ABSTRACT
In 2001, Nike was advertising women’s athletic shoes with a campaign that capitalized on the dissonance of femininity and feminism, but also suggested that it was time to erase that dissonance. Slogans such as “I paint my toenails. I play football” promised that women could be simultaneously sexy and hard core. In television commercials aired during the US Open, tennis powerhouse Venus Williams appeared in Reebok ads attired in a pink princess gown-another visual argument that female strength could coexist with the accoutrements of femininity. Pink had come out of the closet-and not just as a symbol of gay culture.
