Pink tools don’t cut it
I usually pick up some very interesting tidbits of information in my classes. Some of them are practical and useful in everyday life, and some make for interesting dinner-table conversation. However, a few weeks ago in my anthropology class, I learned something that made me want to jump out of my chair and scream.
We were discussing tools, and the instructor mentioned some tool companies are designing new tools especially for women. The newer tools are engineered to be smaller to fit the average female hand. And some of the tools are available in pink. I guess this is supposed to make pliers and extension cords more attractive to women.
After class, I returned home and fervently hoped I had heard wrong, thinking it was just my caffeine-deficient, sleep-deprived brain rebelling against an early class by messing with my mind.
A Google.com search for “pink tools” confirmed we do, in fact, live on a planet where pink tools exist. Several companies manufacture them.
Thankfully, it was mostly pink screwdrivers and hammers. I would have probably thrown a hissy fit right then and there if I had found any pink power tools. There’s something about pink jackhammers and band saws that I can’t stomach.
This has to be one of the many idiosyncrasies of modern society I wish had a logical explanation, such as influence from aliens or incredibly persistent 5-year-old girls when the idea was spawned.
However, the idea was most likely generated by mature adults. The only problem was I doubt they were thinking that at the time. In their haste to stock the shelves with pink tin snips, these tool designers failed to consider several things.
First of all, saying more women will use tools if they are pink is like saying more men will carry purses if they have race cars printed on them. The women who use tools were using them when they were available in orange, blue, red and black. The basic idea of a tool is that it’s functional, not beautiful.
Secondly, not all women like pink. Just because a hammer has a pink handle doesn’t mean all women will snatch it up.
I am very much a woman, albeit a very non-athletic tomboy, and I refuse to wear pink in public unless it includes the Cheshire cat from “Alice in Wonderland.” I don’t particularly identify with Reese Witherspoon’s character in “Legally Blonde,” so I have no desire to accessorize like her.
Thirdly, and most importantly, if I’m going to fix something or use a power tool, I’m usually not in the mood to feel ultra girly.
Instead, I want to feel macho. As someone who weighs about 120 pounds in full winter garb and doused in mercury, I don’t get to feel macho very often. I get laughed at when I threaten to beat people up, and in the off chance I do talk guys into letting me play tackle football with them, the laws of physics make it rather difficult for me to actually do any of the tackling.
If I am going to do something I perceive as being macho, pink tools taken from the “Home Improvement” Barbie line detracts from that feeling. It makes me feel as if I should be getting my nails done while I’m fixing the kitchen sink.
I suppose pink tools do have some advantages. Pink is a bright color, which makes it easy to spot.
If there are men in the house, they are less likely to borrow pink tools and not return them. I’m sure women who like to have everything trendy will be very happy to be able to disassemble their DVD players with a beautiful screwdriver. I don’t think I’ll drop dead just because someone else wants to do household maintenance out of a pink toolbox. But the next time I need to pick up a Phillips head screwdriver, I think I’ll stay out of the pink section.
Columnists' opinions do not necessarily reflect the views of The Spectrum