General Question

lc's avatar

How was the distinction between masculine and feminine colors originally decided?

Asked by lc (349points) March 21st, 2009

How did pink get assigned to girls and blue for boys, etc? Is there a historical reason or an origin to the tradition that anyone knows about?

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10 Answers

cwilbur's avatar

Er, until the early 20th century it was red—and pink, being a pastel version of red—that was the boys’ color.

http://histclo.com/Gender/color.html

evelyns_pet_zebra's avatar

I recently read something about this, but I can’t remember where. Seems cwilbur has a link though. Lurve to cwilbur.

laureth's avatar

Yeah, it was thought that red/pink was too strong a color for women, and blue was much softer and calmer, more appropriate.

AstroChuck's avatar

Perhaps you’ll find your answer here.

lc's avatar

@AstroChuck GREAT question ;)

mangeons's avatar

And likewise, who decided it?

eponymoushipster's avatar

Pink is not feminine everywhere, nor i blue masculine. In Russia, light blue (often associated with little boys in the US) is the color of homosexuals. Actually, the word for light blue is the slang term for “gays”, much like pink is here in the US.

MRSHINYSHOES's avatar

In many cultures, “dark colors” are usually associated with males, and “light” colors with females. Black, navy, dark green, brown, grey with men, pink, red, white, and pastel colors with women. I think it’s because in these cultures, men are expected to be strong, stable, and serious——and dark colors give that impression. Women are expected to be soft, delicate, light-hearted and sweet, and light colors imply those qualities.

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