[ed. note - via Iowa paisan State 29, University of Iowa law prof Erin Buzuvis posts a stirring cri de couer to protest the shockingly pink visitors' locker rooms at Iowa's Kinnick Stadium. My network of Iowa City researchers located her first draft in a dumpster behind Dirty John's.]
Since the 1980s, University of Iowa's football stadium, Kinnick Stadium, has been notorious for the pink walls of the visiting team's locker rooms. The tradition of the pink walls is attributed to former coach Hayden Fry. By one account, Fry was a former psych major who understood the psychological effect of pink as a "calming" color. The more plausible explanation is Fry's own: it his autobiography he says that "if'n Minnesota's gonna git all bent outta shape by my interior decoratin', I reckon that's them fellers' problem. Not that there's anything wrong with it." Hayden Fry, That Ding Dang Thang Done Itches, And I'ma Fixin' Ta Scratch That Rascal (1999).
This year, as part of a multi-million dollar renovation, Iowa decided to "honor" coach Fry by "retaining" the pink walls and installing pink lockers, urinals, sinks, etc.
KCRG-TV (channel nine) called me today because someone told them I had an opinion on the issue. Being interviewed me today (UPDATE: broadcast/story here) about why I think this is an unfortunate decision helped me to think through many of the reasons why I think this gesture is sexist and homophobic. Plus, the TV people gave me a free make-over!
How is it sexist? How is it homophobic? Pink is the color strongly associated with girls and effeminate men. In this context, putting your opponent in a pink locker room is saying, "you are weak like a girl" or "you are weak like a gay man" or "you shore got a purty mouth on you" or "we big stinky black and gold Iowa farm mans, you naked sissy pink girlyboy soap droppers" or "have you ever noticed the delicate features and come-hither doe eyes of your Illini teammates?"
This is simply a disgusting gender headgame that belittles women and gay men by insisting they are weak, subservient, powerless, nondominant, and generally of lower status than men -- no matter how many complementary moisturizers the Athletic Department leaves for visiting teams.
But guys today wear pink! Just because some guys wear pink today doesn't mean that pink is not (still) the effeminized color. It is. Think about the last person you know who had a baby. Did he or she dress the baby boy in pink? Doubtful. Now think - was this baby-having person a female? Exactly. My friend thought he was having a boy but his wife delivered a girl to their surprise. The first thing they did was repaint the bedroom pink! I don't think they are unusual, but the nurses at the maternity ward sure complained about the paint fumes.
In a world with reasonable gender equity, this would not have happened. My male friend would have had to go through the painful labor and delivery, while his wife was the one getting drunk with her grad students at the Vine. And if that screaming newborn baby springing from his loins was a boy, they would have still bought those four gallons of Benjamin Moore Carribean Coral for his room. Maybe then we'd finally live in a world where misogynist football coaches realized that pink locker rooms reminded boys of ... home.
Anyway, it's understood by the opposing team as an insult. "It's insulting," says the senior captain of the Michigan State Spartans. "It's tremendously hurtful and demeaning," says a Northwestern receiver. "Me not woman, me student-afflete, mghh hrrrm," says Ohio State All-American A.J. Hawk. Michigan coach Bo Schembechler hated the pink walls so much he insisted that his managers cover them up with paper. Schembechler's quick thinking and courage spared the dignity of hundreds of Gay/ Lesbian/ Bi/ Transgender/ Questioning Wolverines players over the years. If pink has truly been "reclaimed" and is freely associated with either gender, would guys be so upset about it? For that matter, would Iowa have gone to all the trouble to retain it? Jeez, if your opponents are going to get all upset, how do you expect them to focus on the big football contest?
But it's tradition! We're honoring a great coach! Hayden Fry may have been a great and beloved coach, but let's face it - he was from Texas. It does him no "honor" to publicly perpetuate what can be perceived as, or semiotically deconstructed as, a misogynist gesture from a hillbilly football Hitler. As for tradition, many schools have a mascots that are offensive to Native Americans. For example, consider the University of Colorado and the University of Oregon. Historical records show that nothing pissed off indigenous Americans like Buffaloes and Beavers. I am proud that Iowa activechoosesses not to play these teams. If not for being in the same conference, Iowa would also activechoosesses not to play Purdue University, whose "Boilermaker" nickname is a vicious slap at the endemic alcohol abuse problems found on many Native American reservations.
But Iowa doesn't intend to be offensive. I don't doubt that this is true, especially after scoring only 3 points against Iowa State. But the pink locker still offends people. So why do it? To have a competitive edge in the game? If that's what we need to do to win, what does that say about our team? The Hawkeyes may have won 20 games in a row at Kinnick Stadium, but at what cost? Do all those "victories" really outweight the shame and torment and sexual role ambiguity we have inflicted on our neighbors from Wisconsin and Indiana? Does it make you feel "happy," you misogynist black-and-gold bib overall idiots? Well does it? Answer me!
Worst of all, it's also harmful to University of Iowa--it makes it more difficult to attract students, athletes, and professors to come here when they perceive it as an institution that endorses sexist and homophobic practices. It makes us look like straw-chewing podunk rubes who have no clue that stylish urban homosexuals wouldn't be caught dead decorating with pink, prefering instead the understated elegance of midcentury modern designers. God, don't you people get HGTV on your trailer satellites?
But pink really is a calming color (There are studies!) . The factual question of whether pink actually does have calming effect on our psyches is beside the point. It's moot. Seriously, ask anyone why the locker rooms are pink and they are going to look at you a few minutes, and then grab another Leinenkugel from their tailgate cooler and start guzzling away, ignoring you and your questions, even though you are on the Law faculty. The point is, there are other colors that have a calming effect. How about a nice gender neutral taupe-and-olive color scheme for the visitor's locker, perhaps with some overstuffed club chairs from Restoration Hardware? Not only will this calm visitors, it will help them relax and focus on kicking the big touchdown in the thrilling football contests.
On Tuesday I am going to present these comments to a University committee that has prepared a report on Iowa's compliance with NCAA's acceditation requirements, which includes a committment to gender equity. 4:00, Iowa Room in the IMU. Please bring your color swatches.
