If you see newborn babies at a hospital in the U.S., you’ll most likely see them in pink or blue outfits to mark their sex (often conflated with gender identity). Has the U.S. always used colors to signify boys or girls? The short answer is no. Pastel colors for baby clothing—including blue and pink—were introduced in the mid-19th century, and they didn’t become sex-specific colors until the 20th century. A couple of different aspects affected the ultimate designation of pink for girls.
Back before pastels were popular for babies, most parents dressed their kids in white dresses until they were about six. Historian Jo B. Paoletti says this outfit was practical: white cotton could be easily bleached, and dresses allowed convenient access for diaper changing. Then pastel colors became a fad for babies. These pastels weren’t marketed to a certain sex: both boys and girls were dressed in a wide array of pastels, including blue and pink.
At the beginning of the 20th century, some stores began suggesting “sex-appropriate” colors. In 1918 the trade publication Earnshaw’s Infants’ Department claimed the “generally accepted rule is pink for the boys, and blue for the girls. The reason is that pink, being a more decided and stronger color, is more suitable for the boy, while blue, which is more delicate and dainty, is prettier for the girl.” Additionally, a 1927 issue of Time noted that large-scale department stores in Boston, Chicago, and New York suggested pink for boys. This trend of pink for boys was not as overwhelming as our current color-sex designation, however.
The baby boomers in the 1940s were the first to be dressed in the sex-specific clothing that Americans are familiar with today. Boys and girls were dressed like miniature men and women instead of uniformly in children’s dresses. Pink became the girls’ color, blue the boys’. This trend in children’s clothing took a dip in the mid-1960s and 1970s owing to the women’s liberation movement. People who took part in this movement thought that dressing young girls in feminine or stereotypically “girly” clothing would limit the girls’ opportunities for success, and many parents began favoring neutral colors and fashions. By the 1980s, however, gender-oriented kids clothing had come back into fashion strongly. Paoletti points to the invention of prenatal testing as the cause of this fad, since parents were able to learn (and subsequently emphasize) the sex of their baby before the baby’s birth. Also, clothes-washing technology began to allow cleaning and bleaching of colorful clothes without damage to the clothes’ hues.
Although pink is currently associated with all things feminine, it hasn't always been that way. It's hard to imagine now, but pink was once the color preferred for little boys. A Ladies Home Journal article from 1890 advised, “Pure white is used for all babies.
In the 1920s, some groups had described pink as a masculine color, an equivalent to red, which was considered for men but lighter for boys. But stores nonetheless found that people were increasingly choosing to buy pink for girls, and blue for boys, until this became an accepted norm in the 1940s.
It wasn't until the 1940s that manufacturers went in the opposite direction and decided that pink was for girls, and blue was for boys. But then, just one generation later, the women's liberation movement ushered in unisex baby clothing once again, which remained in vogue until the mid-1980s.
In fact, pink was even considered to be a masculine color. In old catalogs and books, pink was the color for little boys, said Leatrice Eiseman, a color expert and executive director of the Pantone Color Institute.
Steele believes that the acquisition of two 18th-century paintings by American millionaire Henry Huntington started turning the tide in favor of pink being a girls' color. “The Blue Boy” depicted a boy dressed in blue, and “Pinkie” portrayed a girl in pink attire.
In the 1920s, some groups had described pink as a masculine color, an equivalent to red, which was considered for men but lighter for boys. But stores nonetheless found that people were increasingly choosing to buy pink for girls, and blue for boys, until this became an accepted norm in the 1940s.
“If you go back to the 18th century, little boys and little girls of the upper classes both wore pink and blue and other colors uniformly,” said Valerie Steele, director of the Museum at FIT, the Fashion Institute of Technology, in New York. In fact, pink was even considered to be a masculine color.
Blue was meant to go with blue eyes and/or blonde hair, and pink for brown eyes and/or brown hair. Then, blue was actually the color that was assigned to girls, because it was seen as a dainty color, and pink was seen as a stronger color, so it was assigned to boys.
He doesn't think that Gatsby is girly, he just thinks he has bad taste. That's because it wasn't until after World War II that pink came to be equated with femininity. People formed that association largely because it was first lady Mamie Eisenhower's favorite color.
Steele believes that the acquisition of two 18th-century paintings by American millionaire Henry Huntington started turning the tide in favor of pink being a girls' color. “The Blue Boy” depicted a boy dressed in blue, and “Pinkie” portrayed a girl in pink attire.
In fact, pink was even considered to be a masculine color. In old catalogs and books, pink was the color for little boys, said Leatrice Eiseman, a color expert and executive director of the Pantone Color Institute.
When we look at the positive psychological traits of pink, it's the colour that expresses compassion, nurturing, caring and empathetic love. This is not the exclusive domain of little girls or women. Empathetic love is just as much for boys as it is for girls, and is just as easily expressed by men as it is by women.
Blue was meant to go with blue eyes and/or blonde hair, and pink for brown eyes and/or brown hair. Then, blue was actually the color that was assigned to girls, because it was seen as a dainty color, and pink was seen as a stronger color, so it was assigned to boys.
It wasn't until the 1940s that retailers and manufacturers decided on pink for girls and blue for boys. Then the women's lib movement of the '70s actually pushed retailers back to gender neutrality.
The baby boomers in the 1940s were the first to be dressed in the sex-specific clothing that Americans are familiar with today. Boys and girls were dressed like miniature men and women instead of uniformly in children's dresses. Pink became the girls' color, blue the boys'.
It wasn't until the 1950s that the color pink became a "girly" color. Many historians point to Dwight Eisenhower's presidential inauguration as a pivotal moment in the history of pink. Mamie Eisenhower, the new first lady, arrived at the inaugural ball in a stunning pink ball gown studded with 2,000 rhinestones.
It wasn't until the 1940s that retailers and manufacturers decided on pink for girls and blue for boys. Then the women's lib movement of the '70s actually pushed retailers back to gender neutrality. But in the '80s, the once lace-deprived girls became new moms, and the division of pink and blue started anew.
Males were much more likely to agree with the statement that 'Blue is more of a boy's colour' (68% cf. 32% females) and also more likely (albeit to a lesser extent) to agree that 'Pink is more of a girl's colour' (60% cf. 40% females). Females were MUCH more likely to say that they 'liked the colour pink' (85% cf.
Introduction: My name is Mr. See Jast, I am a open, jolly, gorgeous, courageous, inexpensive, friendly, homely person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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