The Great PINK Debate

You see it all the time – the small areas of women’s hunting gear, apparel, and accessories smashed in a corner of your favorite retail store with just a few racks of clothing or a few choices of your needed gear. It’s slowly growing in inventory but the majority of what is out there has pink logos, pink trim, pink camo, or even pink bows and pink guns. Is this ok?

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I have heard a little bit of both sides of the debate from women hunters. Some say they just hate the color pink in general and don’t want it on their gear period. Some say they don’t mind the color pink but don’t understand why everything they want to purchase must have pink on it; why can’t I just buy regular camo clothes and gear without it. Some say they don’t like it because they don’t want to be segregated and singled out for being a female hunter and want to be equal with the guys. Some say they will continue to buy men’s clothing and gear to avoid the PINK distinction. Some say they don’t like the pink identification because people just buy certain products because they are pink and don’t represent women hunters appropriately. All of these opinions are out there and valid.

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I, however, tend to look at the PINK distinction a little differently. I am far from being a girly girl. I don’t get manis and pedis (heck I don’t even normally use the phrase mani and pedi lol.) I don’t always wear makeup and when I do it’s not a lot. I am not into name brands or expensive clothing or purses and I don’t mind getting my hands dirty. Of course there is nothing wrong with any of that, my point however is I actually like the PINK distinction on my hunting gear and accessories…to a point.

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I love the little pink logos on my clothes (and it also makes it easier to find my camo clothes when digging through all of mine and my hubby’s stuff), I love the pink trim on my beanie, safety harness, and backpack. I love the pink fletching on my arrows, my pink broad heads, and all my pink dampeners, stabilizer, bow string, and my new pink release. Each one of these things isn’t overwhelming (although after reading that list some may be in pepto-pink overload) but is just a touch of pink. My bow is still camo but I love the pink accessories that make it mine. When I bought my bow there weren’t too many bows designed specifically for women so I made some adjustments to make it mine and to match my personality.

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For me, however, it’s more than just a color. It’s a way to show my pride of being a female hunter and bow hunter. I like that when I go hunting and all of the bows are hanging up, mine stands out and everyone knows there is a girl hunting and she is damn proud of it. I like that other girls and women see my pink-trimmed hunting gear and it draws them in whether they hunt or not; now I can talk to them about hunting and prove to them you can still show your girly side and rock a pink zebra bow if you want. You can do everything the guys do without looking like a caveman if you want and showing you flair. You can show off your pride of being a female hunter. Most importantly our younger generation, those who are not exposed to hunting the way some of us are, just might show interest BECAUSE they love pink. And if that one thing, a single glimpse of a pink arrow or backpack, is just enough to spark their interest in hunting and the outdoors then that’s perfect; sometimes that’s what it takes to make a young girl feel comfortable with a weapon in the hand…PINK.

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I would love to hear what everyone’s opinion is on this… men and women. I want to know honest answers because we are the voice that can push for better women’s hunting clothing, more functional gear (not just smaller) and create a demand for what we as women really want.

Candace