Tickle me pink > The adult colouring craze Lauren Paulsen Senior Columnist Re I went into Chapters or the first time in a while. The first display case that | saw was filled with colouring books. Off to the right, I saw an entire section of colouring books. I knew about the recent colouring craze, but I hadn't realized it had gotten to the extent where bookstores had entire sections devoted to them. I was kind of amused. I've always been a fan of colouring. I find it soothing. However, all of the colouring books that were on the market had been for children, and colouring something that simple didn’t really fulfill my artistic need. It was too simple. I sometimes looked for complicated black and white pictures on the Internet to colour in, but pickings were sparse. Mostly what I found were mandalas. So the first time I saw one of these adult colouring books I was intrigued. I can draw my own complicated swirls and scenes— I’ve been an artist all my life—but not having to spend a lot of time creating these and just spending the time colouring them in is really relaxing. I don’t have to worry about re-drawing lines because I’ve made a mistake. Instead, I can just focus on the colour of the picture. It’s not the actual concept of adults colouring that I found amusing when I walked into the store. Rather, it’s the fact that it has become such a craze. The fuckboy enigma > Stop gender shaming Davie Wong Sports Editor very year, the English dictionary is expanded with popular slangs and terms that grew to common use. Last year, it was the word “twerk,” a popular dance. This year, the word could be “fuckboy.’” But what is a fuckboy? Fuckboy is something that keyboard warriors all over the world have been debating fora little less than a year. The general consensus is that a fuckboy is a male individual who attempts to befriend women for the purpose of extorting sexual favors or indecent images. By that definition, it is easy to see how this word rose to popularity. With the concept of online dating constantly growing, so is the number of online predators. The word fuckboy could be used to differentiate online male predators from the general population of men that use online dating tools. In that case, the slang makes sense. However, that isn’t the case. Like many forms of slang, the word fuckboy has diverged from its original definition. What was originally used to quickly share knowledge of online predators between peers has quickly evolved into a blanket term for men that are interested in sexual relationships. In many ways, it has become the replacement for the early 2000’s slang “player.” What it has evolved to doesn’t bother me. What bothers me is that it is shaming promiscuous men. The word fuckboy is now more commonly used as an aggressive label for men that enjoy casual sex, not to identify Suddenly so many people are jumping in on the phenomenon. So many, in fact, that companies that create pencil crayons are having shortages and can’t keep up with the demand. I guess people just always thought of colouring as a childish thing. Of course, some people still do. Actor-comedian Russell Brand made a video rant about his opinion on the craze. He questions whether the popularity of these colouring books is a sign of the apocalypse. He thinks that colouring in pictures is a waste of time, and that we should be doing something more meaningful with our lives. I don't agree with this point of view. I can actually attest to the calm and relaxing feeling that colouring gives me. It’s actually more relaxing than drawing, online predators. For so long now, we, asa society, have fought against shaming women for being sexually expressive. Why is it now that men can be shamed for their desire to do the same? Is that not a double standard? If the end goal of every fight for equality is for true equality, then we need to get rid of words that shame not just women, but men as well. Words like fuckboy are steps backwards to that goal. But what if I told you there was an easy fix for all the shaming and all the hurt that people put out in this world? There really is. Stop empowering it. Words like fuckboy get their power from the masses. What looks like a simple childish term has evolved and became a tool used to shame men. The way to stop it is to stop using it. It seems like a sometimes, because colouring in a picture requires less brain- work than drawing from scratch. If we look at it from Brand’s and other critics’ perspective then any relaxing activity— such as meditation, listening to music, fishing, golfing, or watching television—would be seen as a waste of time. We need time to relax, so why can't colouring a picture be included as one of those activities? These adult colouring books also give people who have difficulty drawing a chance to enter the world of artists. I have talked to friends who feel proud of their coloured pictures, but feel they could never draw picture themselves. It gives them a sense of accomplishment when they finish an adult colouring book. They are making works of simple solution, and it is. Similar to how we try to stop shaming women with words such as slut and whore, we need to stop shaming men with words as well. It all has to start somewhere, so why not start with you. Stop using the word fuckboy. Stop giving it the power to shame men. Stop shaming anybody. Build a world where people are not afraid to be themselves, no matter who Image via thinkstoc art, no matter what critics may say, because they are colouring these pictures in uniquely. And who knows? Maybe it will spur them to draw themselves. When Scottish illustrator Johanna Basford had the idea to create a colouring book for adults—instead of making the colouring book for children that her publishing house asked her to do—she couldn't have had any idea how explosive it would become. No matter what critics like Brand are saying, there is no denying that there is definitely something special about colouring. If people didn’t like this activity, then 16-million copies of the first three adult colouring books by Basford would not have been sold in three years.colouring books. they are. Put a stop to the hate. Tell your friends that fuckboy is not an okay word. It’s not okay to shame anyone, and that includes men. Because the last time I checked, man or woman, we're all human.