Pink Press Threat

Well well well. So it turns out that some members of the blogosphere seem to think that my blog template is too pink. Didn't see that one coming, no. What were the reasons behind this dislike, you may ask. From what I could tell, "too girly" and "too gay" were the main bones of contention, to both of which I reply, so what? Too gay, what are we, twelve? Tsk.

Let's have a look at some of the leading British lefty blogs, shall we? Then we'll see who's "gay".

(Also, please note that I am referring to/insulting style and layout only here, not actual content.)

• Drink-Soaked Trotskyite Popinjays for WAR: Simple, clean design lines here, but above all, notice the holy trinity of a white background, black text and red header. This crops up a lot in lefty blogs.
  
• Normblog: Dull as. No interesting header, barely any colour, and disturbingly, is stylistically not a million miles away from the website of the WTO.
  
• Gauche: Making the word GAUCHE align left was a clever move, but the words "text-heavy" spring to mind, especially with no delineation between the sidebar and the main posts. Maybe some nice colour down the left-hand side would help space things out. Pink, perhaps? But hey, why end the tyranny of red, white and black?
  
• Virtual Stoa: Red white and black, yet again! Still, at least there are photos. Of kittens. And that's not gay at all, is it.
  
• Laban Tall: Of all the preset Blogger templates, the one used here has to be the worst. And yet ironically it seems to be one of the most popular. I can only assume it must be some sort of faux-punk DIY ethic, because I can't think of any other reason you'd want your blog to look like the example piece from "Intro to Blogging: Part One".
  
• Eric the Unread: I have nothing bad to say about the design of this blog. It looks lovely. Sin é.
  
• Harry's Place: *gasp* She can't diss Harry, can she? Be easy, people, Harry's crown remains firmly in place, both in terms of content and style. A splash of colour, a kick-ass (yes, kick-ass) Russian header font, groovy revolution-girl graphic AND smartly delineated links all work together to make HP the benchmark we all aspire to (-that's enough arse-licking. Ed.).

So there you have it: despite being exciting and worthy reads, most of the leading lefty blogs are as dull as dishwater stylistically. I choose to go a different route and make my blog bright and bold, and consequently unforgettable.

Why?

Well, mainly because I want to make it clear that it's a woman writing this blog. And while I'm normally the first person to point out that pink doesn't equal girly in every culture, etc, etc, the sad fact of the matter is that ageing left-wing media pundits of the type indicated above tend to be of the male variety and as such, often need fairly basic and unsubtle indicators in order for a point to sink in. Therefore, my blog is pink because I am female. And also, if I'm honest, because I take juvenile pleasure in the thought of said ageing pundits squirming uncomfortably in their seats as they read furtively, hoping no one will see them looking at something so damn gay.

Say it loud: I'm pink and I'm proud.