Code Pink

Code Pink, feminist antiwar organization founded in 2002 to protest U.S. military involvement in Afghanistan and Iraq. The name Code Pink was adopted to satirize the colour-coded terrorism alert system put in place by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in 2002 and discontinued in 2011. The first Code Pink protest, a four-month vigil in front of the White House, began November 17, 2002.

From its founding, the organization was loosely structured and its leadership largely nonhierarchical. Code Pink events typically offer a theatrical spin on classic forms of protest, using tactics that subvert traditional symbols of femininity. One example is the group’s staging of mock firings of government officials in which the officials are presented with “pink slips” in the form of women’s lingerie. The group also became known for staging disruptive protests at congressional hearings and at politicians’ speeches.

In addition to opposing the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Code Pink protested against the indefinite detention of terrorism suspects at the Guantánamo Bay detention camp and the United States’ use of combat drones. Members of the group also spoke out in support of causes including Palestinian rights and gun control in the United States.