The pink and blue problem

Pink and blue, one of the most common colors in the world, are regarded as the most basic colors for babies. This trend originated in the mid-19th century, however, originally, the two colors were not promoted as gender signifiers until just before World War I.

January 2017

What are the implications of associating colors with gender?

Well, for starters, culturally constructed, gender norms, are often generalized, developing stereotypes over time.


"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,” claims a June 1918 article from the trade publication Earnshaw’s Infants’ Department.


In fact, subsequent to the 1940, manufacturers initiated the production of pink items for baby girls and blue items for baby boys. Eventually, this trend spread into what we now refer to as a gender   stereotype.

Furthermore, a serious implication when considering these two colors is the idea that pink becomes "girly" and if boys use this color they become "feminine."




June 2013


This sort of ideology, stemmed from media, in which colors tend to reflect towards masculinity and femininity, instills within children from a young age, that these colors correspond to a particular gender and if one of your gender wears the opposite color it is "socially taboo"


Take, for example Pottery Barn Kids, a world renowned store that sells children items. 

As demonstrated by the pictures above, the perception that blue is a boy’s color and pink is a girl’s color is found in the advertisements. This can be seen in all the advertisements where the distinct difference of colors (pink for girls and blue for boys) is used to promote children's products  This, thus integrates within our minds, subconsciously, that these colors are only acceptable for these genders, due to the prevalence of the stereotype and the implementation of it in our day-to-day lives. 

January 2018


However, this sort of thinking only misrepresents the facts and objectifies kids, in which it creates a wrong sense of perception among people.


The most common misconception among parents is that they sometimes cut boys off from the pink color, since they might “turn out gay." 

   This sort of “labeling” or “generalization” has an impact on multitudes of people and shapes the way society acts. Recently, an awareness of the pink and blue problem arose, as people are now demanding more gender neutral colors. This is an improvement that should help subside gender stereotypes. Nevertheless, the true problem will not be solved until the association of colors to genders are completely abolished.