Billionaire Twitter owner Elon Musk is facing widespread mockery and criticism after his recent decision to rebrand one of the world's most recognizable brands to "X," and his subsequent response to an AI artist's fake image of him wearing a pink suit.
The controversy over "X" is already bad enough and it took a stranger turn when an the artist created an image of Musk wearing a pink suit, seemingly seeking his approval.
A Twitter user who goes by "Daniella Souza"—and regularly shares Musk-related content—tweeted that Musk "starts his day with a splash of color and a cup of ambition" above a photo of him looking noticeably stern while dressed in a pink suit, courtesy of artificial intelligence.
You can see the image below.
In response to the pink suit image, Musk declared:
"I wouldn’t wear pink if you put a gun to my head."
You can see his response below.
Musk's response made it all too easy for his critics to mock him for perpetuating harmful gender stereotypes.
The color pink has long been associated with femininity in society, and Musk's rejection of it in such a dismissive and hyperbolic manner has raised concerns about his fragile masculinity and misogynistic attitudes.
Experts point out that misogyny often stems from men's insecurities about their own masculinity, leading them to denigrate women and femininity in an attempt to bolster their own self-image.
This pattern is not new for Musk, as he has been involved in various incidents where he has challenged others and objectified women, revealing a pattern of problematic behavior.
In reality, the association between colors and gender is entirely arbitrary, with pink being considered a masculine color in the 18th and much of the 19th century.
However, baby clothing retailers later created a gender-based color dichotomy, labeling pink as a girly color and perpetuating cultural misogyny.
@jaketapoer/Bluesky
@BillAckman/Twitter