{"id":624,"date":"2011-12-29T13:36:08","date_gmt":"2011-12-29T18:36:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/editors\/?p=624"},"modified":"2011-12-29T18:33:11","modified_gmt":"2011-12-29T23:33:11","slug":"one-kid-two-kid-pink-kid-blue-kid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/editors\/2011\/12\/29\/one-kid-two-kid-pink-kid-blue-kid\/","title":{"rendered":"One Kid, Two Kid, Pink Kid, Blue Kid"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Photo by neonove via flickr<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In her forthcoming Indiana University Press book Pink & Blue: Telling the Girls from the Boys in America<\/em>, American studies scholar Jo B. Paoletti<\/a> explores how it is that we’ve ended up with a blue section and a pink section in virtually every kids’ store in the U.S. An April 2011 Smithsonian Magazine<\/em> article<\/a> gives a primer on this color-coded development, Paoletti’s research, and gender socialization, including the intriguing paragraph:<\/p>\n

For example, a June 1918 article from the trade publication Earnshaw’s Infants’ Department <\/em>said, “The generally accepted rule is pink for the boys, and blue for the girls. The reason is that pink, being a more decided and stronger color<\/em>, is more suitable for the boy, while blue, which is more delicate and dainty<\/em>, is prettier for the girl.” Other sources said blue was flattering for blonds, pink for brunettes; or blue was for blue-eyed babies, pink for brown-eyed babies, according to Paoletti. [emphasis added]<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

“Today’s color dictate,” the Smithsonian<\/em> reporter writes, “wasn’t established until the 1940s as a result of American’s preferences as interpreted by manufacturers and retailers.’It could have gone the other way,’ Paoletti says.”<\/p>\n

To read more about Paoletti and her research (including new work on how older women communicate through their dress), check out her website here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

And as a kicker, here’s a little girl who’s really not ready to accept the pink-and-blue paradigm:<\/p>\n