Blue and Pink to make you THINK!

Pink is for girls, and blue is for boys. This is a statement that few of us will contest. If you see a baby dressed in pink, you immediately know it’s a girl. And this works the other way round too.

This is usually justified by the statement that pink represents daintiness, beauty, warmth, softness, and charm. Blue represents sturdiness, positivity, confidence, and a lot more.

Now take a look at a statement published by a magazine in 1918.

“There has been a great diversity of opinion on this 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.”

Suddenly, everything seems to change.

If blue was once seen as ‘dainty’ colour and pink a ‘stronger’ colour, then who can say if the notions held of these colours will hold true in another hundred years?

Pink and blue are beautiful colours, and they look good on clothes and on a variety of items. However, it seems unfair to segment it for different sexes just on the basis of abstract notions, which can change with time. And on a larger note, it even roots the child into thinking that there are certain colours which work better for men, rather than women, and this is the same thinking which could permeate into adult life and inequality in the treatment of the sexes.

In fact, a number of toy stores have already stopped segmenting specific colours to boys, and specific ones for girls, as it limits the imagination of the child. Today, women and men all over the world are searching for equality for both the sexes in regular life and the workplace. And thankfully, slowly but surely, that change is coming about. And it can begin when they are not even 1 year old.

It does not mean that girls should not wear pink and boys should not wear blue! If your baby girl looks adorable in a pink bowtie and a baby pink frock, the world cannot stop you from making her look gorgeous in that.

There is no rule really and why should there be? After all, one can hardly put a set of rules on something as freeing and eloquent as colour, the eternal instrument of self-expression.