I was reading a magazine when I came across a lovely jacket.

I ran to my father and asked him to buy me the jacket.

“Thanyani, do you mean this jacket? It is pink. Why don’t you ask for a blue jacket instead, son?” Father then looked worried.

Blue is not my favourite colour.

“Baba, I like the pink jacket because pink is my favourite colour,” I said to father.

Then Father said to me, raising his voice, “Pink is for girls, and you are a boy. Ask for a blue jacket, man!”
He did not look happy at all.

But why can’t I love pink?
Can’t boys love pink?
Does this also mean that girls can’t love blue?
Why is pink for girls and blue for boys?

What I do know is that pink worries father, I am a boy who likes pink. So, I worry father. But what is it about pink that upsets father?

When father was shouting at me I saw that his mouth was pink inside!

Yes! Look inside the mouth of the person next to you. You will see that we are all pink on the inside!