Birth Announcements: Why Blue For Boys, Pink For Girls?

Having a baby is an experience that is full of wonder. The anticipation grows from the day that she first discovers that she is pregnant to the happy day when she can finally send out her birth announcements and tell the world that her bundle of joy has arrived. Although being pregnant is a time of happiness, expecting a child is also fraught with many questions. Is my baby healthy? Will he or she look like me? Yet of all the questions that you may ask yourself when waiting for your baby, there is none so often asked than "Is it a boy or a girl?" With current technology, it's simple to find out the sex of your child months before he or she is due to arrive, after which a mother can focus on preparing for the baby by getting a room ready, buying a layette, and decorating in gender specific colors. Pink or blue? Which one is for you? We are barraged by pink for girls and blue for boys from the moment we are born, but why do we focus on these specific colors for baby girls and baby boys? Although there seems to be no one definitive answer, there are many theories as to why blue is now for boys and pink is for girls.

One of the first mentions of assigning colors to show gender appeared in 1868 when Louisa May Alcott published ‘Little Women.' Amy tied a pink and blue ribbon on Jo's twins to distinguish whether they were a boy or a girl. She referenced this as "French Style", but there is little information to document French fashion in the 1800's other than that babies wore pink, blue, white, and violet interchangeably.

Yes, baby boys wore pink and baby girls wore blue. This would seem bizarre by today's standards, but the first forays into gender specific colors had blue been worn entirely by girls and pink considered as a strong, masculine color. You don't have to go back very far in North American history to discover where these colors began to appear in a baby's wardrobe. In the 1800's and early 1900's babies generally wore white smock dresses regardless of gender. Plain, white fabric was less expensive than color, so it was used widely for babies. The smock was worn until a baby was well on their way to walking, and whether it was a baby boy or a girl; the child wore the dress-like garment.

Why did they start to make a change toward color? One theory suggests that the tides began to turn when the men went to war during World War One. Women were needed to go to work in the factories in order to support their families, and they were exposed to a broader spectrum of information with regards to style and fashion. Magazines for women such as Ladies Home Journal became widespread, and the Sears, Roebuck and Co. catalog was able to reach rural areas due to better mail delivery. A trend toward retail shopping had begun, and it was easier than ever for American women to track styles and trends in clothing. It was during this period that pink and blue began to appear in North American, although it was the reverse of the current trend of pink for girls and blue for boys. For baby boys, pink is considered a shade of red, and red was a masculine color that men favored. Blue was felt to be pretty and delicate, thus baby girls were often seen wearing it.

Fast-forward 50 years and you'll find pink and blue baby items everywhere: baby announcements feature pink and blue, baby clothing, furniture, and even toys. If one stops to wonder why we have kept the tradition of baby specific colors going across half a century of time, you need look no further than retail. Everywhere you shop, retailers are promoting specific gender colors. It doesn't stop when the child grows up either. Women can indulge their love of pink by purchasing pink kitchen mixers and pink electronics. Current research suggests that even children as young as two years old have exhibited preferences for pink if they are girls and blue if they are boys. It has become an almost programmed response to the two colors, as you automatically can determine gender from seeing one or the other. It would seem ridiculous in our society to try to change the trend by dressing your child in alternating colors.

Pink and blue: Who would have known the impact that these colors would have upon our society? Whether you are choosing baby clothing or birth announcements, choosing one of these colors has long been a statement to the world that your baby is a boy or a girl.

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