Study task 2 - Reading and understanding texts

Part 1

I have decided to narrow down my theme slightly and look into colour trends - not only in the illustration world but also in fashion.

'Pink and blue: the colour of gender'

Paolo Frassanito, Benedetta Pettrorini

The author is trying to investigate the meaning of colour and how it has changed over the years. She is trying to establish whether or not there was a pivotal turning point when colour coded gender differences (pink for girls, blue for boys) drastically changed - and the factors of why/how it changed.

Key quotes/points:

'Amy ties a pink bow and a blue bow on Meg's twins Daisy and Demi, so people will know the difference between the girl and boy.' - Novel Little Women - Said to be done in the "French style" (1868) suggests that in France pink and blue were already gender-specific.

'If you like the color note on the little one's garments, pink for the boy and blue for the girl, if you are a follower of convention' The Sunday Sentinal (advised mothers)

'the 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' - Ladies Home Journal

'It was not until WWII that the colours were reversed and pink was used for girls and blue for boys...' - The Dress Maker Magazine

Darker blue was associated with Virgin Mary

Painters often mixed 'Lapis lazuli' in paints to depict the most sacred female icon.

Nazi Germany had something to do with pink being associated with femininity - catholic traditions in Germany reverse the current colour coding because of the association of blue with Virgin Mary.

The Nazi's in their concentration camps use a pink triangle to identify homosexuals.


Part 2