The thin line between the pink shirt and homosexuality

By Nova Lou


Is pink the official color of choice among gay circles or does wearing pink makes you officially gay? Not an issue that most women would have to worry about, given that pink is the color associated with feminity, but definitely a question worth pondering among men who own a pink shirt or two, hidden behind those dark recesses of his closet.

Pink, that vibrant bright-reddish color, so ever associated with playfulness and fun, has made its long fashion debut to the more formal business circles, mostly in the form of the classical shirt, but also frequently seen in fashion accessories such as ties and cufflinks for men. No doubt, against an ominous black suit, a pink shirt definitely adds a softer hue to the overall persona. It's definitely a refreshing change to the all white shirt black suit, Mr. Penguin look.
But wait. How many other colors in the palette can offer that sort of elegant, pleasant contrast to the black-grey suit combination ? Maybe yellow, a light blue or occasionally a pastel pea green. Definitely majority of men have shyed away from the Valentino stark orange and purple colors, and only the color blind would dare don a red shirt.

So unless you're a fan of the Blues Brothers, saving the necessity of wearing a white shirt to work everyday will inevitably lead to the purchase of one or two pastel pink shirts amidst the limited color range. So what's the likelihood that your director, senior manager and CEO would arrive at work, all wearing the same shade of pink in a week ? About 25%. Mine have even donned a pink striped tie each together with the shirts on 3 occasions. (We vaguely wondered, if they usually call themselves before work to synchronize their wardrobe).

Just because your CEO, director and manager share the same passion for the worrying color, does it also imply that they share the same bed? ''What does it matter to me ?'', you ask, '' as long as they keep paying me''. True. But what about you ? Have you ever thought why you're more popular with the ladies on those days you wear a pink shirt ? Now, before you start a spending spree on pink shirts, you should be enlightened of the fact that (most) women feel more comfortable with……homosexuals.

If there's a time for the alarm to go off, it would be now. But it's not the purpose of this article to question whether women prefer the company of homosexual men (which is another story), but to examine the stigma attached to the color pink.

Where did I come up with the idea ? It's natural that pink, a long known feminine color, when mixed with masculinity would amount to breaking taboos. Men just don't wear skirts (unless you're Scottish, but you've never seen a Scottish man wear a pink skirt, have you ?) and men don't wear bonnets and ribbons on their heads. And if they do…….then they're cross-dressers.

But if a man wears something trivial as a cotton shirt with a feminine color, is he trying to express his feminine side ? ''Never!!'', you say. '' I just like the way the color reflects off the complexion of my skin ''. Fair enough. Men are allowed a degree of vanity. But vanity is not homosexuality.

In modern day English usage, the word ''pink'' has been exploited in connotation with anything sexual. Hey, forget English, even in modern day Japanese language. And as homosexuality is just another kind of sexuality, the usually innocent color has been seized by the gay community and crowned the color of all colors. Funnily enough, pink is not one of the 13 colors of the rainbow flag, which is the official flag representing gay pride. But from time to time, you (might just so happen) to hear of terms like the Pink Triangle, used to connote those male prisoners sent to concentration camps for their homosexuality or you might even come across some gay symbols below:


Now before you start setting all your pink apparel on fire, there really is no cause for panic. In fact, I doubt that this debate will ever be resolved, let alone within the next 2 pages of the article. As yet, there is no known explicit rule in business ethics which penalizes somebody who dares to wear bold colors. There might be occasional dress codes to comply with but you definitely will not lose your job over a forbidden color.

In contrast, if you just happen to be working in an environment dominated by women or even if the majority of your clients are female, then you might even feel the need to add a few more pink shades to your wardrobe (that is speaking from a totally professional point of view. If your personal satisfactions are however truly work-performance unrelated, then I might advise the contrary).

But if you ever feel a need to reassert your masculine self while you wear a pink shirt, let the following images help you decide where your masculinity lies.

By थे way Larry King supports pink.

What's in a name ?

by Nova Lou

There is nothing in the world I fear most than the dreaded question '' What's your name ? ''. However, it's the unavoidable question that hits you at the beginning of any social conversation.

'' Nice to meet you, I'm Nova''.

Upon choking on his drink, my conversational partner invariably remarks, '' Sorry, is that your name ?'

Which is probably akin to asking if you have just jumped off the plane from Spain and are therefore unaccustomed to the English language and having thereby to resort to using Latin amongst English vocabulary. In short, I would have just introduced myself as '' Oh hello, I'm new''. (Nova in Latin means 'new'). But given my not so Spanish looks, I could only guess that was not what he implied by the question. He was probably just polite to suggest that he has never come across such an unusual name.

Pretty far fetched. But that's not the only one in many humorous responses that I have received over many first-time introductory encounters.

I've met one fellow who after introducing himself jumped straight to the question, '' Where are you from anyway? ''.

'' Oh, from not so far away Mordor '' (Home to the evil Golum and the Orks for those of you not accustomed to the famous movie Lord of the Rings) came my reply.

There was an awkward pause and an embarrassing laugh and then he remembers, '' Sorry, I didn't get your name''.

'' That's ok. My name's Nova.''.

This time a longer awkward pause as he struggles to decide whether I was still pulling his leg or whether it was fact.

'' You don't really come from Mordor ? ''

Not a very good start to a conversation but spared for the majority of you with more conventional backgrounds. However given my not so common first name (thanks to my father), made more complicated by my hard to place ethnic looks and well traveled background (even as a kid) I must say that it has been hard to initiate any serious conversations without invoking any pre-conceived ideas or God forbid, prejudicial feelings.

In fact I wish many people would skip the '' What's your name'' and '' Where are you from'' parts from the first 5 minutes of any conversation, just until they get to know me a little better, for instance, ask me '' What I do for a living '' (not a lot to shout about there too, I'm just an M&A consultant really).

Just so you get the idea, here are just a few awkward moments I have experienced upon introducing myself during business related and formal gatherings. Then ask yourself, if you were me, how would you proceed henceforth ?

1) '' Hi, I'm Nova….and I…''

'' Hey Supernova ! ''

2) '' I used to read X-People. There was this character called Nova. She wears these red-leather leotards and wears a black mask. Don't suppose you read X-People ?.. ''

(….no actually I have never heard of X People. I assume it's a comic book right ?)

3) ''Is your name patented ?''

4) '' Well, that's an interesting name. By the way, did you know that No-Va means No-Go in Spanish and they had launched this car once in Spain (no names mentioned) but it didn't sell too well because it was called Nova …hahaha ''

5) '' Is that a common name from where you are or was there really a Supernova explosion during the night you were born ? ''

(Neither….and I was born in the afternoon)

6) ''Is that Latin or a Chinese language word ? ''

(Latin….duh)

7) '' That's a cool name. Why did you call yourself Nova ? ''

(I hardly had the choice at birth. The name was sacredly pledged to me by my all too creative father. But thanks for the compliment.)

'' And your father is ….. ? ''

(a nuclear scientist genius cum electrical engineer who is also crazed about astronomy)

8) '' Nice name. You wanna be a star someday ? ''

(Are you offering me an acting job ?)

9) '' No really…how did your parents come up with such a name ? !! ''

(Because I was born in Novemb...forget it…because on the night I was born there was a Supernova explosion and my parents had a sudden inspiration)

You get the idea. I can't deny that there have been unexpected advantages in having such an unusual name. For instance, your clients remember you better. (It really matters to me, if a pair of Egyptian guys managed to spell your name correctly after they have mispronounced and misspelled my manager's name, also commonly known as ''Darren'', twice in a row). Also I can't deny the fact that there have been innumerous possibilities for potential humorous exploits. (Not a good idea if you wanted to be taken more seriously especially if you're managing a € 100m banking takeover deal). But more importantly, it's short and easy to pronounce (if you leave out my 2 middle Chinese names that is).

So what's in a name? Honestly, there's nothing more I like than to have a common girl's name like Catherine or Joanne. At least if you're looking for a personalized mug or a key chain with your name on it, it would be easier to locate. The nearest I've ever gotten to a personalized gift item was a coffee cup with ''Nora'' on it (someone was either short sighted or hard of hearing).

But there's definitely no denying I feel rather unique. And as unusual as Nova is, at least it wasn't derived from a famous person, or a famous city (Nova Scotia doesn't count!). So there you have it. At least I'm already a would-be famous identity in my own right at the moment of my birth. (sob, was that an Academy moment ? )