Pink for boys and blue for girls

A bit of history

Let me explain, at that time all parents chose to dress their children in cotton and a nuclear white color until they were 7 years old. The reasons were simple, they chose it because white was easier to wash and they said it prevented the child from growing up perverted by wearing the wrong clothes.

After this, pastel shades came as a trend in the 19th century. But, unlike what you might think, this was not done to define the type of gender by color. However, this did not happen until the end of World War I, since it was the first time that the differentiation between these two colors was made. The fact was known through a publication in Earnshaw's Infants' magazine in 1918. It said that the accepted rule was pink for boys and blue for girls. As support, they claimed that pink was more decisive and strong, while blue is more delicate and refined for girls.

Although it was a trend in those years, it did not manage to completely establish itself in society's thinking. In addition, each store decided for itself which color it preferred to assign to each sex. As reported by Time magazine in 1927, it can be observed that both boys and girls were assigned almost equally the colors pink and blue.

How blue for boys and pink for girls came to be today

Now that we know a little bit about history, I'm sure you also want to know how pink for girls and blue for boys came to be popular. Well, let me tell you that this happened in 1940 after World War II. It was at this time that it was decided to drastically change the orientation of these colors without a specific reason, just because. Also, the fashion that was emerging in retailers was one of the biggest drivers for this to become popular in this way.

In this way, society came to accept it almost completely if it weren't for the feminist movement of the 60s. These mothers marched to dress their daughters the same as their boys, with the idea of maintaining gender equality. In fact, due to these protests, one of the biggest brands called Sears, stopped producing pink baby clothes for two years. For this reason, genderless baby clothes continued to be accepted until the mid-80s.

From this time onwards, the big, definitive change happened. I can say that, unconsciously, we all came to settle the idea that blue is for boys and pink is for girls. However, if we can remember the effect after World War II, we can find some sense in this. Actually, those born in these times are known today as Baby Boomers. And it was they who grew up with this concept of associating gender with colors, so they are applying the same to their generation in these times.

mamitafeliz/December 13, 2021/blogdemamasfelices/Pink for boys and blue for girls