About Pink
Women like pink stuff. Some of us more than like it, we adore it. We like to dress in it, decorate the kitchen with it and sometimes decorate the whole house with it. (you know who you are)
So why do women usually prefer a shade of pink to other colors? There are a lot of theories and actual scientific research on the subject. The latest seems to conclude that it must be genetic or instinct. The study implies that our female ancestors (the gatherers of the tribe), in order to gather the best berries, had to have an attraction for pink. What no blackberries or blueberries? And if men (the hunters) prefer shades of blue, what happened ? Did they kill off all of the blue deer and bison. That's a shame!
Pink hasn't always been the color designated for females. Before WW11, it was quite acceptable for men to like pink. The Ladies Home Journal in 1918 wrote: “There has been a great diversity of opinion on the subject, but the generally accepted rule is pink for the boy and blue for the girl. 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.”
American mothers were told in 1914 by the Sunday Sentinel, “If you like the color note on the little one’s garments, use pink for the boy and blue for the girl, if you are a follower of convention.”
So pink was at one time a manly color. Men of a past generation had no problem wearing pink. Mothers preferred to dress young boys in pink! Blue was for girls as it was more feminine. Pink, because it was closer to red, was the more masculine hue.
In the 1940's the colors switched genders and became what they are today. Some have said the change reflected Hitler's so-called labeling of gay men with pink emblems for identification purposes.
I think the men went off to war and women simply just took the color. We dressed in it. Painted our kitchen pink. We liked it. It made us feel good. And after all, if we have to gather all of those strawberries for the shortcake, it should be our color!
