Pink is not just a colour. Pink is a marker of gender and sexuality in cultural models. Pink is stereotypically feminine. Pink is ‘girly’. Pink is ‘gay’. Pink is ‘soft’. Pink is ‘weak’.
I grew up at a time when several teenage girls stopped wearing pink altogether because it was not ‘cool’, for the boys especially. Guys who wore pink were ridiculed. Girls who loved pink weren’t taken seriously. There is an insane amount of gender politics attached to the colour pink but Greta Gerwig’s ‘Barbie’ shattered it.
Ever since the release of ‘Barbie’, featuring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, people of all genders and ages are flocking to their nearest movie theatres wearing pink. It’s like the movie theatres are hosting a Pink Festival across the country. The release of ‘Barbie’ made pink ‘cool’ again. It’s a cultural reset.
People online have been sharing pictures and stories of the audience arriving at movie theatres dressed in pink and addressing each other as ‘Hi Barbie!’ across the country. Here’s a look at some of the tweets:
EVERYONE IS WEARING PINK OMG pic.twitter.com/RbYAe95PWn
— izzehhhh (@meintobluberihu) July 21, 2023
When the movie was over and I was leaving, I saw atleast 90% of the audience, including guys, had come in wearing pink and/or "directed by Greta Gerwig" or some sort of barbie themed outfit and I was just so 🥹🥹🥹 IT WAS AN EVENT YALL 😭😭😭 https://t.co/BSUrp4AZ78
— All Bi Myself 🏳️🌈 (@ThisisLLN) July 21, 2023
Don't feel like posting face on this app but this was today's barbie fit pic.twitter.com/ievvsXTblI
— charlie puttu (@shutupshom) July 21, 2023
This is the most this theatre has ever done for a movie. The hype is real. pic.twitter.com/G5Gx49Lx3Y
— Pramit (@pramitheus) July 21, 2023
i – oh my GOD!!! i have absolutely no words. you have to GO & EXPERIENCE IT & FEEL IT. margot robbie is a VISION as #Barbie i think i’m in love with her & i think i will watch this movie forever & i think i have just found my life’s background music. L💖VE!! thank u greta gerwig pic.twitter.com/Tvq9n3nBGP
— anza (@extraanza) July 22, 2023
Barbenheimer day!!!! pic.twitter.com/mjxydQqgvV
— Aarnav (@aarnavg17) July 21, 2023
No bc why was this my mom yesterday 🤣 https://t.co/glEDi4wRPG pic.twitter.com/mzdozWrzAP
— Maha (@_mahasyed) July 21, 2023
barbie fit check (made those earrings myself hehe)💅 https://t.co/RYkHfe8ELC pic.twitter.com/lbA4JXmvk9
— bean💌 (@karmaisaqu33n) July 21, 2023
The nicest sight in the barbie theatres were the gals of all age groups, dressed in pinks and florals, celebrating their childhood memories in a modern day adaptation. The energy in the theatres was mad wholesome.
— Avvita Misra (@AvvitaM) July 22, 2023
there are countless things that are INCREDIBLE about #Barbie but the absolute best thing is that it is an EVENT. watching evryone online & in person be so excited about coming to the movies & dressing up in PINK. going that extra mile. just everything. 💖 i’m so happy i could cry
— anza (@extraanza) July 22, 2023
watched Barbie at noon on a Friday in a packed theatre – ON A WORKING DAY!!! – filled with people in pink fits laughing and clapping and then watched Oppenheimer and recognized ten other people from my Barbie show who changed outfits from pink to black this is just incredible
— Ria Chopra 🐍 (@riachops) July 22, 2023
pink lil pimpol supporting the barbie theme pic.twitter.com/XddITZexel
— aalucross (@sur4sm4) July 21, 2023
Watched #Barbie last night and loved the message it imparted. There were other men who were wearing pink, as was my family who watched with me, it felt good. In the interval, I walked before a guy who said he slept through it and I said, “it’s tough to counter patriarchy.” It is! pic.twitter.com/HBzFC2RtSH
— Harpreet (@hsc285) July 22, 2023
honestly one of my favorite things about Barbie that EVERYBODY committed to the pink bit. Everyone I saw today at the theaters was in pink or dressed cute and having fun and it just brought me such joy.
— nico ✨ (@aos_enthusiast) July 22, 2023
Barbie marketing will be taught in B schools from now onwards. Insane
Everyone in the screen is wearing pink— Hara ✨ (@Mystic_riverrr) July 22, 2023
Barbie is an experience, something that I myself had for the first time. Watching girls, ladies, women from all age groups enter the theatre with broad smiles, dressed in their own PINK, just melted my heart. It's such a pure thing to have witnessed ❤️
— Gauri Jalan (@gauraiyay) July 22, 2023
Watching Barbie at the theatres surrounded by women AND men in pink is the most fun you can have this season
— Shilpa Rathnam (@shilparathnam) July 22, 2023
Watched Barbie today. Great movie. Really clever writing.
Had good fun. Recommended.Also, lots of folks wearing pink in the theatre. Barbie marketing really killed it 💯 pic.twitter.com/haN3dBPHpE
— Roshan Shah (@rosnshah) July 22, 2023
Haven't been to a mall in ages & for a minute, I was confused about where the theatre was. Then I just followed the happy people in pink who were singing I'M A BARBIE GIRL loudly 😂
— Narayani Basu (@narayani_basu) July 22, 2023
I think I'm one of the five folks not dressed in pink for the Barbie movie at the theatre 😳
— Sidharth Santhosh (@avgtendencies) July 22, 2023
Love how the release of ‘Barbie’ has turned into a worldwide pink festival! 😀