Reclaiming Pink: The Roseate Instagrams You Need to Follow

While once upon a time pink was considered a masculine hue, in the 20th century it came to symbolise “sugar and spice and all things nice”; a colour designated to females by a male-dominated society, pastel pale and diluted. It is only in very recent years that manufacturers of toys and kids clothes have been coerced into making childhood accoutrements more gender-neutral in tone, steering parents away from imposing pre-ordained, gender-specific expectations on their child – previously, a tour of Toys'R'Us would have presented a distinct gender divide: blue trucks for boys, pink dolls for girls. 

Nowadays things are slightly different – although binary norms still abound, the internet has proven vital in providing the opportunity for a new generation of women to transform girlhood from a dismissive term into a force to be reckoned with, reclaiming the colour pink in the process. We, for one, are delighted by this repossession, which has allowed us to revel in the joys of one of the spectrum’s most delectable hues, unhindered by an uneasy sense of predictability. Here, we spotlight three of Instagram’s ultimate pink pioneers.

@glossier
When Into The Gloss launched their product range, Glossier, it took the internet by storm. Not only were the pieces that they launched simply brilliant, but the digital marketing around them was nothing short of phenomenal; in just a few short months, they had established a sell-out hype and managed to own a specific shade of #glossierpink. Their Instagram curation centres around this colour, presenting everything from pink velvet sofas (an AnOthermag.com favourite) to shelfies starring their pink plastic packaging, abundant bouquets of roses to perfectly painted houses. It makes for a total visual dream – and we wholeheartedly endorse the products, too.

@reppink
German photographer Marlène Meyer-Dunker works under the pseudonmyn Reppink Photos, and her Instagram feed, @reppink, presents a world of dreamy urban landscapes punctuated by varying shades of it. Fans of rose-painted walls will delight in her dusty, pastel depictions of dilapidated architecture rendered beautiful by her discerning eye: a bicycle propped up against a mint green wall is imbued with a serene majesty, while a cluster of verdant weeds cling picturesquely to a lamppost, the perfect complement to the peach wall behind them.

@petracollins
Petra Collins is spearheading a new brand of feminism, challenging patriarchal norms through her photography and openly speaking about the double standards imposed upon women. One of the best examples of this is when Instagram banned a picture that she took featuring her unwaxed bikini line; subsequently, Collins wrote an essay condemning their decision for The Huffington Post – a piece which in turn went viral, provoking myriad conversations around female censorship. Her determined reclamation of the colour pink, voraciously visible through her Instagram feed, is another evolution of this new feminism, where it is recontextualised as a proud statement of female power rather than a reductively girlish hue. Prettiness as a political statement: perfect.