The Biography of Pink
Title
The Biography of Pink
Description
Alok Vaid-Menon is a non-binary, Indian-American performer, activist, and model who grew up in Texas, and now travels throughout many cities and countries worldwide to perform and lead workshops. They published “The Biography of Pink” to their instagram on September 24th, 2016. It received over 1,260 likes. The comment sections on Vaid-Menon’s social media are plagued by harassment and hate speech, but there are also many instances of people commenting that their work resonated deeply, typing words of admiration and encouragement, rather than invalidating transphobic garbage. Alok Vaid-Menon and their social media presence provide an interesting vantage point into the world of trans performance art and gender non-conformity. While “The Biography of Pink” is only one poem, and the caption of an instagram photo at that, it serves as a gateway into all of the work Vaid-Menon does as an activist and artist through their facebook and Instagram pages. They use their renown to bolster other non-binary and POC artists and activists, as well as to share articles and resources regarding transness in all its manifestations and categorizations. This poem sheds light on many topics including and beyond gender, as well as acting as a link to Alok’s greater works.
“The Biography of Pink” is a poem about gender that can also be interpreted as addressing race, repression of identity, self-hate, fear and violence, feminist gate-keeping, and many other aspects of existing as a trans person, especially as a trans feminine person of color in the world. It tells the story of the birth of “pink,” and of pink being assigned to service in the “foreign land called ‘gender.’” Vaid-Menon examines their own changing style as they grew up and were taught that pink is not an acceptable color for those who were assigned male at birth.
“The Biography of Pink” is a poem about gender that can also be interpreted as addressing race, repression of identity, self-hate, fear and violence, feminist gate-keeping, and many other aspects of existing as a trans person, especially as a trans feminine person of color in the world. It tells the story of the birth of “pink,” and of pink being assigned to service in the “foreign land called ‘gender.’” Vaid-Menon examines their own changing style as they grew up and were taught that pink is not an acceptable color for those who were assigned male at birth.
Creator
Vaid-Menon, Alok
Source
https://www.instagram.com/alokvmenon/
Publisher
Alok Vaid-Menon
Date
2016
Format
text
Language
English
Type
Poetry
Text
The Biography of Pink by Alok Vaid-Menon
how do you write the biography of a color?
a long time ago: pink was born.
pink had lots of friends.
then pink was taken hostage
got a life-sentence, had to serve it in this
foreign land called “gender”
how do you write a romance novel about a color?
is the color the protagonist or the villain? does the color love you back?
at age 2 i refused to wear anything but pink
by age 11 i stopped.
substituted the floral and lisa frank for a pair of grey slacks.
the thing is: i was desi. which meant my mom didn’t let me near Hot Topic
which meant the closest i was permitted to goth was a pair of grey dress shoes,
slacks, and a knit sweater,
from spelling bee to blasting Evanescence in my room,
i was ready for anything
how do you host a funeral for a color?
where does it take place? was it when they pushed you down?
was it when they called you a faggot? was it when you feared for your life?
not only from their hands, but yours? was it when you
began to fear everything you used to love? is that when it died, the color?
when you feared everything you used to love
?
these days i still fear everything i used to love.
see the magazines say “girl power” wonder
what kind of a girl does pink love?
what kind of girl does pink punish?
wonder when does their romance novel become
our horror film?
want to shout at the feminists but don’t know how:
the only pink i was allowed to keep was the one in my mouth
so i used it so much at some point it became photo studio
full of negatives i’m still trying to process
every time i speak about it a couple of old polaroids come out
of a boy wearing pink, a girl wearing blue,
a body before the storm:
puberty OR a natural disaster
?
it’s not that i wanted to be a girl
i wanted to be pink.
it’s not that i wanted to be fragile,
i wanted permission to be fragile
it’s not that i wanted to be weak,
i wanted to be offered help.
at my funeral make sure they dress me in a pink birthday dress,
frilly and superfluous.
lower me down,
watch me
come to life.
how do you write the biography of a color?
a long time ago: pink was born.
pink had lots of friends.
then pink was taken hostage
got a life-sentence, had to serve it in this
foreign land called “gender”
how do you write a romance novel about a color?
is the color the protagonist or the villain? does the color love you back?
at age 2 i refused to wear anything but pink
by age 11 i stopped.
substituted the floral and lisa frank for a pair of grey slacks.
the thing is: i was desi. which meant my mom didn’t let me near Hot Topic
which meant the closest i was permitted to goth was a pair of grey dress shoes,
slacks, and a knit sweater,
from spelling bee to blasting Evanescence in my room,
i was ready for anything
how do you host a funeral for a color?
where does it take place? was it when they pushed you down?
was it when they called you a faggot? was it when you feared for your life?
not only from their hands, but yours? was it when you
began to fear everything you used to love? is that when it died, the color?
when you feared everything you used to love
?
these days i still fear everything i used to love.
see the magazines say “girl power” wonder
what kind of a girl does pink love?
what kind of girl does pink punish?
wonder when does their romance novel become
our horror film?
want to shout at the feminists but don’t know how:
the only pink i was allowed to keep was the one in my mouth
so i used it so much at some point it became photo studio
full of negatives i’m still trying to process
every time i speak about it a couple of old polaroids come out
of a boy wearing pink, a girl wearing blue,
a body before the storm:
puberty OR a natural disaster
?
it’s not that i wanted to be a girl
i wanted to be pink.
it’s not that i wanted to be fragile,
i wanted permission to be fragile
it’s not that i wanted to be weak,
i wanted to be offered help.
at my funeral make sure they dress me in a pink birthday dress,
frilly and superfluous.
lower me down,
watch me
come to life.
Original Format
Poem published on Instagram
Citation
Vaid-Menon, Alok , “The Biography of Pink,” An Archive of Trans Culture, accessed October 28, 2026, https://transcultural.oberlincollegelibrary.org/items/show/3.