This past weekend I was volunteering at a community event for children. The students we work with are from elementary schools from the nearby area. One of the activities we had them do was make a cape for the quidditch game they were going to play. We had two colors for the fabric; pink and blue. When I saw that the only options were these two colors I thought to myself that this was not right. When the children lined up to get their fabric, they were all confused. Some girls wanted blue and some boys wanted pink, but that was not possible because these colors were already designated. Boys had the blue and girls had the pink. The children looked very disappointed and that made me angry. Now I understand that maybe this was not done intentionally but it did cause harm. This incident made me realize that even before children are born, we have designated colors for them. The pink always represents a girl, the blue a boy and the yellow represents a neutral color. This is ridiculous. If a boy is seen with pink, he is automatically judged as being gay and feminine. But when a girl is seen using the color blue, there is not much criticism. Society sets gendered colors even before the baby is born, which makes the children grow up with this idea that if you use any other color than what is linked with your gender, it is wrong. This incident made me recapitulate about my life and how the colors have been represented throughout it. I say no to gendered colors! Do you?!
Here are some images I would like to share with you.
Interesting article, and I can completely understand where you are coming from, but i think that gender colors are less a distinct label and more of an arbitrary association. I doubt that the creators of pink representing females and blue representing males had any intentions of having pink and blue become the personification of femininity and masculinity. Although I can see the social implications and how wearing these colors can lead to harm, but in the grand scheme of things, I think pink and blue are not topping the charts of LGBT inequalities. In a way, almost everything can be represented in a anti-feminine, heterosexist, or racist manner but if we all look at such minuscule problems, I think it is easy to lose sight of the ultimate goal of equality. Sure these problems are nonetheless problems, but i think that our focus should be less on seemingly trivial labels and more on clear inequalities.
ReplyDeleteI really don't believe that gender colors are an arbitrary association. Of course originally these colors meant nothing but colors, but our society has associated certain gender specific notions to these colors. Blue means boy and pink means girl. I think it is evident that these colors have certain associations because even young children know that boys wear blue and girls wear pink.
ReplyDeleteI also think that these associations are problematic because it reinforces this idea that there is a certain way to be masculine and a certain way to be feminine. And in the grand scheme of things, perpetuating gender notions are very important because it is very dangerous. Pink is designated as a feminine and therefore a girls color, but what if a boy wants to wear pink? Its comparable to the idea that dolls are meant for girls, but what if a boy wants to play with a doll? The doll itself doesn't mean anything than a doll, but we have socialized people to think that dolls are made for girls to play with. So what ends up happening is, if a boy decides to wear pink or play with a doll (which are things exclusively meant for girls) he is bullied which leads to all types of trouble.
I do not think its productive to write off things that may seem simple without first exploring the issues it may raise. Clearly colors and their associations are very problematic for young children and there are reasons behind that.
Correct, boys are inherently associated and grown up to associate blue with masculinity and girls vise versa. The example of playing with a doll is also accurate, but what if a boy wants to wear pink to stand out? What if a boy wants to express "gay pride" by wearing pink and letting everyone know. To many, it is a sense of self-empowerment, but by blending and dissociating the social implications of color, to a certain degree, removes a free form of self expression. Now one could certainly outweigh this form of expression with the dangers of bullying, but I am not at liberty to make such a decision. In fact, I am merely pointing out some repercussions of "color-blindness." I don't think I am necessarily writing off the problems that the colors blue and pink create, but rather highlighting the countless other policies and laws that I feel provoke a bigger impact.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with Myaisha on this one. Gendering is a process that begins young and continues subliminally thoughout our lives. Yet it begins even before we are born; it begins when a mother get her ultrasound, finds out she is having a daughter, and then recieves all pink baby materials. It is clear that society has programed us to associate a given color with a given gender, which demonstrates the hold these ideals have over us.
ReplyDeleteExactly Jordan. and that is my point. That as soon as the mother finds out the sex of the baby, it determines what color gifts she is going to receive. If it is a boy it receives blue gifts. and if it it a girl it receives pink gifts. My favorite color is blue, but I am not masculine. A guy wears pink and he is critically judged. Like everything else, this is built upon us by society. Here is a link for all of you guys to read. I thought it was really interesting.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.wisegeek.com/have-pink-and-blue-always-been-considered-gender-specific-colors.htm