Why are certain colors associated based on gender?

Probably just tradition. I think in Britain red is a masculine color? I might be wrong. In India women often wear red for a wedding dress and the men wear a shade of white.

It’s all very cultural based I think.

Possibly, young children are naturally drawn to certain colors? Maybe gender differences are observed? That would be interesting. Kids seem to know certain products are targeted towards them based on color I think.

Good question, I didn’t know where these gender color preferences arose from but I found this article interesting.

www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2014/10/pink-used-common-color-boys-blue-girls/

Pink is a lighter color (and not even on a color wheel!), and luke warm; while blue is considered a cool tone. Both play into old gender stereotypes.

Well..according to above article shared by @coloma it was other way round..

Little FDR sure looks like a little girl all dressed up in his frilly dress and little Mary Jane shoes and long hair. Funny how much has changed in less than 100 years ey?

Well things have been changing thick and fast..more so since computer age has started.

Well, it has occurred to me that pink is actually a shade of red, and red is the power color, you know.

Blue is all soft and mushy.

Pink is so different than red. It doesn’t look like light red. Not to me. The white changes it drastically. Light blue looks like lighter blue.

I don’t know and I’ve always thought that it was ridiculous. Since when does color have gender? Makes no sense.

I remember little Prince George (William and Kate’s son) in the UK, about two years ago, photographed with pink overalls on. I remember thinking how in the US, a boy would never have pink anything on. I guess in the UK, pink is ok for boys to wear.

@jca Funny you should say that. I have worn pink button down oxford cloth shirts since I was in grade school. Through my teens and twenties, it meant I was secure in my heterosexuality.

Yes, I agree @zenvelo. Just that we in the US don’t usually put boy children in pink.

Not directly related, but this thread reminded me of an unpleasant pink experience I had: I was buying new running shoes. I was trying a new brand of shoe, so I was at a store for fit. It had a small storefront, and I was the only customer with three male salesmen. The one who helped me brought me several sizes to try on—all in a solid florescent pink. I found the size I wanted, and then asked him if I could have a different color. He made a big frickin deal about the whole thing—announcing to the other two salesmen that I wanted a different color (they deliberately ignored him). And then he brought me over to the computer and pulled up the color selection (which would seem nice). I said I’d want the blue if they had it. But he then proceeded to click on each different image and say Well let’s look at them up close to be sure, and This color? Do you want this color? Are you sure? and Here’s what it looks like from the side, do you still like it?, and Here’s the color even closer-up, do you really still like it? etc… He had also begun to speak in an exaggerated voice with exaggerated gestures. Basically he was making fun of me for being so “frivolous” and “girly” as to worry about the color of my running shoes. I was incensed. Today* (in the US, anyway) pink represents “weakness” and “femininity” simultaneously, and companies insist on making “female” versions of the tools for “strong” pursuits pink (must visually weaken the tools for them to be feminine, after all!)—fitness attire, construction equipment, etc. I didn’t want that kind of marketing on my feet. So he treated me like I was frivolous and girly for not wanting pink. The irony was acute.

* that article was fascinating @Coloma! I didn’t know about the evolution of our perceptions of the colors.

@jca @zenvelo I wonder if the pink on boys in Britain has to do with red being a male color there? I realize also that in America we have gone from little boys being dressed more “femininely” to being dressed like little men instead, while other countries might still dress them as no-gender babies and toddlers. American boys are quickly in polo style shirts just like their dad’s.

I relate pink shirts on men to dressing preppy and fair haired men (WASP’s) called Chip and Biff, who all also own navy blue blazers. Just to screw with my own stereotype, I know a Biff who is Jewish.

@jca Pink is definitely girly in the UK. You should see the see of pink toys and clothes aimed at girls in the shops. Maybe the royals were trying to buck the trend?

When my daughter was born, we said that we would just get toys and clothes, not girl’s toys and girl’s clothes. So lots of primary colours. She liked this stuff well enough but whenever she got something girly like pink clothes or a pink toy pushchair, her delight was so great it was hard to resist getting her that stuff again – she liked it so much more than the neutral stuff.

I think that children find it hard to know what makes them a girl or boy. And when there is so much emphasis on it in speech, attitudes, on TV and in books so the outward display of pink v blue or fairies v trains makes it easy for them to know what is aimed at them and therefore they can even think this makes them a boy or girl.

@Stinley So, you don’t think it’s anything inherent that girls go towards pink and lavender? You believe it’s all from external forces like advertising and socialization?

@JLeslie I do think that it is all external. I think the girls’ toys are more aimed towards social play which studies have shown that girls prefer to a small extent and that boys’ toys are more likely to be construction or competitive as there is a small difference in boys preference for these kind of toys. But both boys and girls like playing with all sorts of toys and the actual difference between their preference is so much smaller than the toy manufacturers and seller would have us believe.
Here is quite an interesting article. This point is relevant: “People, children included, have a strong drive to remember information that is consistent with what they know or think they know. This drive is likely hardwired into us. We like to make predictions about the world…To help us believe that our predictions are always accurate, we are good at forgetting exceptions to our rules or distorting those rules in our mind.”

@Stinley That study is about assumptions young children make. School age children who already have been exposed to tons of marketing and even observation of adults out in the world.

I was thinking more in terms of take two year olds, who do not have older siblings, and put them in a room with all sorts of different colored toys and types of toys and where do they gravitate to? Some way to measure their attraction to color. Kitchen sets in blue rather than pink. That sort of thing. Maybe you can even do it younger? Blocks colored in pink, blue, red, and lavender. Do the boy 18 month olds naturally grab the primary colors to build with, or even just to hold?

I just wonder if there isn’t some pre-wiring of the brain or connection to hormones. I do think environment plays a huge role, but maybe there is some sort of genetic or biological thing going on too? I’ve never researched it when it comes to color.

@Soubresaut I would like to think I’d have the guts to tell that sales person, “You’re an asshole and I’m going some place else. I’ll leave a note with your manager and the owner of the store.”
I think I would have gotten pissed enough to turn on my heel and walk out, but I probably wouldn’t have said anything.

I have a whole post in FB from last summer. I had walked into the hardware store. When I was ready to check out I found myself in line behind this very tall, strong looking young man…and he was wearing a NEON PINK T shirt! I went through all this rant about Real Men Don’t Wear pink and being all homophobic and yadda yadda yadda.
I finally said to the young man’s back, “REAL MEN DON’T WEAR PINK!!!”
The young man turned around, flashed a grin and said “Hi Ma!”

The shirt had the logo of the place he worked at. They’d given him his choice of color. ;) It really looked good against his sun tanned skin.

I love that he is so confident and secure in who he is, and that he really, really likes himself. Maybe because I usually liked him too, from the moment I laid eyes on him, all slimy and wet.

@Dutchess_III I wish I did too. In reality, I barely had enough guts to keep asking for the blue shoes… I walked out of the store angry, but also feeling embarrassed and apologetic. I had to sit in my car and go back through the whole experience again just to convince myself that I did nothing wrong.

What a coincidence running into your son! And him looking so good :)—I knew a guy who had a bright pink shirt that had written on it: “Real Men Wear Pink”; it made me smile every time he wore it.

Well, it’s a small town. <15,000. I love it. I love walking into Walmart, wandering down an aisle and hearing “GRAMMA!!!”

Don’t you just hate it when you feel like you should apologize when they’re the ones in the wrong? I think it’s a girl thing. ... Are you a girl? I haven’t gotten a ticket in eons, but in the past I’ve gotten a couple. The cop would hand me the ticket and invariably, before I could stop myself, I’d say “Thank you.” Then I wanted to slap myself upside the head. sigh.

Yep I’m a girl! :) I use “sorry” in a similar way to your thank you

@Soubresaut Gah isn’t it terrible how women apologize for everything? I always tell other women that are saying “sorry” all the time to just STOP it!

I know…It’s a really bad habit that I think I’ve managed to break myself of. My question is…..why do we do it in the first place?

That and giggle when someone displaces displeasure or anger. I’ve never done that, though.

It’s social conditioning. Notice how more girls have a favorite color blue than guys have a favorite color pink? Notice how it’s considered more shameful to be a feminine man than it is to be a tomboy? It’s not a coincidence. And it’s stupid as hell.

I have no idea. I personally hate pink. I wish companies would expand into other colors.

I’m a woman and hate pink too. I do look good in pink but because it is such a stereotyped color I avoid it like the plague.

Pink is rarely used. When was the last time you saw a pink car or house? Even for clothing you will not see it much. It is infrequent in nature, flamingos being a notable exception. I do not like the color. According to Coloma’s article, blue is preferred over pink by both boys and girls.

My mother had a pink 1958 Plymouth Fury when I was a child. It was quite fascinating, Salmon pink over white. Super cool car. haha

I remember when I was about 5 being told explicitly to not like pink, because it was a weak color and my liking it would make me seem weak. So rather than feel ashamed about the color, I decided I didn’t like it. This person also thought playing with Barbies made me weak… fortunately for me I had too much fun with the worlds I had created for my Barbies to give them up, though the pink packaging of the Barbie dolls did create some dissonance for me.

Now that I’ve recovered from that experience (it took a while!), I like pink again. I think I’ve always liked it, which has made “girly” things being pink easier on my eyes, but not easier on my mind. It’s primary orange and primary purple my eyes can’t handle.

@Coloma & @Dutchess_III yes, it’s a bad habit indeed!
@Mariah—exactly that!!!
@LostInParadise—there’s a house in my neighborhood the precise shade of pepto-bismol pink! It’s been that color since before I was born—so at least over two decades—but it’s the exception proving the rule.

I never was a pink girl. I think I have had 6 clothing items in my life that were pink, or had pink, not including under age 5, because I just don’t remember that far back. Looking at photos of me as a young kid I didn’t wear pink. Growing up to age 9 my room was pink and red. My mom chose it. I did have a bedroom in my late teens that had some pink throw pills along with purple and blue. The room was white though. White walls, white furniture, crisp white duvet and sheets.

I also wasn’t a Barbie girl. I did have one Marie Osmond doll and a Barbie head for a short time that you could put make-up on and do her hair. I was a girly girl I think, in that I like dance and tennis and make-up, and wasn’t attracted to team sports like soccer or softball, but I still did a lot of physical activity. I think attraction to pink as we get older partly has to do with whether you are a blonde or brunette and where you live.

Who actually likes pink?? Well, I heard Marylin Monroe did…..