Color and gender
Colors are always used to differentiate or set apart genders. Starting at an early age, my mother dressed me in pink dresses, pink shirts, pink polka dot spandex pants. I had dolls with pink clothes and my room, from my bed sheets to my towels, were pink. Now, what is it that makes pink a feminine color?... or blue a masculine color? Associating pink and blue to babies is more than just a marketing gimmick and there are reasons for those color choices. Now a days, pink is the color of females from hospital computer systems to the production world and baby boys are always linked to the color blue… why?
An expecting mother usually decorates the nursery and chooses the tone and color palette depending on the gender of the child. If a mother is expecting a female child, the clothing, the dolls and the accessories are usually shades of pink. Baby boys are dressed in blue to stay calm and relaxed. Other colors are not so soothing for babies, for instance the color yellow is shown to make babies cry more than other colors. There are reasons behind why little girls and little boys are drowning in those two colors.
But in the 20’s, the “manly” colors were shades of pink because it was the washed out version of red. Parents tend to choose these stereotypical colors to announce that they are proud expecting parents. Red was a strong color that symbolizes courage and power. Females were dressed in blue because it was a calming color that was more “easy on the eyes”. It wasn’t until the 50’s that blue became a masculine color. Some blame the Nazis for associating the color pink with females. During WWII, the Nazis used the yellow Star of David to identify the Jewish population and pink inverted triangles for the homosexuals. Some say that because of that situation, pink is associated with females.
The color pink, like giving a pink rose, represents universal love. The darker shades of pink are effective in counterbalancing disorders and hostility in some detention centers use limited deep pink tones to diffuse aggressive behavior. Later studies show that pink is more calming than the color blue.
Blue being the coolest of colors is usually used in artwork to represent the heavens, oceans, depth, and calmness. It was a color of conservative people. You can see this color a lot in homes, pajamas, and in public bathrooms. It is also often used in baby boy’s nurseries because it sooths the baby and is calming and easy on the eyes.
Because there are reasons for colors, I believe that designers are careful about their palettes and shades of those colors. Colors effect more than just aesthetics which is why its safest to just stick to the colors that have beneficial influence especially for babies.