 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts, from a family long associat ...
's 1835 short story,
Young Goodman Brown "Young Goodman Brown" is a short story published in 1835 by American writer Nathaniel Hawthorne. The story takes place in 17th-century Puritan New England, a common setting for Hawthorne's works, and addresses the Calvinist/Puritan belief that a ...
, Faith is wearing a pink ribbon in her hair which represents her
innocence Innocence is a lack of guilt, with respect to any kind of crime, or wrongdoing. In a legal context, innocence is prior to the sense of legal guilt and is a primal emotion connected with the sense of self. It is often confused as being the op ...
. * Carl Surely's short story "Dinsdale's Pink" is a
coming of age Coming of age is a young person's transition from being a child to being an adult. The specific age at which this transition takes place varies between societies, as does the nature of the change. It can be a simple legal convention or can b ...
tale of a young man growing up in Berlin in the 1930s, dealing with issues of gender, sexuality and politics. * In
Louisa May Alcott Louisa May Alcott (; November 29, 1832March 6, 1888) was an American novelist, short story writer, and poet best known for writing the novel ''Little Women'' (1868) and its sequels ''Good Wives'' (1869), ''Little Men'' (1871), and ''Jo's Boys'' ...
's 1868-69 book ''
Little Women ''Little Women'' is a coming-of-age novel written by American novelist Louisa May Alcott, originally published in two volumes, in 1868 and 1869. The story follows the lives of the four March sisters— Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy—and details th ...
'', Amy March uses blue and pink ribbons to tell the difference between her sister Meg's newborn twins.


Religion

* In the Yogic Hindu, Shaktic Hindu and
Tantric Buddhist ''Vajrayāna'' (; 'vajra vehicle'), also known as Mantrayāna ('mantra vehicle'), Guhyamantrayāna ('secret mantra vehicle'), Tantrayāna ('tantra vehicle'), Tantric Buddhism, and Esoteric Buddhism, is a Mahāyāna Buddhist tradition that emp ...
traditions rose is one of the colors of the fourth primary energy center, the heart chakra Anahata. The other color is
green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a com ...
. * In
Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
, pink (called
rose A rose is either a woody perennial plant, perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred Rose species, species and Garden roses, tens of thousands of cultivar ...
by the Catholic Church) symbolizes joy and happiness. It is used for the Third Sunday of
Advent Advent is a season observed in most Christian denominations as a time of waiting and preparation for both the celebration of Jesus's birth at Christmas and the return of Christ at the Second Coming. It begins on the fourth Sunday before Chri ...
(
Gaudete Sunday Gaudete Sunday ( ) is the third Sunday of Advent in the liturgical calendar of Western Christianity, including the Roman Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion, Lutheran churches, and other mainline Protestant churches. It can fall on any date fr ...
) and the Fourth Sunday of
Lent Lent (, 'Fortieth') is the solemn Christianity, Christian religious moveable feast#Lent, observance in the liturgical year in preparation for Easter. It echoes the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring Temptation of Christ, t ...
(
Laetare Sunday Laetare Sunday ( Church Latin: ; Classical Latin: ; English: ) is the fourth Sunday in the season of Lent, in the Western Christian liturgical calendar. Traditionally, this Sunday has been a day of celebration within the austere period of Len ...
) to mark the halfway point in these seasons of penance. For this reason, one of the candles in an
Advent wreath The Advent wreath, or Advent crown, is a Christian tradition that symbolizes the passage of the four weeks of Advent in the liturgical calendar of the Western Christianity, Western church. It is traditionally a Lutheran practice, although it ...
may be pink, rather than purple. * Pink is the color most associated with Indian spiritual leader
Meher Baba Meher Baba (born Merwan Sheriar Irani; 25 February 1894 – 31 January 1969) was an Indian spirituality, spiritual master who said he was the Avatar, or God in human form, of the age. A spiritual figure of the 20th century, he had a following o ...
, who often wore pink coats to please his closest female follower, Mehera Irani, and today pink remains an important color, symbolizing love, to Baba's followers. *Some
Wicca Wicca (), also known as "The Craft", is a Modern paganism, modern pagan, syncretic, Earth religion, Earth-centred religion. Considered a new religious movement by Religious studies, scholars of religion, the path evolved from Western esote ...
ns believe that it represents affection, friendship, companionship, and spiritual healing. It is often used for love spells.


Sports

*
Palermo Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...
, a soccer team based in
Palermo Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...
, Italy, traditionally wears pink home jerseys. *
Cerezo Osaka is a Japanese professional football club based in Osaka. The club currently plays in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. The club's name ''Cerezo'' (Spanish for cherry blossom) is also the flower of the city of Osak ...
, a soccer team based in
Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...
, Japan, typically wears pink home shirts. ''Cerezo'' is the Spanish translation for cherry tree, which are known for its pink
blossoms In botany, blossoms are the flowers of stone fruit trees (genus ''Prunus'') and of some other plants with a similar appearance that flower profusely for a period of time in spring. Colloquially, flowers of orange are referred to as such as we ...
. *
Inter Miami Club Internacional de Fútbol Miami (), commonly referred to as Inter Miami, is an American professional soccer club based in the Miami metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. ...
, a soccer team based in
South Florida South Florida, sometimes colloquially shortened to SoFlo, is the Regions of the United States#Florida, southernmost region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is one of Florida's three most commonly referred to directional regions; the two others are ...
, United States, currently features pink home shirts. The club wore white home shirts in its first two seasons in existence. * In
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
,
pink bat In baseball, pink bats are limited-supply baseball bats manufactured by Louisville Slugger for use by select Major League Baseball players on Mother's Day, first introduced in 2006 in association with the Susan G. Komen for the Cure organization. ...
s are used by baseball players on Mother's Day as part of a week-long program to benefit Susan G. Komen for the Cure. * Pink can mean the scarlet coat worn in
fox hunting Fox hunting is an activity involving the tracking, chase and, if caught, the killing of a fox, normally a red fox, by trained foxhounds or other scent hounds. A group of unarmed followers, led by a "master of foxhounds" (or "master of hounds" ...
(a.k.a. "riding to hounds"). One legend about the origin of this meaning refers to a tailor named Pink (or Pinke, or Pinque). * The leader in the
Giro d'Italia The Giro d'Italia (; ), also known simply as the Giro, is an annual stage race, multiple-stage bicycle racing, bicycle race primarily held in Italy, while also starting in, or passing through, other countries. The first race was organized in 19 ...
cycle race Cycle sport is competitive physical activity using bicycles. There are several categories of bicycle racing including road bicycle racing, cyclo-cross, mountain bike racing, track cycling, BMX, and cycle speedway. Non-racing cycling sports in ...
wears a pink jersey (''maglia rosa''); this reflects the distinctive pink-colored newsprint of the sponsoring Italian ''
La Gazzetta dello Sport (; English: "The Sports Gazette") is an Italian Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper dedicated to coverage of various sports. Founded in 1896, it is the most widely read daily newspaper of any type in Italy (in 2018). History and profile was fou ...
''
newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as poli ...
. * The
University of Iowa The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized int ...
's Kinnick Stadium visitors'
locker room A locker is a small, usually narrow storage compartment. They are commonly found in dedicated cabinets, very often in large numbers, in various public places such as Changing room, locker rooms, workplaces, schools, transport hubs and the like ...
is painted pink. The decor has sparked controversy, perceived by some people as suggesting
sexism Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on one's sex or gender. Sexism can affect anyone, but primarily affects women and girls. It has been linked to gender roles and stereotypes, and may include the belief that one sex or gender is int ...
and homophobia. * WWE Hall of Famer Bret Hart, as well as other members of the Hart wrestling family, is known for his pink and black wrestling attire. * The Western Hockey League team Calgary Hitmen originally wore pink as a tribute to the aforementioned Bret Hart, who was a part team owner at the time. * Snooker uses a pink-colored object ball that is worth 6pts when legally potted. * Formula One constructors Force India and Racing Point F1 Team, Racing Point used pink as the primary color on their cars during the 2017–2020 seasons. At the 2017 United States Grand Prix, the purple side-wall branding on the ultra-soft compound tire was replaced by pink for the race to raise awareness of
Breast Cancer Awareness Month Breast Cancer Awareness Month (BCAM), also referred to in the United States as National Breast Cancer Awareness Month (NBCAM), is an annual international health campaign organized by major breast cancer charities every October to increase aware ...
. Several teams also incorporated pink into their liveries to support the cause (except Force India, whose cars were pink to begin with). * To distinguish tuned performance models from ordinary ones, Subaru uses a badge with a pink background on their cars. Also the logo of their motorsports arm Subaru Tecnica International is colored pink. * The NFL among other sports have incorporated pink into their promotions, team uniforms and equipment during the month of October in support of
Breast Cancer Awareness Month Breast Cancer Awareness Month (BCAM), also referred to in the United States as National Breast Cancer Awareness Month (NBCAM), is an annual international health campaign organized by major breast cancer charities every October to increase aware ...
.


Music

* The names of the music artists Pink (singer), Pink, Momoiro Clover Z and Blackpink use the color as an influence.


See also

* Fuchsia (color) * Lists of colors * Rosé, a wine whose color is between red and white * Shades of pink


References


Further reading

* * * Boston Museum of Fine Arts, Think Pink, 2014
Exhibition Link
* Susan Stamberg/NPR, "Girls Are Taught To 'Think Pink,' But That Wasn't Always So, 2014
Story link.


Notes and citations


External links

* * {{Authority control Tertiary colors Quaternary colors Shades of pink, LGBTQ symbols LGBTQ terminology