Is it just me or is there something odd about receiving an email about a fashionable gun for women although I’ve never bought a gun? The presentation of the email is that left-handed women can now get an accurate, fashionable pink .38 Special + P caliber handgun with the cute name “Southpaw Pink Lady.”

It sounds more like a fruity drink than a deadly weapon.

My problem is not the thought of a woman buying a gun for self-defense, but the marketing strategy. If I got the email without a history of buying guns, then it must have been an indiscriminate mailing.

The gun is produced by Charter Arms, which says it produced a mirror image of its “wildly popular” right-hand Pink Lady firearm because of a demand from customers. The marketing verbiage is pretty effective with phrases like “compact ultra-lightweight Undercover series” and “weights a feathery 12-ounces thanks to its tough 7075 aircraft aluminum frame.” It’s almost like reading a fashion magazine description of the must-have handbag for teenagers. It even has a quasi apology for costing $36 more than its right-hand version (also pink). Who are the intended customers here?