BIC’s own 2015 shareholder letter described its For Her collection as ballpoint and gel pens for women. The familiar Cristal got a tinted barrel—pink, purple, blue, green, or orange—and was made thinner to fit more comfortably in a woman’s hand.
At last, a writing instrument that understood the truly mysterious differences between men’s notes and women’s notes. The company took a universal pen, narrowed it, recolored it, and gave it a demographic.
Sources: BIC 2015 Shareholders’ Letter; The Irish Times, “Write on, sisters”.
Image: Trounce / Wikimedia Commons; standard BIC Cristal shown, not the For Her variant. CC BY 3.0.