Though it’s certainly here now, pink didn’t stabilize as a girls-only color until sometime in the 1950s. During that decade, pink was the in-style color for bathrooms in residential homes. Notice that this ad, sent in by Penny R., features a boy in a pink bathroom with no threat of emasculation:
Pam Kueber, at Retro Renovation, estimates that:
…some 5 million pink bathrooms went into the 20 million+ homes built in the United States from 1946-1966… 1 in 4 — at minimum — mid-century homes had a pink bathroom.
She quotes a 1958 Electrical Merchandising that said: “If forced to pick one color as leading this year, most industry men say pink is tops.”
Pink is so strongly associated with women now that it hardly seems appropriate for a family bathroom. Kueber bemoans that home owners are taking sledge hammers to pink tiles and encourages us to preserve the bathrooms because we all look excellent in pink-tinted light.
See men in pink (then, now, and now).
Lisa Wade, PhD is an Associate Professor at Tulane University. She is the author of American Hookup, a book about college sexual culture; a textbook about gender; and a forthcoming introductory text: Terrible Magnificent Sociology. You can follow her on Twitter and Instagram.
Comments 21
Leslee Beldotti — March 25, 2010
Yup. My family home, which was originally built in 1908, had pink fixtures in the main bathroom.
I wasn't bothered by the pink, except for the fact that it was difficult to find accessories (towels, rugs, etc.) that coordinated with it when I took over the house as an adult.
Tiffany — March 25, 2010
My paternal grandparent's house was built sometime in the 40s or 50s, and I know it was remodeled sometime in the 50s. The bathroom is entirely pink. Pink tiles, pink bathtub, pink toilet, pink sink.... it's a very, very, very pink room. And as I was the little girl who hated pink, I always remember hating that bathroom. Now I don't mind it as much.
Marcos — March 25, 2010
Missing the pink bathroom I had in my first apartment, back when I was a single guy.
:-)
(It was built in the 60's, I guess. Maybe early 70's.)
parrot — March 25, 2010
The house I grew up in was built in the '50s, and we had a pink and gray bathroom. I seem to remember my little brother refusing to use it for a while because it was "for girls." I was always confused about why it was pink if it wasn't only for girls.
We also had a minty green bathroom, though, (literally, every fixture was that shade of green, along with the tile, and even the ceiling) which overshadowed the pink bathroom by sheer loudness alone. I think we all liked the pink bathroom more than we would have because of it.
Liz B — March 25, 2010
Yup, pink, black and olive green bathroom in my parents house from the 1950s. I will be sad if they ever renovate it.
Fran — March 25, 2010
In the flat my great-grandmother lived in, she had a pink bathroom complete with little decals of roses and pansys. I must say that pink light is flattering, gives you a nice rosy, healthy glow.
Buffy — March 25, 2010
Our home, built in the late 40s, has two very pink bathrooms.
sandy — March 25, 2010
I would happily take a sledgehammer to the pink porcelain in my 1987 bathrooms -- but I suppose that's "dusty rose."
Gene — March 25, 2010
I sure don't look good in pink-tinged light. But then, I have acne.
kelebek — March 26, 2010
Not only my bathrooms are pink, but my kitchen is also pink. It is the same shade of the pink that's shown in the photo. I can't wait till we finish building our own house, I am glad we are only renting this pink place!
Terrie — March 26, 2010
The house I grew up in had a pink bathroom, despite being built in the 1920's. I think it was a 50's remodel or add-on. And it's now gone. When they had to replace the (pink) toilet, they figured they might as well replace all of it.
Allison — March 26, 2010
I think it's still coded as feminine because the home was considered such a female space at the time.
buttercup — March 27, 2010
The upstairs bathroom at the (1920s) family home, which was lived in by my two maiden aunts when I was growing up, was a beautiful pink fixture bath with stunning black and white tile work on the floor and the walls. When they had the second bath put in on the first floor in the early 60s, they went with a mint green for the fixtures and cream colored tile work.
Our house is a 1961 build and has blue bathroom fixtures with grey and white tiles. I had to custom-order a toilet seat that would match the toilet but it was totally worth it.
Shego — March 28, 2010
"... because we all look excellent in pink-tinted light."
Compare with your comment a few posts later, regarding the widespread tendency to view pale skin as 'normal' or 'default' or 'we all'.
Korean Gender Reader: 29 March 2010 « The Grand Narrative — March 28, 2010
[...] will challenge your association of pink clothes, and of the Korean men therein, Sociological Images provides evidence that in Western countries at least, pink didn’t stabilize itself as a girls-only color until [...]
Charlotte — March 30, 2010
One of the bathrooms in my grandparent's house (which would have been put in originally in the 50s) was entirely done in bright pink. Now I know why!
AbominableSnowPickle — March 30, 2010
I am reminded of Lynn Peril's book "Pink Think", which had at least one chapter devoted to the pink bathroom phenomenon. A very loud, proud, and vocal feminist am I, but quieter about my love of the color pink (in the right shade, of course. Barbie pink and Pepto are only two of the shades I hate) because of the "doing gender" issue. I often wonder if I like pink because I like the color, or if I only like it because I'm "supposed" to. But then I remember that my childhood bedroom was yellow and it was only after putting a second story on our 1952 house that I picked pink as the color for my room.
I digress. I have to say that some of the tile work and fixtures in those pink bathrooms is absolutely lovely. It makes me very sad to see some of those lovely bathrooms gutted to renovate them.
Pam Kueber — April 1, 2010
More info here on Jo Paoletti's research looking at when/why pink became "the color for girls". It wasn't always so: http://retrorenovation.com/2010/02/15/pink-was-not-always-the-color-for-girls/
Guest — November 16, 2012
this color scheme is the worst thing ive ever seen, think ill go kill myself now.
Vixenvena — March 5, 2015
Is that dog begging for soap?
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