With a decreasing percentage of hunters and anglers in America, the sportsmen community is worried about recruitment and retention – could the availability of blaze pink be the silver bullet?
In an attempt to attract more women to hunting, several states across the country (including Louisiana, Minnesota, Wisconsin….) are introducing legislation to legalize fluorescent pink for deer season as a substitute to blaze orange. In reaction, many women are throwing up their arms and calling the blaze pink movement sexist.
Although I’m unlikely to ever don blaze pink myself, I find myself pondering an array of questions. Why not support pink? Maybe the pink should be a badge of honor rather than a stigma? What kind of hunter does legalized blaze pink attract?
But despite these questions, I always come back to the fundamental truth that I started hunting because I wanted connect to my family, heritage, state and food – not because I saw it as a rising trend or the latest fashion statement. I definitely wasn’t deterred from hunting by wearing blaze orange, nor would the availability of blaze pink attract me- so what gives?
Scientifically if florescent pink has the same advantages of blaze orange (i.e. making one visible so you’re not shot) then who really cares what color keeps you safe? At this point, the color shouldn’t be the debate. Instead the real issues impacting hunter recruitment and retention lie with bigger challenges from hunter access to the availability of gear that actually fits.
Thoughts? Does blaze pink make you more likely to hunt?
Whitney is the owner and operator of Camo is the New Black. As a fifth-generation Montanan, she was born and raised by a family of conservationists and avid hunters. For almost a decade, Whitney has worked for conservation non-profits and continues to love working in politics to benefit the outdoors. Want to know more about why Camo is the New Black started? Read Whitney’s first post, “Silver-Lining”.
Terrific post! Very interesting and thoughtful.