So, what's with the girl lighter?

[Lady Slipper]

So I was sitting on my friends porch and I went to light a cigarette (I know, I know, I should quit, but like Sally Fields in Smokey and The Bandit "...but I (cough) enjoy it so (hack) much (cough)." When my friends wife says "So what's with the girl lighter?" I look and sure enough I have my pink Bic I found in a snowbank (ugg, yes we still have snowbanks) I use as a backup. I told her I found it and it was almost full. Nothing else was said about it. Kinda made me chuckle, if she only knew....

-Stephanie Marie

[Tara D. Rose]

I had a pink bic last year. I was at work and a co worker asked me for a light, the guy said, oh a pink lighter? I said, yes, it match's my underwear. We laughed for a moment, but I was telling the truth.

[Eryn]

I was unaware that fire came in gender variants.

[Asp]

That's like being at the bar with the guys and use a pink Playboy Zippo.

[Abbygirl]

I really wanted a pink Bic but had trouble finding one. To my knowledge, they are no longer produced. If you search the internet you'll actually see people begging the company to make them again.

Anyway I finally found and bought a 5 pack of pink Bics off eBay so I've been carrying a pink lighter for months now. Usually no one says a thing but when they do, my favorite excuse is, "no one will steal this one. And if they do, I'll know it's mine". Guys seem to understand that, especially the ones that smoke or have smoked.

[Jamie001]

So I was sitting on my friends porch and I went to light a cigarette (I know, I know, I should quit, but like Sally Fields in Smokey and The Bandit "...but I (cough) enjoy it so (hack) much (cough)." When my friends wife says "So what's with the girl lighter?" I look and sure enough I have my pink Bic I found in a snowbank (ugg, yes we still have snowbanks) I use as a backup. I told her I found it and it was almost full. Nothing else was said about it. Kinda made me chuckle, if she only knew....

-Stephanie Marie

If your friend's wife also smokes and has a black or blue lighter, you could say to her "what's up with the boy's lighter?".

[Tracii G]

I use any kind of lighter but I do like the Ed Hardy lighters that have more pink in them or a more girly look.
I'm using a Van Halen logo'd bic right now.

[Lady Slipper]

If your friend's wife also smokes and has a black or blue lighter, you could say to her "what's up with the boy's lighter?".

I might just do that.

[~Joanne~]

I really wanted a pink Bic but had trouble finding one. To my knowledge, they are no longer produced. If you search the internet you'll actually see people begging the company to make them again.

They must have listened then because I see pink Bics all the time and have quite a few myself Just but a 7 pack a couple of days ago only because 3 of them were pink

[nhlighthouse]

So to everyone that notices your Pink Bic and comments on it...just ask them..."Do you wanna Flick my Bic?"................

[biggirlsarah]

Talk about stereotyping, girl's things are pink , boy's things are blue , what if I'm a boy who likes pink , no wonder this world is full of unhappy confused people, trying conform to an image that society expects them to.
Anyway I don't have a pink bic , probably because I don't smoke and don't need one.

[Beverley Sims]

Some people see pink as overtly girly.

[Lady Slipper]

Anyway I don't have a pink bic , probably because I don't smoke and don't need one.

I respectfully disagree Sara, someday you might need one. The ability to make fire on demand is a prehistoric skill. Like a Boy (Girl?) scout, always be prepared!

[Laura28]

I really wanted a pink Bic but had trouble finding one. To my knowledge, they are no longer produced. If you search the internet you'll actually see people begging the company to make them again.

Anyway I finally found and bought a 5 pack of pink Bics off eBay so I've been carrying a pink lighter for months now. Usually no one says a thing but when they do, my favorite excuse is, "no one will steal this one. And if they do, I'll know it's mine". Guys seem to understand that, especially the ones that smoke or have smoked.

Are you sure about that, i just baught a 5 pack and two were pink? I always use the pink one my wife always laughs.

[Persephone]

There was a time when pink was a "boy color" and blue was a "girl color."

It may be that pink was seen as the diminutive of red, definitely a bold, firey "man color." Typically the color of military uniforms, as in"The Redcoats are coming!" While blue was feminine and pure, with many statues of the Virgin Mary showing her in blue.

From Smithsonian.com:

"The march toward gender-specific clothes was neither linear nor rapid. Pink and blue arrived, along with other pastels, as colors for babies in the mid-19th century, yet the two colors were not promoted as gender signifiers until just before World War I—and even then, it took time for popular culture to sort things out.

"For example, a June 1918 article from the trade publication Earnshaw's Infants' Department said, 'The generally accepted rule is pink for the boys, and blue for the girls. The reason is that pink, being a more decided and stronger color, is more suitable for the boy, while blue, which is more delicate and dainty, is prettier for the girl.'”

You can read more of their article (and see a great picture of President Franklin Roosevelt crossdressed) at When Did Girls Start Wearing Pink (click here).

Hugs,
Persephone.

[Eryn]

Mimi and I were discussing this today and decided that society was being doubly condescending about pink, first by defining it as emasculating, and second by implying that females would become more interested in "masculine" items (such as a hand tools or building toys) if they were colored pink. The fact that the pink variants of tools are usually of the lowest quality reinforces the concept of female inferiority.

I tend to think of this "make it pink" tendency as a good example of marketing laziness. Rather than actually figure out what would make a product more useful to women they take the easy route and just color it pink.

[sophie13]

Talk about stereotyping, girl's things are pink , boy's things are blue , what if I'm a boy who likes pink , no wonder this world is full of unhappy confused people, trying conform to an image that society expects them to.
Anyway I don't have a pink bic , probably because I don't smoke and don't need one.

What Sarah said ;-),i love pink and i make sure everyone knows it! i have a fully tattooed arm, candy pink, and i also read that pink was originally a male colour and blue female, so that kinda kicks the pink/blue thing in to touch!

[Jessica75]

Lighter is one thing, I smoke Virginia Slims 120s menthols both en femme and in boy mode, and sometimes I do get asked why I'm smoking a women's cigarette. Don't care though because I love the taste and the look of a 120 when en femme. I find 120s horribly sexy!!! If you are into that look.

[rita63]

Since I quit in 1997 I only use bics for camping, getting away from the air pollution that bothers my emphysema. 2 days and 3 portages in nobody cares what colour your bic is, as long as it lights their fire.

hugs rita

[Sharon B.]

I always carry a lighter, never know when one is needed.

[Dee Baker]

Bought a two pack of Bics last week, (one pink and one black). Just used my pink lighter to light a Misty pink (pretty good ultra light).

[Lynnmorgan451]

Talk about stereotyping, girl's things are pink , boy's things are blue , what if I'm a boy who likes pink , no wonder this world is full of unhappy confused people, trying conform to an image that society expects them to.
Anyway I don't have a pink bic , probably because I don't smoke and don't need one.

Lol I have a pink lighter and I get crap for it all the time but I always say the same thing " pink is my favorite color!" And they say something derogatory and then I say " my favorite thing in the world is pink...smile....think about it....smile.." And they usually say "awwww yeah haha...me too! " so it's amazing how many boys will admit pink is their favorite color after you put things into perspective for them