The Day of Pink as a Transformative Event

This article discusses The Day of Pink, an event initiated to prohibit bullying of any kind and especially to prevent homophobia, transmisogyny and transphobia. It has impacted millions of lives around the world and has helped reduce negativity and impacted lives of several young people across Canada as well as other countries of the world. The impact on transgender of Canada has also been beneficial and allowed them to respect themselves and accept being different.

Running head: THE DAY OF PINK AS A TRANSFORMATIVE EVENT
The Day of Pink as a transformative event
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1THE DAY OF PINK AS A TRANSFORMATIVE EVENT
Transformative events are events that are implemented or started to change an existing
situation or taboo. One such event is The Day of Pink which is one of the biggest transformative
events that has impacted millions of lives around the world. It was initiated to prohibit bullying
of any kind and especially to prevent homophobia, transmisogyny and transphobia. It is also true
that April 11, 2018, the International Day of Pink is celebrated all over the world and has
positively impacted people all over the world. It helped address an issue that was long not talked
about and needed voicing (Jong, 2015), helped reduce negativity and impacted lives of several
young people across Canada as well as other countries of the world. As a matter of fact, it has
helped reduce diseases related to mental illness and disabilities.
The most important concern which measured the success of this event was the impact it
created on youth. Statistics claim that around 21 countries and millions of people around the
world endorse this event from the year 2018 (Parker et al., 2014). It instigated schools in Canada
to adopt policies to prevent bullying. It has provided a platform for students and kids to speak up
about their problems that they face. Special classes are allotted to impart knowledge and make
students aware of how important it is to respect fellow mates and make them aware about the
consequences of bullying from a very young age. It has also helped students that suffered from
bullying become open minded and helped them to talk about their experiences without feeling
ashamed or guilty of either their experiences or sexual orientation. The impact on transgender of
Canada has also been beneficial and allowed them to respect themselves and accept being
different.
As a matter of fact, UNICEF in Canada has taken up measures along with the
government to spread awareness about the importance of empathy and kindness. The event has
created an impact strong enough to attract the attention of the governments (Maikey & Stelder,

2THE DAY OF PINK AS A TRANSFORMATIVE EVENT
2015). In the province of Alberta and the provinces of Newfoundland and Labrador the
government is taking up initiatives to make the citizens aware of the same. In Newfoundland and
Labrador, the government has provided around $20,000 to almost 38 schools in order to
recognize and appreciate their efforts towards a safe learning environment. The government
ministers in Alberta including education minister, David Eggen and social services minister,
Irfan Sabir themselves are increasingly participating in events on Day of Pink to promote the
fight against bullying. In fact, teachers and all other kinds of staff at school were educated about
the importance of this day through government workshops and conferences and on this day even
these professionals wore pink along with the students to show the importance of the day.
Another way in which the International Day of Pink turned out be a success is the lesser
known impact that it has created on women especially in the engineering sector in Canada. It has
led to greater participation of women workforce in engineering firms in Canada (Jong, 2015).
Apart from this, other taboos that existed in the engineering sector like stereotyping the
workplace culture or forming the orientation of an individual as the basis to promotions in this
sector have increasingly changed for the better. Better health and safety standards have been
implemented and mental health is given as much importance as physical health now. Diversity of
workforce and helping people who have migrated to this country gain skills and work in this
sector are also being highly sought after the celebration of Day of Pink was officially taken up by
the engineers in Canada.
Even though the Day of Pink has led to led to reduction of bullying in schools and has led
to better mental health conditions, data from Mental Health Commission of Canada, predict that

3THE DAY OF PINK AS A TRANSFORMATIVE EVENT
even though the rate of bullying has reduced, bullying still exists (Knaak, Modgill, & Patten,
2014). The form of bullying has only changed and has shifted more to the use of social media
and phones. It has been reported that by the time an individual reaches the age of 25 years, in
20% cases, he develops mental illness out of the past bullying experiences that he must have
faced in his childhood.
Even though the government has shifted and focused its attention on the aspects and
impacts of bullying, it was already too late before these measures were taken and so even though
the younger generation are blessed with the opportunities of being treated equally, the generation
that has already passed through the negativism with respect to bullying are suffering even now.
Unfortunately, the section of population associated with remedies and cures and awareness is
way lesser than the section that has been severely impacted. This section of population in Canada
accounts for the majority of the convicts in the country who are associated with crime and mental
instability. It has been reported that even though the government is trying to reduce this harm,
through programs at school, the mental health and awareness among parents and children born
with disabilities is also important (Knaak, Modgill, & Patten, 2014). This is so because mental
health of parents categorically creates impact on their children in spite of programs held at
school and children growing up with disabilities have either higher chances of getting bullied or
themselves turning into bullies.
To conclude, it can be said that Day of Pink has been able to drive the world towards a
better future and is slowly becoming an important day that is being celebrated and will be
celebrated for the years to come. Even though cases of bullying are still reported, Day of Pink
has had its own path of success and helped reduce the rates of bullying and school. It has
managed to capture the attention of the government and to inculcate better values in children.

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Discrimination of any kind is not socially acceptable as it spreads negativism and should
eventually be prohibited in all countries around the world. International Pink Day is an initiative
that is helping in its own way to contribute to this activity and help reduce discrimination on the
basis of social stigmas.

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References:
de Jong, D. (2015). “He wears pink leggings almost every day, and a pink sweatshirt….” How
school social workers understand and respond to gender variance. Child and Adolescent
Social Work Journal, 32(3), 247-255.
Knaak, S., Modgill, G., & Patten, S. B. (2014). Key ingredients of anti-stigma programs for
health care providers: a data synthesis of evaluative studies. The Canadian Journal of
Psychiatry, 59(1_suppl), 19-26.
Maikey, H., & Stelder, M. (2015). Dismantling the Pink Door in the Apartheid Wall: Towards a
Decolonized Palestinian Queer Politics. Thamyris/Intersecting: Place, Sex & Race, 30.
Parker, A. E., Kupersmidt, J. B., Mathis, E. T., Scull, T. M., & Sims, C. (2014). The impact of
mindfulness education on elementary school students: evaluation of the Master Mind
program. Advances in school mental health promotion, 7(3), 184-204.