My cousin recently just gave birth to an adorable baby girl and while celebrating the big day with her, I couldn't help thinking about the topic we recently discussed in class about colors and gender. The newborn was given clothes by her parents, extended family, and friends that consisted of bright colors. I noticed that the color pink appeared to be the most dominant that made up these items.
After reading the article, "When Did Girls Start Wearing Pink?," I agreed with a few of the statements that historian and author Jo B. Paoletti was making. One of these examples included the statement when she explained that children are the subjects of sophisticated and pervasive advertising that tends to reinforce social conventions. When kids see T.V. and magazine advertising,etc., I do believe that they become highly influenced by what they see as what a typical boy and girl should look like. I think that color matters to an extent, just because color correlates with gender norms in today's society. However, for example, if a girl wants to wear blue or other "masculine" colors without being told to wear pink or other "feminine" colors, and vice versa for boys, they should be able to without conforming to society standards regarding gender. Children are usually forced to conform to the gender norms of society but everyone should be able to decide what to wear without being forced into it. If a child is happy with what he or she is wearing, that is what matters.
Lastly, it surprised when learning about how many years it took for colors to be associated with specifying gender roles and how pink and blue were viewed as opposite gender colors from today when they eventually did was interesting information. This just goes to show how much of an impact advertising has had on today's society.
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