Why was Pink for Boys and Blue for Girls?

[@ZorroVulpes]

Two questions I still have: 1. Why are the other colors gender neutral? 2. Why is it not a big deal for women to wear blue anymore, but there's a stigma against men wearing pink?

[@olivias.3750]

ZorroVulpes I think I can answer number 2 for you. Nowadays it’s generally acceptable for women to act/dress masculine but when men wear pink (a color that is associated w/ feminine stuff) it make them seem weak or soft (which still isn’t normally accepted by society)

[@robinchesterfield42]

Yeah, #2 is part of a whole thing: Women doing guy stuff is "cute" up to a point, whereas guys being girly is "EEEEWWW, GAY!!" Case in point: Names. Look how many names have gone from being a family name to being a male first name only to being androgynous and then a GIRL name only...and _then_ look how many have gone the other way. ...I can't think of _any_, off the top of my head.Heck, my own screen name is an example of that! :)

[@sandrallewellyn2632]

Patriarchy. It confines BOTH women and men

[@silverbane8065]

Might be some of the old christening rules for infants. My mother often told me that babies must wear only white or yellow/lemon before they were christend in church, but we are in the UK so I duno about USA baptizement clothes rules

[@Kat-tq6tm]

2. Yeah. It's stupid. When I do see a guy wearing pink I find it odd, but cool. They're willing to break the normal clothing ideal

[@YukihyoShiraki]

The more I watch this channel, the more I’m beginning to realize how much of our culture has been driven and manipulated by consumerism...

[@christianawilliams9101]

Oh Yes. I heard that even diamonds engagement rings were pushed by a company/industry.

[@ariellel6123]

@@christianawilliams9101 Yes they were, personally when I get married I want a cheaper ring because they cost a fortune!

[@barbaracrisp6121]

Now, you’re waking up, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

[@Graestra]

When you think about how much control social media has over peoples lives it gets kinda scary.

[@hambone4984]

That's capitalism baby 😎

[@tultsi93]

Pink used to be a boys' color, because it was lighter shade red, and red symbolized fire and masculinity. Blue was a girls' color, because it symbolized harmony and femininity.

[@lazyowl95]

@Sword Dance nobody argues that...

[@robenkhoury7079]

@@lazyowl95 most people argue that :(

[@Kyle-fn9tz]

I don’t see blue as feminine, It’s only the Westerns from the past who Viewed The color blue as feminine and pink as masculine.

[@bria8481]

@@Kyle-fn9tz their talking about the past

[@nullvoid6095]

@@Kyle-fn9tz blue also used to be considered feminine since it’s the color of the Virgin Mary (wisdom, heaven, empress, Byzantine royalty). When people are talking about masculine/feminine colors, it’s about Western countries possibly with Christian influences. Shades of red (and pink was considered a shade of red in the ancient world) was more associated with Christ, representing the Holy Spirit, martyrdom, blood, his death on the Cross, fire (of passion. Fire also purify sins). Pink could be a mix of red and white, making it the color of “flesh and bone” as well as health and youth. Light, pastel shades of blue and red (aka pink) were used to tell the difference between boys and girls before they started wearing sex-distinguishable clothing, so the masculine-feminine association came to be. And because it was based on the Virgin Mary’s portrayal with deep blue & Jesus’s portrayal with fiery red, it became that way long ago.

[@II-ne3lp]

My son has always preferred purple colors lol. Hes five and wears pink and purple flannels and black jeans and no one says anything

[@ben10nyson]

💜

[@II-ne3lp]

BTS Satan 💜

[@allanrichardson1468]

Purple was only for royalty until the synthetic dye called “mauve” was invented in the 19th century (an interesting science history story in itself). Before mauve, since ancient times the only source of purple dye was a mollusk found in the Eastern Mediterranean, near modern Lebanon. The dye was called Tyrian Purple because it was sold by the merchants of Tyre to wealthy nobles and kings all over the Mediterranean world. It was very expensive, since you have to crush and boil a lot of those poor little critters to get a small amount of dye. This is the origin of the phrase “born to the Purple,” meaning of royal birth.

[@nicomoist5336]

@@allanrichardson1468 so this person's kid likes to be royalty. Noice

[@smileez2556]

Sameee.. I like purple

[@Ciesiam]

I love the confidence in men who wear pink. This is attractive to me.

[@a-s-greig]

Noted. Time to dig my Brony merch out of the closet...

[@kay4081]

I just prefer feminine men then masculine men.

[@smileez2556]

I think men wearing pink is completely fine... I dont get why people think theyre gay. Its just a colour

[@smileez2556]

My classmate wore pink at a holiday and i think it looks pretty lit

[@cadethumann8605]

@@kay4081 Why need to separate masculinity and femininity? Why not share each other's virtues (like, I can see a "feminine" woman being assertive and willing to help a nearby citizen in need while a "masculine" man being soft and compassionate towards children).

[@danagray9709]

you forgot the original reason for pink as a color for boys: Red was considered a manly, royal color. Pink was seen as simply a lighter version of red. Thus, pink was for boys, who weren't quite old enough to qualify for a manly color like red.

[@ca9drop]

What about blue for girls?

[@mkxguides5711]

Carlo Reyes maybe purple was a royal colour for women and so blue was for girls because they weren't ready for purple yet?

[@santiagoleiras6876]

Mkx Guides purple is a very difficult dye to find in nature, that's why royalty used it, because it was expensive and the masses couldn't afford it.

[@santiagoleiras6876]

Mkx Guides it wasn't until very recently that they discovered a way to synthesize purple dye, before that it was hella expensive

[@zappawoman5183]

Carlo Reyes I think it might have something to do with the Virgin Mary. Blue used to be a very expensive paint colour, so it was used to depict and honour the Virgin Mary in icongraphy and thus became associated with feminity and purity.

[@Spomeroy014]

Summary: back in the day, people just wore clothes and wanted to reuse them when they had another kid. Nowadays, stores want you to spend more money so they advertise the need to buy new clothes and toys for every child.

[@jgvanv812]

Sean Pomeroy with my first child who is a boy we didn't find out if he was a boy or girl so we got a whole stash of gender neutral clothing now we are having a girl and already have what she needs for the first 6 months of her life. Yes we did get gender specific clothing for him when he was born and are getting gender specific items for her now too but we only have to get a couple cuz we have most of what she needs.

[@Diamondraw4Real]

not always the case, but good point.

[@Diamondraw4Real]

Amber Valancy same here 😊

[@rachelb1502]

@@jgvanv812 true, plus the girls toys/xlothes are always so patronising and shit..

[@Indiebee8]

Sean Pomeroy I had my son 4 years ago and I’m using his old clothes for my 3 month old baby girl.

[@aplam94]

I don’t believe that colour should be based on a The sex of a person. I believe people should wear whatever colour they want.

[@alize0623]

April Lam Babies can barely be called people. They’re babies. They can’t even hold their head up, much less tell you what they want to wear.

[@Artheila]

Then you dress your child in what you like and also keep it varied so that it's a real choice for them once they're older, and they're not automatically always chosing pink simply because that's what you've always dressed them in. They are people, just not ones capable of making fashion choices. A child can ofteb tell you what they want to wear from around 1.5 years old.

[@Ashenicky2009]

Yea. It started a pretty irritating debate in elementary. Pink and purple were girl colors, and boys had all the other colors known to man. It was irritating to me, though my favorite color was always purple, what if my favorite was green?

[@j.j2-classyvevo840]

@@Ashenicky2009 it's pretty cool that you noticed that. "Boys have all the other colors known to man" lol that's very true. I was watching a ted talks & a trans dad who was trying to raise his child gender neutral said a very similar comment "he said if you dress your child in gender neutral colors(orange, green, yellow, red) no one is going to see your baby & say 'that's a cute gender neutral baby' they're simply going to say 'that's a cute BOY'. I know as a boy i was pretty much trained by social norms to like the color blue, which blue is a beautiful color imo but now that i'm older & trying not to have gender norms control my thoughts & behaviour, i brought some pink stuff but came to the conclusion I don't like the color pink (pink is too loud & obnoxious for me, it's kinda like a eye sore). But I realized(like you) i like the color purple & I actually decked out my room with a lot of purple. But I like wearing pink stuff just as a protest to gender norms(even tho I hate pink 🤮 lol)

[@MelB868]

I let my Sunday school have any color construction paper they want unless the activity calls for a certain color so then everyone gets the same color.

[@nans969]

When I was pregnant with my son, early 90s, I wasn't told his gender. For some reason at my baby shower, I got a lot of girly clothing. Like onsies and pj's. He was a big baby. He grew really fast. I had no problem using the girly clothes. Mostly at night. I used what I had. Especially if I had to change his clothes 2 or 3 times a night. They were clean and fit him. This was only up to 6 months. He grew out of things fast. He is 29. He's not traumatized. He's not gay( you can't turn someone gay. Someone actually said that to me because he wore ballerina pj's at home). I think people are too hung up on gender pacific items. I'm a girl and I played with trucks and cars. My son and friends played with kitchen sets in school. They are toys.

[@iamdrlal]

Trucks go vroom

[@iamdrlal]

Trucks go vroom

[@octosmart3548]

Actually cooking sets toys is for both gender and cooking is for both genders

[@rachaelgreen1812]

Yes

[@nans969]

@@AliciaGonzalez-pk3mw how is it confusing? They are just clothing. And I never took embarrassing pictures of him. Sorry that someone wearing clothing that is not traditionally for that persons gender makes you feel uncomfortable.

[@jayxfrost8987]

I really don't like these gendered nurseries where girls have to have everything pink and boys blue. Everyone is allowed to wear what they want, and not what their gender tells them they should weird. Btw. I'm a girl and I've always hated pink.. specially combined with white it's so sweet it gives me diabetes.

[@bagheerita]

I"m also a girl who's always hated pink; it's my least favorite color of them all. My dad can pull off pink shirts really well, though.

[@gigachadkaiba2700]

I'm a girl who hates wearing dresses 👗 (and bikinis 👙) so much no matter what color it is because it's really embarrassing and ridiculous! I prefer tuxedos 👔, hoodies, clothes that cover my whole body, T-shirts with quotes 👕, jeans 👖, shorts below the knees, jordans 👟, cabs, unisex clothes, boxers/trunks, sports bra, jogging pants,... 😒 Edit: I'm a tomboy... 😑😑😑

[@crab5862]

@@gigachadkaiba2700 i like your style.

[@gigachadkaiba2700]

@@crab5862 thanks… 😅

[@princemaxx]

@@gigachadkaiba2700 And you'll probably never get majorly criticized for it probably just questioned. While me, being a guy, decided to wear heels, leggings, crop tops, booty shorts, and dresses would be criticized immediately. Honestly I hate it bc out of some of the stuff i said i actually would love to wear but society just doesn't agree with men having varieties bc it looks "feminine ".

[@caitlincorbett6193]

I like more of a "exposing the child to all kinds of colors" mentality. I would get bored looking at one color all of the time. I had so many favorite colors growing up. I liked all of them :)

[@christianawilliams9101]

I have heard that newborns only see red, black and white to begin with so actually it might be better to start with those colors

[@synflwr]

I loved yellow and green when I was younger, and I hated pink.

[@bobbiusshadow6985]

Agreed, 100%..... even generic white walls bore me

[@bubbly7137]

Me as a child liked a different colour every week. lol

[@girlloveskpopanime1515]

Caitlin Corbett ikr

[@EddyGurge]

I see you're wearing blue.

[@pbsorigins]

EddyGurge complete coincidence I swear. I also currently have pink hair...so I guess I'm unconsciously mirroring the topics of our videos.

[@EddyGurge]

Origin Of Everything you're doing great. Just a random observation that amused me :)

[@celeste8157]

And blue eyeshadow

[@hankiedave]

And kind of a pink necklace :0

[@jenbo2547]

@@pbsorigins Blue looks great on you, esp with your hair color. This is very interesting, I ask myself a lot of questions re origin, so I think I struck gold here! I knew about the dresses for boys from looking through old photos with my grandmother. However, not the colors, maybe because the photos were black and white :) Thank you much!

[@swedishfeeish]

I remember as a kid watching the old version of 101 Dalmatians and seeing that the father dog's color was red, while the mother dog's color was blue so I was a bit confused about which color belonged to which gender.

[@marthaloven9385]

The dog's names are Pongo and Perdita (Perdy) by the way.

[@Hellothere-ky4jr]

@Xavier McKell yes

[@SusanHopkinson]

You’re a great presenter. 👌🏻

[@sarahbelle1124]

Danielle, it's so nice to listen to you. You're intelligent and speak fluidly.

[@myopinionsarefacts]

So what we have learned is that clothing is just fancy fabric that doesn't mean anything

[@Diamondraw4Real]

kimonos come in different colors and chosen for/by the buyer according to their age.

[@theocaratic]

Words are just sounds and don't have any meaning. just like clothes, they only have the meaning we assign them. so if we assign meaning to clothes, then they have meaning in the same way that words do.

[@theowesaye9001]

@@theocaratic nvm I didn't understand what you were saying until I reread it sorry I'm so dumb lel 😝😶

[@bubbly7137]

*claps*

[@EmeraldEyesEsoteric]

Wrong. It means what Nature says it means. Blue relates to Sky and Water. Green for Vegetation. If your child is a vegetable get him green? Hahaha. JK. Pink / Purple in nature is found in flowers and sunsets. Red is a color of blood, red rocks, lava. White is universally for clouds, light, and purity. Yellow is gold, wealth, and the Sun. Black is darkness. All Skin colors are the colors of dirt. Bible says we are dirt.

[@vilwarin5635]

curiosity #1 blue, as a color associated with purity, was one of the favourites to make wedding dresses (as well as green) before Queen Victoria rocked the white. curiosity#2 in the old Disney´s film, you can see the boys dressed in pink (Michael, in Peter Pan) and the girls in blue (Wendy, Alice, Cinderella, Belle... etc)

[@fairygore3526]

Something they’re finally historically accurate at- (satire)

[@kirruas]

exactly! disney did many things associated to the period they made that movie, the little brother of wendy was wearing pink, while she was wearing mostly blue, same with alice, cinderella, belle, aurora they had all blue dress

[@NoBullsh_t]

​@@kirruasJudy Garland in the Wizard of Oz too..

[@Madjaman]

In the nordic countries during the 17th century pink and red were colours for boys while green, blue and brown was decided for girls. This concerns the nobility though, as people of a lower socail status couldn't chose as freely between different colours. So: a lady was represented by the colours of blue, green and brown seen to how these was quiet and smouth colours, easy to the eye and did not take too much attention. The idea was that a lady should be cool, calm and collected and so should be dressed in more "natural" and "calm" colours. A nobleman on the other hand should be dresssed in red or pink seen to how these are the colours of blood and honour (during that time) seen how most men joined the army at one our several occations. [Sorry my bad english]

[@pbsorigins]

Madjaman thanks for adding this info and for watching! It's hard to add everything into one short video so the comments are a great place for expanding our understandings of different cultural practices!

[@theocaratic]

+

[@cubanita365]

Thanks for sharing these facts!

[@ShanteRoxxane]

Madjaman Aaaah, very interesting and cool.

[@dionashani5945]

Dude you have PERFECT english honestly don't worry about it! Americans can't learn languages for shit, so the fact you can do that is really damn impressive!

[@zzzKyliezzz]

Your voice is perfect for narration. Great content, good editing, great narration. Thank you for creating this informative video!

[@ericabutler3618]

i love how your voice sounds, you made the video feel short and even more interesting.

[@FrankLeeWillis]

In old paintings you'll actually see the men frequently wearing pink robes and the women, blue robes. Those were simply the colors for the gender. I think it says something about our society, not that we assign certain colors to genders, but that, even when trying to break those boundaries, we assume that those boundaries themselves are some ancient truth which needs to be destroyed, instead of the sheer fact that many of these things are actually very, very recent developments. White for wedding dresses? Wasn't a thing until victorian times, if I remember. Wedding rings? Marketing schemes in the nineteen hundreds. It really isn't that big of a deal to discard these traditions (you're not some revolutionary if you do) because they really aren't very old traditions at all.

[@rparl]

I recall yellow for future infants, before ultrasound discovery. My late mother told me that as an infant I wore dresses, almost certainly handed down within her large family (WWII era).

[@phalynwilliams4119]

Yes, infants wore yellow as a gender neutral color. It is now popular to wear light green too.

[@IndigoMayRoe]

In Belgium, it is still pink for a boy and blue for a girl.

[@nameisamine]

Indigo May Roe really??!!!!

[@marieferret8868]

no it's not

[@JoseGomez-ys3zs]

@@marieferret8868 Do you live in Belgium? I live in USA. I believe what this person is saying, so please show respect.

[@JoseGomez-ys3zs]

@Br00tal Teutonic Thrasher666 I doubt that. As a matter of fact, there is no such thing as a boy or girl color. Duh!

[@marieferret8868]

I live in belgium yeah

[@journeywithdawnmarie]

I love this woman’s voice 😌

[@Goot253]

Me tooooooo!

[@yerim_sagwa]

ME TOO❤

[@ben10nyson]

It's same as women wearing pants & shoes isn't a big deal but Men wearing skirts & heels would look funny to everyone...don't know why it have to be, the way it is (sorry for my bad english)

[@marthaloven9385]

It doesn't have to be the way that it is. As a society, we have the power to change it.

[@ben10nyson]

@@marthaloven9385 yeah but not everyone is cooperative

[@rudyerickson3830]

@@ben10nyson there is reasons why men are attracted to certain things rather than others.

[@princemaxx]

@@rudyerickson3830 That's actually not how it works. A person's brain isn't designed to like certain clothing right out of the womb. Children's parents tells child what is "right" to wear. Certain children want to wear the opposite but are told no by their parents. Girls just have it easier than guys because they have a wider variety of clothing to choose from while men will get criticized for wearing something "feminine". when honestly it's just clothing and people should be able to wear whatever tf they want.

[@marthaloven9385]

@@ben10nyson That doesn't mean things can't change. For example, I can legally vote because people worked to change that, even though not everybody was cooperative.

[@joysfulljourney]

It seems that the answer to everything is capitalism and industrialization.

[@EmeraldEyesEsoteric]

but what is the answer to the problem of capitalism and industrialization?

[@rudyerickson3830]

@@Orinslayer the parents buy the stuff though

[@PheonixStarsx]

This Is why we need communism

[@flutenanyidk1806]

I wish girls had gotten blue, pink is ok... but blue is SO pretty!!

[@rudyerickson3830]

Girls are accepted with all colors

[@robenkhoury7079]

@@rudyerickson3830 unfortunately....I wish guys could also wear anything

[@MsDisneylandlover]

my mom loves blue i am a pink girl myself

[@Oooskenejr]

Lol, I like Pink More, but I look prettier in blue xD. But when I was young I hated Pink, but nowadays I love pink and like in general all colours

[@untilm]

nah. girls should have gotten red

[@SteinGauslaaStrindhaug]

The marketing people missed an oppurtunity, since gender specific colors still allows reuse for children of the same sex. Instead they should have pushed blue for first born children, green for second born, yellow for third, orange for forth etc. Then they could really have prevented widespread reuse. ;P

[@octosmart3548]

😂I'm imagining that wilp be so westful for people who will be following this

[@SplashJ]

It's normal for me seeing girls wearing blue and stuff but I barely see boys wear pink and I asked some "what is your favourite colour" and some said pink but they never wear it now I know why

[@crab5862]

im a girl and buy like 90% of my clothes from the boy's section, i never see pink.

[@kemii_io706]

SamiraXox CAN U TELL ME WHY?

[@ElizabethJones-pv3sj]

Speaking as someone who regularly shops for a toddler and works with 2-4 year olds it's so clear how much business decides this for us. Unless you're OK with the huge price tag for the upmarket shops or you've got a lot of time to make your own clothes you're stuck with what the manufacturers decide you must want which is: blue, trucks, dinosaurs, trains, and construction vehicles for boys; or pink, unicorns, birds, flowers, fairies, and ballerinas. After the first birthday the vast majority of clothing available is heavily gendered (even if you find the rare neutral colour it's probably got some sort of design on it to designate it as masculine of feminine).

[@robenkhoury7079]

@@ElizabethJones-pv3sj thanks for your time. Good luck with your job ❤️

[@blameitoncapitalism]

because of misogyny, sweety. everything considered "feminine" is also viewed as inferior, and/or confined to ith "niche", while things culturally placed on the "male" corner is utterlly identified as either: superior, since men are so better than women anyway; or neutral, because men are the default and women are the deviation. You know, the most famous origin mith, Eve is just a part taken of Adam, in the begginnnings of Man kind, right? So now "Man" is equal to "human", so "mainly" stuff is mostly applicable to anyone. Plus is a womenhood/femininity hating and degratting society, men wants to distance themselves from the less worthy human as much as possible, they won't decline themselves with these "girly things", and even women wants to distance themselves from "other girls" and compete with each other - only for the attention and approval of men of course. yeah, misogyny is the reason.

[@RuanGustavoZagoEmidio]

This kind of video is very important to people to think about how things have changed and will always change. I didn’t know babies used to wear dresses and the same hair cut until a certain age, because there was no necessity in make their gender noticeable. I liked the content of the video and how the woman explained it properly but clearly. Congratulations 👏🏼

[@88FireStar]

When it comes down to it colors are neither masculine or feminine or gay it's just colors I feel that both genders should be able wear whatever color they desire and enjoy God's creation

[@rudyerickson3830]

*maximum cringe levels being exceeded

[@crab5862]

i have been enlightened by Golden

[@MisterCF8]

I wear pink! I am a guy!

[@JoseGomez-ys3zs]

Mister C F I respect you. You are just like Elvis Presley, he loves pink.

[@michaelbaughman8910]

I wear pink in Early October. Real men were pink for the cause. It is not just women who get breast cancer...MEN do too.

[@ren2719]

I think its cute when guys wear pink

[@synflwr]

I'm a girl and my favourite colour has been blue for a pretty long time now.

[@rheakg]

so? thats normal its just a color

[@guest_informant]

White was easy to wash?

[@alexbella99]

Because colored clothes can fade over time unlike white if they wash over time it still remains its distinguish color

[@theocaratic]

you can just dunk white clothes in bleach and not worry about it too much, whereas with colored clothing, bleach would destroy the color.

[@silverbane8065]

Also white clothes back then could be boiled to get them clean. It was a variation on 'boil till it's gray and the germs go away' for food lol. Victorian cleanliness had you boiling and borax soap using till your hands desolved.

[@melodyclark1944]

Yeah, don't believe people that say that brides didn't wear white because it couldn't be washed. There is plenty of documentation of babies and men wearing white.

[@ivygreatsingerinhiding6847]

Guest Informant lol

[@barbarafontaine8285]

I really enjoyed listening to you speak and present your information. Straight forward and without needless word salad.

[@singh_nimisha]

Pink looks beautiful on males. Nothing to do with colours, be yourself boys. You guys rock. All the best for future. Be neutral to any gender and if you like pink go for it. Remove the stigma.❤️

[@manitiwari9233]

Gotcha

[@cz2301]

Agree. Also, im a textile pattern designer and i wear the patterns i design, as shirts, backpacks, etc. First of all, men in general are so afraid of using colors and even more afraid of wearing patterns. It's so ridiculous! Im sure it's because of the European Modernist rejection of patterns and ornamentation. I hope at least the Millennials start to change it!

[@singh_nimisha]

@@cz2301 Also, I saw a few GENZ boys wearing patterns and experimenting new colours on them. This was so revolutionary that got stuck in my mind. ❤️

[@jnwoodard8764]

It’s a color, so that argument is stupid. Everything is just culture based. It’s the same reason that diamond engagement rings became the norm: advertising.

[@vinkoivomilicdiaz6932]

Very interesting and educational. Really awesome!!!

[@AdventuresWithPCS]

What about the use of pink triangles for homosexual men in world war ii? I was under the impression this was the largest factor responsible for the switch from pink for men to blue. Thanks for the video! They're always phenomenal and reviewing everything at the end is incredibly helpful.

[@UMProf]

Highly unlikely. www.pinkisforboys.org/blog/did-the-nazi-triangle-inspire-pink-symbolism

[@AdventuresWithPCS]

Thanks for the source!

[@pbsorigins]

Jo Paoletti thanks for adding additional resources! This also came up in the facebook comments section.

[@sailordolly]

Alternatively, one could speak of anti-communism in the first half of the 20th century up until Senator McCarthy. "Pinko" was a common epitaph for Communist-sympathizers, making pink in general appear less masculine and "American".

[@kirruas]

that’s also a good point, even if at this point why associating it to women like they could’ve made it just a color associated to homosexuality (that still is)

[@rachelturner1841]

Love this video it’s very important to understand that it’s only been recently when we started pairing colours with gender.

[@Rissy617]

It's so interesting to see how this has changed over the years and likely will continue to change because it feels so engrained to me

[@kelsey5418]

When I was small, I used to really like pink. Pink everything, walls clothes, everything. I still like pink now but I am switching to other colours.

[@swanniexd7860]

Interesting that it seems we’ve gone backwards in regards to how we dress our kids, I feel like dressing kids in white since it’s neutral until they are old enough to express their own colour/fashion preferences is pretty cool and we should go back to that!!

[@AUSTINBGRANT]

All good points! There are so many great theories regarding this topic. Historically military uniforms could have been a major influence for determining the ‘manly’ colors of the time. the scarlet coats of British military (designed by Oliver Cromwell) could contribute to the initial red/pink for boys. The US choice of blue for its paramilitary was for direct contrast (debatable) but nevertheless blue for US police officers and navy has associated the color throughout the 19th century with male dominated roles. Also let’s not forget the great Amy Eisenhower and her famous pink dresses.

[@briannabenson4173]

I heard someone say that it used to be the case in Ireland that Green was considered a masculine colour & yellow was considered a feminine colour.

[@janstaz]

I had 4 boys then had a girl, she wore all the baby clothes I had from her brothers, she had pink stuff , sadly she's never been a girly girl, always a tomboy, even when she got married her dress was scarlet satin, a 50s design. Most babies in the UK wore pastel colours as well as blue or pink. I knitted in lemon pale green and a gold . We called them matinee jackets

[@S-uuuu]

I always thought creating these gender colour assignments seemed really silly and needlessly restrictive.

[@avastreeter602]

Actually pink was made for boys because it represented blood and fighting and being tough. As blue was for girls because it was like the ocean and calm and graceful. I don’t believe in colors that are for boys or for girls. I have a friend who is a boy and his favorite color is pink and not dark pink, it’s really light gorgeous pink. It’s not a big deal anymore for men or women with color luckily. I see men wearing pink and I see women wearing blue ALL the time and no body cares.

[@etheriaart2172]

I read blue for girls was down to how the Virgin Mary was styled in churches with her blue scarf.

[@mezenasuga]

No, Virgin Mary was styled in blue because for most of human history, blue has been an expensive and rare colour, only reserved to the most important subjects, such as the Virgin Mary. Blue only became common in the 1800's and especially in the 1900's if I remember correctly.

[@AllNJesusFreak]

Great Video! This is exactly what I was looking for when I did my search.

[@-zephyressence-2018]

Really like your narrative style! Kept me interested throughout the whole video!

[@pandaempirethatsme3821]

Whenever a person at my school says pink is for girls and blues for boys I show them this video and they stop saying it😋😋😎

[@i.dle.k]

They still say that at my school even though I kinda hate pink lol

[@TheElectra5000]

As usual, the almighty dollar decides for us.

[@BodePassos]

You're amazing!

[@devluz]

Agree. She is a really good presenter. They way she talks makes it very engaging.

[@pbsorigins]

That's so kind!! Thank you both for watching!!

[@searchcandy6492]

Agreed, super personable and vivacious, made this video fun to watch!

[@ilove2929]

I always have this question in my mind. Thanks for addressing this!!

[@xanadu2192]

I just love your channel! You deliver information on unique subjects in such an interesting way. :D

[@BeatrixBe]

I always tought that baby blue is very suitable for little girls. Also I heard that yin-yang symbol was originally red-blue, and red was the masculine, and blue was the feminine side, like fire and water. I have gotten a plenty of blue clothes as handmedowns for my daughter, she is very pretty in them.

[@kirruas]

real 😭 blue is so good for girls like it has more association with us than the pink

[@sourpotatoo]

Let me break this to you, I just gifted a whole bunch of pink stuff toys to my 1 yo cousin brother and our other 2 cousins gave other colors. Yes pink, to a boy. This rule hasn't touched us. I live in Bangladesh, south east Asia.

[@keira...]

I remember my all time favorite outfit when i was 3 was a blue matching set of tank tops and shorts with white butterflies on it. I absolutely loved that outfit and i cant say why 😂

[@blohshpp]

I read the title as "Why was Pink for Girls and Blue for Boys?"

[@eisforeverything]

Interesting! This aligns with a story in my family; my maternal grandfather's earliest memory was sweeping the stoop of his family's Brooklyn apartment and he remembered he was wearing a dress because he was so young.

[@stephaniehight2771]

Why is it that girls can wear just about anything they want, but some items of clothing (dresses, skirts and frilly decorated clothing) are off limits to boys?

[@holifishuwu4341]

Stephanie Hight They aren’t off limits, some people just think it’s weird.

[@stephaniehight2771]

That's the point. A girl wears anything and no one thinks it's weird. A guy wears a dress and it's weird. Why?

[@CedarSam]

Because feminity is denigrated in a sexist society. It's OK if women imitate male styles, since women aren't that important. But for a man to take on a feminine style is shameful and demeaning. For confirmation, look at how calling a group of males "girls" is seen as an insult.

[@christinewilliams4490]

Every colour is for every body 🙂

[@abelrrant]

I remember recalling on a piece of information to the popularity of pink for girls. I think its the queen of England would wear pink because its her favorite color. In turn, the popularity of pink was associated with girls? or Blue was associated with the Virgin Mary, and so definitely a preferred color for girls. Red was associated with war and conquest, so a very manly color. Pink was a gentler version, more appropriate for boys.

[@prairiete]

Yes, I know this explanation too from long ago

[@ariahale4352]

Baby girls in light blue greases with a hair ribbon is just the cutest

[@yerim_sagwa]

YES❤

[@MuhammadJunaid-nv6ne]

host is very confident and accent is very clear... like her smiling way of delivering...

[@creativityzero9407]

I've just had a glimpse of how our society is confusing and always creates a new method to complicate anything. I've never thought of pink being used for the boys. It kind of blew my mind.

[@a-s-greig]

The dresses bit, too. There are baby pictures of Theodore Roosevelt in dresses and considering his interests later in life it's the funniest juxtaposition imaginable.

[@bb22602]

When Meg's twins were born in "Little Women" Amy put blue on the boy twin and pink on the girl twin "in the French fashion."

[@pamczech5984]

You know my mom worked for Macy's in Chicago it was blue for girls and green for boys and this was around1934 1935 or so

[@Xianne027]

I live in Europe. A Korean woman told us at work about her wedding to her German husband. They flew to Korea to have a traditional Korean wedding, and she and her family insisted on the traditional Korean wedding clothing in which men wear pink trousers. But her German husband drew the line there. "No way am I going to wear pink pants at my wedding!!" This caused a huge uproar in the family as this was the color of matrimonial luck. Finally the religious officiant agreed to a compromise of bright golden trousers. Though her husband also wasn't so keen on that, claiming it still looked a bit "too gay" for him, he did finally accept the gold colored pants.

[@FoamKittyGamer]

Thanks for breaking this down, I recall a college mate of mine mentioned this to me. Glad to see a video about it.

[@miriam9482]

I'm from Germany and nobody thinks that's yellow is the color for jealousy. Never heard that before

[@gavinreid8351]

Green with envy. UK .

[@brycelify]

Imagine being pregnant, and having an intersex kid. Then asking the doctor "Is it a boy or a girl?" and the doctor just goes "Yes. Your baby is yes."

[@ALEX-vq4hg]

Nah ur baby is all so choose Liliac bc it’s a mix of pink and blue

[@Seraphim1627]

Boys and girls can like what ever color they want I know a few boys at my elementary school that like pink 😊

[@danijelnovakovic5195]

Sammmmeeeee

[@YY-de9og]

So interesting! And so many pictures to support all the data. Thanks!

[@victoriaeads6126]

Pink as a dye was only introduced into European culture in the 18th century. Its rarity and novelty meant that it was initially kept only for the wealthy and high ranking. Thus, it was initially also associated with maleness, since that time in Europe was very patriarchal. When it became more common and eventually plebian, the association with masculinity waned. Then we pick up with the analysis in this video.

[@lanakat]

Blue will always be my fav color it’s such a pretty color unless it’s dark blue i am a girl

[@theragingplatypus4743]

Pink for girls and blue for boys was really cemented by the 1940s and not 1980s.

[@girlloveskpopanime1515]

Tbh i like pink when i was little and then when i was growing up i like purple and blue

[@oceanlanguage]

She’s brilliant and take enormous amounts of historical material and distills it so we can get a rapid but in ways quite deep view of how things come to be the way they are- so helpful when there are people with no historical knowledge screaming about the rules, the laws, others must follow when these “laws” are created by corporations, political and economic systems of unequal power, religions aligned with power sectors of society, etc. In other words, we get hit in the head by man-created “laws” that are presented as absolutes. Knowledge IS Power, and this woman, I think Danielle…, spreads knowledge/power to all ready to receive it. Thank you!!!

[@johexxkitten]

💜💜💜 love the subject, and your delivery! I used to do medieval reenactments (sadly I am too sick to cope with tent life all summer). We provided a service called "living history" so that people (and kids on school trips, could learn about medieval life. Any of our group who had children with them at events had to dress their kids in authentic looking clothing (we all mostly made our own clothing, or we traded with each other, so I might do some sewing for Bob, but Bob would work with leather and repair or make things like belts and shoes.) So the kids woulod be part of the

[@Penguinstudios123]

Why do we do this😹 the human race is weird af. Just wear what you want. Any clothes will do😹

[@crazycatlady39]

Wear what you want but understand that other people will always still have their own opinions. Some of them seem to be unable to accept any opinion but their own.

[@charlene_9076]

Stupid question: Is this the reason why Dorothy Gale (from The Wizard of Oz) always wore blue?

[@joshuamunson7844]

Y'know, that's a good question.

[@NoBullsh_t]

Movie was made in 1932 so I would say yes..

[@TheDoRoBouNeko]

I seriously think pink looks really good on men. Well, also depends on the type of clothing. XD

[@donnaokoniewski3761]

I really have been enjoying your videos! You are an excellent speaker and your content is VERY interesting and professional. Thank you so much for sharing what you do. Well Done.

[@gusmc2220]

this is an underrated channel

[@RedQuill13]

my mom thought id be a boy from the ultrasound XD it was just my cord though, i'm a girl.

[@lozzylols]

She must have had a shock at your birth then!

[@RedQuill13]

indeed she did, if i were a boy shed have had 5 sons and no daughters.

[@steve154life]

I haft å Pink dress shirt and i want to paint my bedroom wood Salmon pink, our house iz 99yrs Old. My daughter faverorite colour iz blue. Although every One else thinks it's to be pink lol I would like to see tha colour's be for either I also think tha clothes should be for either in stead of gender specific

[@holifishuwu4341]

steve154life Can you spell?

[@steve154life]

Ja. I do nat always type in english. My keyboard automatic correct into outher launguages

[@dherilranacp]

steve154life just dont use automatic correct thingy on your keyboard

[@PennyP1986]

What is with these people, she answered the questions twice. You just want to complain about something.

[@avab1564]

We need more of her narrating pbs!!

[@stillwaters2121]

What about "gay pride lavender" being assigned to gay people? There used to be a gay symbol that said "silence equals death" with an upside down pink triangle inside of a black circle. And white used to represent purity (as in very clean) and innocence (as in babies) and peace) as in waving the white flag.

[@thebeatlequeen911]

Wow this was actually really interesting personally I don’t believe in gender colours assignments

[@sashathedemiroomni4146]

I'm Omni. I have pink and blue in my flag

[@Aoi-The-Duck]

You go!

[@sashathedemiroomni4146]

@@Aoi-The-Duck Thanks, but you don't have to use words like they or them.

[@Aoi-The-Duck]

@@sashathedemiroomni4146 okay 👌 I fixed it

[@sashathedemiroomni4146]

@@Aoi-The-Duck Okay and thanks again :)

[@Aoi-The-Duck]

@@sashathedemiroomni4146 no problem 👍

[@bunnygirl2448]

You can usually the sex of a child in 19th Century photos by the side their hair is parted on: middle part for girls and a side part for boys

[@UMProf]

That is a common misconception. It works for some years, and when the child’s hair is long enough to part. But I wouldn’t rely on it.

[@Ouiskey]

Yes Jo obviously it's not 100% reliable. Which is why bunny girl said "USUALLY".

[@UMProf]

It's not enough to be relied on as a single factor. I don't know Bunny Girl, so I don't know her training. But the other dress historians I know use a variety of clues, and often still can't tell the boys from the girls in 19th century images.

[@Ouiskey]

I know Bunny Girl very well, and i can tell you she knows what she's talking about, as her phd in "gender recognition of 19th century photos based on hair parting, specializing in KZbin comments" would prove,.

[@UMProf]

Bunny Girl, can you post a citation to your dissertation? I’d love to read it!

[@chrissycopeland8064]

I planned a pastel green for my daughter's nursery. I did not want a traditional pink nursery, but rather a calming feel. I ended up falling in love with lavender for her walls, but all her accessories were pastel green. Although all baby elements are gone, at 12 years old my daughter's room still has lavender walls and pastel green accessories by her choice. With clothing, my daughter had plenty of pink in her closet, but I tended to dress her in anything blue because blue clothing brought out her gorgeous blue eyes. Many a stranger thought she was a boy when she was a baby.

[@rain-wk5qy]

Ahh, that seems adorable! You are probably a fantastic parent.

[@chrissycopeland8064]

@@rain-wk5qy thank you!!

[@noleyt23]

Very interesting, thank you so much for this 😊

[@stroods6121]

Just wear green.

[@higg1966]

Interesting but it's hard to take this serious when she's wrong about the fact that gender non-specific clothing made a resurgence in the '70s or that pink and blue were not cemented until the '80s. If any boy were to wear pink in the '70s he would have been laughed out of the school, and reveal parties did not really happen in the '80s but the parents would let the sex be known before the shower if they knew.

[@PaperImagesArtStudio]

Here here! I like this channel but unfortunately some of the things she's discussing or simply not true or hasn't put enough Research into. In all honesty and I just don't know why gender reveal parties make me want to puke. LOL . I watched my nieces and nephews come into the world with no gender reveal parties. It was a breath of fresh air and just lovely. If my sister was having a girl we would buy little pink things. if she was having a boy weed by little blue things. If we didn't know we would buy yellow or white. Isn't it funny how we seem to all grow up and move on with life without all this nonsensical nonsense. I honestly do not know what this world is coming to.

[@DC13999]

Would the decrease in infant mortality as medicine modernized and improved also contribute to the rise in gendered colors?

[@pbsorigins]

DC13999 this was also raised on Facebook today. This is a good point so I'll have to see if there's a connection there!

[@Greendragon434]

DC13999 But what would the connection be? I just don't get the jump from, "Oh, we have more children surviving birth and infancy!" to "Therefore, we'd better start color-coding their clothing by gender!" ?

[@ingridricketts6200]

You’re fabulous! Love the energy

[@learntocrochet1]

Marketing pushes color as well as toys. Division of gender is still pushed "Boys toy aisle, girls toy aisle" This is still said by salespeople! Walk down the girls toy aisle and you will see predominantely pink and purple. This push causes little girls to believe those are their favorite colors...how limiting! 45+ years ago when I was raising my girls, I refused to limit what they played with and what they wore. Their clothes were all colors and I let them pick. Some days they might have on a blue shirt, red overalls, pink socks, green shoes! Made me smile, made their grandma wonder about me!