Iowa Law Professor Sees Red Over Pink

A law professor at the University of Iowa has caused a minor stir by complaining about the visitor locker rooms at the university's Kinnick Stadium. In an apparent attempt to "soften up" the opponents, the home team decided to make the entire locker room pink: pink walls, pink toilets, pink floors. ("Professor says pink locker room promotes sexism, homophobia," 9/23/05). According to this displaced Bostonian (I wonder if she hails from Mike and my old stomping grounds?), decorating the room in a lighter shade of red promotes sexist and homophobic stereotypes.

"With a pink locker room, you're saying that 'You are a girlie man. You are weak, like a girl,'" Buzuvis said. "That implies that girls are non-dominant, therefore, lesser. And that is offensive."

If Iowa meant to insult its opposing teams, it probably failed. If anything, it was probably seen as humorous by most -- after all, how many pink urinals have you seen? It seems that Buzuvis is making the wrong claim -- she should be saying that the locker room color has no bearing on gender or sexual orientation relations, because pink is not a color of females or homosexuals. By making the opposite argument, she is promoting sexism and homophobia.

Pink is not a female color or a color of homosexuals. It is a passive, soothing color that is worn by men and women, regardless of sexual orientation. A quick search for "pink mens shirt" on Froogle pulls up nearly 6000 results. I own a pink tie; my straight male friend has a room in his house painted a shade of pink. But for Buzuvis, "pink" automatically signifies either women or homosexuals. I am sure there are many people in both categories that would be offended by that. She is also stating that the color pink is a "weak" color, and thus, women are weak by being associated with pink. She correctly states on her blog that pink has traditional ties to females, but she is doing nothing to change this by yelling about using the color in an athletic setting.

If Buzuvis is truly concerned about sexism and homophobia in football locker rooms, she should focus on something more important than the color of the urinals. This argument seems unlikely to make important strides for either of the groups she claims to support.

FN 1: A number of people dislike Buzuvis' argument and have sent threats. ("Law professor gets death threats over pink locker room," Sioux City Journal, 09/25/05). This is despicable behavior, and I hope those responsible are caught and punished. Responding in this manner points out the ignorance of the one making the threat, not the one being threatened.

FN 2: Thanks to Opinion Journal for pointing out the story first.

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