Girl and Boy Toys
Walking down the aisles of Walmart, or any other store containing children toys or clothes, it is easy to distinguish between what is for girls and what is for boys. The girl toy aisle contains dolls, dresses, and hairbrushes- nearly all of which, are pink. The boy toy aisle displays footballs, mock tools, nerf guns, and action figures all covered in blue. Even the boards behind the toys are the corresponding color. The clothes aisles follow the same pattern with girls having pink and purple dresses with 'princess' and other feminine words printed on them while boys have blue shirts with footballs, soccer balls, and other sports equipment on them.
Clothing History
Today's "pink is for girls and blue is for boys mentality" wasn't established until the late 1900's.
Before the 18th century, three categories of clothing existed. Each of which represented a mix of age, gender, and occupation. The infant category included diapers, swaddling clothes, and long dresses. The trousered category included pants worn by men and boys over the age of seven. The third category was known as skirted, encompassing skirts worn by women, male clergy, and children under seven. Long, loose white gowns were worn by children before they could walk. Smaller versions of adult clothing were worn after the child learned how to walk. All young children wore skirts and other styles similar to that of the adult woman. Age seven was when boys were given their first pair of trousers; at this time, age was more important than gender.
Before the 18th century, three categories of clothing existed. Each of which represented a mix of age, gender, and occupation. The infant category included diapers, swaddling clothes, and long dresses. The trousered category included pants worn by men and boys over the age of seven. The third category was known as skirted, encompassing skirts worn by women, male clergy, and children under seven. Long, loose white gowns were worn by children before they could walk. Smaller versions of adult clothing were worn after the child learned how to walk. All young children wore skirts and other styles similar to that of the adult woman. Age seven was when boys were given their first pair of trousers; at this time, age was more important than gender.
Up until the 19th century, all babies wore white dresses until about the age of six or seven. White dresses and diapers were worn for due to ease of cleaning and laundering; White was easy to bleach and keep clean. The early 20th century was when boys started wearing pant and girls started wearing dresses and color started to be impacted by gender. In 1927, Time magazine printed a chart showing sex-appropriate colors for girls and boys according to leading U.S. stores. This chart stated that boys should be dressed in pink and girls in blue. Pink was for boys because it was a powerful color. Blue was designated to girls because it was considered delicate and dainty. Pink was also associated with the 'fiery' male temperament, while blue was associated with the Virgin Mary and the purity and goodness of a little girl. This gender difference reached a halt in the 1960's when women dressed themselves and their daughters more like men during the women's liberation movement.
Unisex infant styles became popular in the 1970's and early 1980's due to the baby boom parents rejecting the "pink-boy girl-blue" paradigm and sexism of the 1950's. During the 1970's there was a two year period that the store Sears Roebuck stocked no pink toddler clothing; this was part of a gender neutral clothing period that extended until about 1985.
Unisex infant styles became popular in the 1970's and early 1980's due to the baby boom parents rejecting the "pink-boy girl-blue" paradigm and sexism of the 1950's. During the 1970's there was a two year period that the store Sears Roebuck stocked no pink toddler clothing; this was part of a gender neutral clothing period that extended until about 1985.
Modern Clothes
Modern clothes include disposable diapers in pink and blue, while toys label gender as pink for girls and blue for boys. Expecting parents learn the sex of their unborn baby around 18 weeks. Excitement is shared and shopping begins for the gender appropriate pink-girl or blue-boy products. Cards congratulating parents on their new boy or girl are also different for each gender. Cards received for boys commonly depict an active infant with cars or sports equipment, things normally used by older children. However, cards for girls depict passive infants and symbols appropriate for younger children including rattles or mobiles and words like sweet and beautiful. People not only dress babies differently but also judge babies differently based on what the projected gender is, regardless of the child's actual sex. Babies and young children dressed in blue are assumed to be males and are interacted with in a more physical way. Conversely, babies and children dressed in pink are believed to be female and interactions with them and more verbal and subtle. Culture values and encourages strength in boys, while valuing appearance in girls. Children become conscious of their gender between ages three and four, and do not realize its permanence until age six or seven. Advertising within popular media and the different treatment of children reinforce gender norms.
Studies Show...
A study published in 2007 addresses the reason girls prefer pink and boys prefer blue. Both the men and women tested shared an inclination for the color blue. This is believed to be because of humankind’s beginnings on the plains of Africa where blue skies represented good weather. Females then showed a preference for shades of pink which is explained by early civilizations’ division of labor. While men hunted, women gathered fruits and berries. A majority of these fruits and berries were of a reddish tone. In addition, women may also have developed a preference for pink in response to an important ability to quickly identify red on the color spectrum on the flushed faces of their sick children. The overall results of the study showed that women prefer reddish-purple tones while men prefer blue-green tones. The divergence along the red-green axis held true for all the adults in the study and is believed to apply to children as well.
Literature Consulted:
- http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/When-Did-Girls-Start-Wearing-Pink.html?c=y&page=1
- http://www.divinecaroline.com/life-etc/color-code-why-pink-girls-and-blue-boys
- http://content.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1654371,00.html
- http://site.ebrary.com.proxy2.cl.msu.edu/lib/michstate/docDetail.action?docID=10537957
- http://site.ebrary.com.proxy2.cl.msu.edu/lib/michstate/docDetail.action?docID=10465442
- http://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(07)01559-X