Powerful Pink

It wasn’t until my first daughter was born that I realized how early color stereotypes can begin affecting children. I dressed my eldest daughter in Baby Gap, which back then sold mostly blue jeans, blue jumpers and blue dresses. It was remarkable to see how comments from strangers were affected by the color of clothing my daughter happened to be wearing. When she was dressed in blue, many of the comments were about how strong or smart “he” was. When she wore pink, they often talked about what a beautiful or sweet baby she was. My girls are all these things and more. It was astonishing to see how a simple color change can effect people’s perceptions of such a young child.

As my daughters grew older, they had a rainbow of colorful clothes.  It was my goal for them to find their own identity without the influence of a lot of media. In comparison to what my oldest daughter was exposed to a decade earlier, my youngest was inundated by the princess pink culture, even though our household was fairly “princess-free.”

When it was imperative for her to wear glasses to improve her vision, she decided one day that, “Princesses don’t wear glasses.” It was at that moment that I decided to create an adventurous, heroic and age-appropriate princess who just happens to wear glasses and my daughter’s favorite color (pink).

With a little help from my daughter, I wrote Princesses Wear Glasses. We didn’t include a heroic prince; in our book, the princess saves the day.  I wanted to make sure princess-loving kids who wear glasses all over the country would hear this story, so I created a social enterprise that not only helps redefine what it means to wear glasses, but also what it means to be a princess. The stories and products are not about the way a child looks from the outside— it’s what they have on the inside. It is about what they can see and what they can do.  It is about their ability to go on adventures, take risks and help someone in need.

A princess can be heroic! Just because she is wearing pink or likes ballet does not mean she cannot climb trees, look for dragons or save the day. It is my hope that we can change the view of pink as passive and into the thought that pink and any color in the rainbow can be POWERFUL–and so much more!

 Pink

Pink makes you want to party with balloons and streamers.

It always gives you a case of the screamers.

It’s jumpy and it’s pumpy and it makes you want to play.

If you’re with pink it’s going to be a happy day!

Anne Ellsworth, Grade 3

Since 2010, Peeps Eyewear has been on a mission to empower children to love their glasses, increase awareness about the importance of early child vision health and donate frames to children in need.

Peeps Eyewear is designed so that a child can be the hero of their own story, wearing their glasses. Books and accessories can be customized with your child’s name, hair color and personal dedication.

Enter to win our Valentine’s Day Give Away. Two lucky winners can choose either:

1) A customized 5×7 Princesses Wear Glasses book and NEW customized Princess Peeps cuddly glasses case. Choose your hair color for your book and soft doll glasses case.  Your child’s name can be featured throughout the empowering story!

Or

2) An awesome Eyepower Kids Wear t-shirt featuring our glasses wearing Power Peeps character, Super Steve, or Princess Peeps character, Princess Annie.

To win, simply place a comment below with your thoughts about the color pink (or any color in the rainbow). Two winners will be randomly chosen.

About our NEW cuddly glasses case: “Lift the back flap of this very special glasses case to store your child’s glasses. A back pocket holds our book, “Princesses Wear Glasses.” The squeezable princess case is just the right size to sit in your child’s lap and read to. Hang the case on a bedpost or door handle using the gross grain carrying handle. The soft princess can even wear your child’s glasses at night. Just slip temples through the  durable button holes and specially designed temple sleeves to keep them in place. Brown, Black, Blonde or Red hair color options. (Boy line coming soon!)

Be a part of our Facebook community or learn more about our products and the work we do at Peeps Eyewear.

Kristin Ellsworth is the founder of the social enterprise Peeps Eyewear and is an Executive Board Member of Prevent Blindness Wisconsin. She is also the co-founder of the Great Glasses Play Day.

Photos by Eye Power Kids Wear and Peeps Eyewear.

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