Pink Blog

I missed the recent New York Times article To Appeal to Women, Too, Gadgets Go Beyond ‘Cute’ and ‘Pink’ (bugmenot required) but that’s probably a good thing, because it annoys me. Except that I’m annoyed now anyway, I was just a month or two late with it.

Only a few years ago, feminizing a consumer electronic product meant little more than creating a pink or pastel version of the same black or silvery item coveted by men. And, some retailers note, that kind of marketing still goes on. But feminizing technology is more about a product’s fundamentals, often expressed in its ease of use. It is not always aimed exclusively at women, but it is female friendly.

If I’m reading this right, the NYT thinks women don’t want their gadgets to be pink, they want them to be dumbed down. What the hell?! How does making something user-friendly make it targeted to women any more than anything else? Oh wait, if it’s too complicated, only men are smart enough to use it? I feel like the damn Geico caveman…complex electronics can only used by men because, what - men are smart? Come on, user-friendly electronics are for everyone!

As much as ShinyShiny and even Engadget decry the proliferation of pink gadgets, I would much rather manufacturers target something to me by changing its color than by dumbing it down.