In the aftermath of Valentine’s Day, many a self-described feminist may find herself (or himself—yes, men can be feminists, too) flinching.

A corny, phony, patriarchal, made-up holiday, existing primarily to sell flowers, chocolates, and schmaltzy, plush teddy-bears clasping red satin hearts. An occasion which serves only to make women angry, and make men feel inadequate and guilty for not choosing the correct gift.

And all of that pink. Ewww. Especially pink lingerie. Yawn. Unimaginative and chauvinistic.

Unless you’re a woman in India. Last Valentine’s Day triggered a huge wave of activism in India, when planned rallies organized by the notoriously anti-woman Sri Ram Sene party were halted by…mountains of pink ladies’ undies?

The Sri Ram Sene party earned the scorn of feminists everywhere by physically attacking and confronting unescorted women who dared to enter public spaces, such as bars and restaurants. Summoned by feminist Indian journalist, Nisha Susan, thousands of pairs of pink panties soon began arriving individually by post into the Sri Ram Sene party headquarters. These panties represented Susan’s newly formed Pink Chaddi movement—“chaddi” means “undies” in Indian slang.

Women (who knows, maybe a few hip guys, too) from all over India sent pink underwear to the party offices, drawing the attention of local press and forcing the party to cancel the rallies. The rallies, incidentally, were planned on Valentine’s Day because this holiday encourages women and men to express open affection—a practice the party opposes. There really is a fantastically wacky irony in misogyny being halted by a rain of pretty pink underpants.

And if you’re feeling a bit shrill and preachy this Valentine’s season, you may want to rethink pink in general, in the context of other activism going on in India. The Gulabi Gang, founded by women’s advocate Sampath Pal Devi, is a vigilante street-fighting group that makes headlines across rural Uttar Pradesh while wearing hot pink saris (“Gulabi” means pink). They literally chase down wife-beaters and thrash them with household brooms, sticks and canes. And, on a perhaps more hopeful note, the Gulabi Gang also offers training and vocational opportunities for women who have fled domestic violence.

Check out this video:
http://www.bittenandbound.com/2008/11/24/pink-sari-gang-gulabi-gang-photos-and-video/

And, check out another one of our favorite “pink” things: Pink-Link connects and supports breast cancer survivors and their families. www.pink-link.org

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 15th, 2011 at 10:52 am and is filed under under my skin with jane wurwand, founder of dermalogica.