Soon the Woods may be Pretty in Pink
Let me begin by admitting I love color. If you walked into my basement, you would know right away what belongs to me in the sea of black. The rifle with the pink grips, the pistol with the sparkly purple back strap, and the pink ammo can, I can spot them all. Sure, this is a choice I made to find my items easily, but also to celebrate me, a woman. Did colorful hunting and shooting equipment entise me to begin my new life adventures? No. But it might make someone more excited about buying gear
Recently I read an announcement, “Gov. Scott Walker has signed a bill allowing hunters to wear fluorescent pink instead of the traditional blaze orange.” Great! Not that I don’t like blaze orange, my bedroom wall is practically that color. I see this bill as creating a choice. Imagine my surprise when this was quickly followed by the slogan “No Hunt Pink” on the Women’s Hunting and Sporting Association of Wisconsin’s website. The group is fighting the bill calling it sexist and demeaning to women.
The Color
According to Professor Majid Sarmadi, a renowned color scientist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Human Ecology, “The human eye has three different types of cones (red, green and blue) but deer have only two (blue and green). Therefore, deer are dichromatic animals. Research at the University of Georgia indicates that deer can detect only greens, blues, yellows and UV.”
When testing blaze orange against florescent pink he said, “It is well known that blaze orange provides a very good contrast in the wooded areas in the spring and summer. However, when visually compared to the orange colors found in the fall leaves, blaze orange was harder to detect than the pink colors that were tested. The pink colors provided a better color contrast. Our spectrometric analysis indicated that the blaze pink that was tested had similar visibility to most blaze orange hats and was even better than a couple of them. Therefore, based on this small study, it can be concluded that the blaze pink we tested were as safe as the ‚orange blaze’ hunting hats.”
The Bill
According to the Wisconsin government’s website, the proposal is designed to attract more women to hunting, encourage apparel manufacturers to partner with nonprofit groups working to get more people – men and women – interested in the sport, give hunters more clothing options and give apparel manufacturers a boost. Under current Wisconsin law, at least half of each article of clothing that gun deer hunters wear above the waist must be blaze orange. The bipartisan bill allows hunters to wear fluorescent pink as well.
The Poll
Wondering what women in the shooting industry thought about this, I went to Facebook and created a poll. After 24 hours, these were the results:
• I’m glad there is now a choice, however, I will continue to wear blaze orange. 26
• I will NEVER wear pink, this is sexist. 7
• I’m excited to wear fluorescent pink while hunting. 6
Honestly, I wasn’t sure what to expect; however, the comments were quite eye opening. Here are a few:
Pink is my favorite color. I think it’s great there is a choice now. If ya don’t like pink don’t wear it, there is always blaze orange.”
We’re all looking at this as sexist. But what if a dude wants to hunt but would rather wear pink? (Similar to all the pink accessories in the NFL.) and this could be good for the economy because the clothing manufacturers can now produce ‘Hunting gear’ in more than one color.”
Seems like a waste of tax payers money if that’s all they have to worry about introducing.”
It’s only sexist if you make it that way. No one is saying women have to wear pink, it’s just an option. We should all support ideas, however silly we think they are, to involve women in hunting. I have personally never heard a woman say, ‘I would totally hunt if only I could wear pink!’ Everyone I have talked to say the same thing — they don’t really care but this give everyone another option.”
I agree, it is trivializing women. So, now that I can wear pink, I will hunt. Before, when I could only wear orange I wouldn’t hunt.”
My son who hunts likes fluorescent pink so I think its sexist to think pink is for girls.”
Sexism. Because I have boobs, I need to wear pink?! It’s like a woman saying, ‘I love hunting too, but I can’t unless it’s pink.’”
So where do we go from here? Hopefully the manufactures won’t just change the color, but will adjust the fit and sizes for women. Me, I’m going to wear florescent pink when it becomes legal in Ohio. Not only will it be a safer alternative in the fall, but also I will be able to find my pink in the basement. Why cut off your nose to spite your face?
Are you ready to be, “Pretty in Pink?”
The Awakening of the Woods
Sitting on the cold, damp floor of the woods, I listen. It starts with the “hoot, hoot” of the owls. Chatting back and forth, perhaps checking to see if everyone’s ready for bed. The scamper of feet, and rhythmic chewing draws my eyes into the grass. Scurrying past, an opossum returns home from his evening hunt. Soon, a pink glow appears in the east, the sun trying to break though the darkness. At first it’s slow to rise, taking it’s time, allowing the woods to slowly wake.
The birds are the first to rise. They begin flitting around from tree to tree, singing their sweet songs. As the sun rises higher in the sky, it’s rays skimming the tree tops, the squirrels awake from their deep slumber. The warmth of the sun’s rays convincing them it’s time to venture out. I’ve watched them play, a group of seven. They chase each other like a game of tag, usually jumping form tree to tree. Other times, when busy forging nuts, it’s every squirrel for himself. Staying very still, I see their faces and paws, covered in mud from scrounging on the dirt floor.
Did you know squirrels sometimes fall out of trees? First there is a thump, then, if you look fast enough, a startled squirrel scurries away from the scene. If it’s winter, a sure sign of this misfortune is the large scoop out of the snow near a tree, with squirrel tracks nearby.
Often I fall asleep. The soft breeze on my face has the same lulling affect as rocking in a rocking chair. It’s odd what wakes me. Sometimes it’s a sound, like when a woodpecker choses my tree to search for bugs. Other times it’s a feeling, like someone is watching me. As my eyes sleepily open, a buck comes into focus. Looking right at me, he stomps a few times, let’s out a snort, and casually walks away.
There are other animals in the woods, mice, turkey and chipmunks. However, there is one sight I doubt I will ever witness again. Sitting with my son Alex, we watched a beautiful red fox trot along the path below us. Sadly, soon after, a coyote came by, sniffing the ground, hot on its trail.
As the sun begins to set, the woods quiet down. Slowly, everything starts to turn grey. The trees which were once visible, disappear into the background. Eventually, it’s time to head back to the truck.
Is any of this familiar to you? If not, my guess is you’ve never been hunting. Unlike what many people believe, hunting is much more than the kill. It’s an experience with nature, where you have a front row seat to the movie,