Exceptions to the Color Rules.

                As I have stated before, boys like blue and girls like pink. Are there exceptions to this gender stereotype though?  After careful examination of the topic, I began to find research that proved that there are some boys that indeed like pink and some girls that like blue. These children have a Gender Identity Disorder. Children with GID follow the gender norms of the opposite sex.        

                In terms of color selection, studies have shown that color selection is affected by gender stereotypes. In the article, Sex-Dimorphic Color Preference in Children with Gender Identity Disorder: A Comparison to Clinical and Community Controls by Sandy Chiu et al, the researchers discuss a study that they did on children with GID. They compared their color choices to that of other children in the community and who were already enrolled clinics for other studies. During their study, they did an experiment with each participating child, where they were to choose their three favorite colors.  They found that the boys with GID chose pink/purple as their first favorite color. The boys in the community and clinical groups chose blue as did the girls with GID. Girls in the community and clinical groups chose pink/purple as their first choice. For their second choice, a greater percentage of GID boys than community control girls chose the color red (Chui et al, 2006).  The research also showed, “a great percentage of GID girls than GID boys and clinical control girls chose the color green” (Chui et al, 2006). All three groups, that were studied, third choice were similar. All except the clinical control group boys chose the pink/purple as their third choice (Chui et al, 2006).  

                After the children made their decisions the researchers asked each individual child why they made their choice in that color. There were seven different categories the children fell under for their reasoning: 1. Gender-specific, because girls wear pink, 2. Personal, It’s the color of their room, 3.Nature, they like the color of grass or flowers, 4. Emotional affect, the color makes them happy, 5. Color reference, they just like bright colors, 6. Non-responsive, didn’t know why they liked it, they just did, and 7. Other, these responses didn’t fall into any category (Chui et al, 2006).  In all, the researchers found that the GID children’s color preferences were them trying to find meaning in their gender. Children, whether they have GID or not, associate colors with specific gender.

                Although many people don’t think gender stereotypes play a role in color selection, they do across all genders.  As the article clearly states, “Although gender stereotyped color preferences are likely viewed by adults as rather superficial and arbitrary, they may surprisingly enough, provide yet another window into the subjective construction of gender in both typical and atypical children” (Chui et al, 2006). After further examination, we are able to see that pink isn't just for girls and blue isn't just for boys, but our gender stereotypes still remain strong on who should like which color.



There are some few children that cross the gender stereotype lines.
This picture, like usual, depicts girls in pink and boys in blue



Chui, Sandy W., et al (2006).Sex-Dimorphic Color Preference in Children with Gender Identity Disorder: A Comparison to Clinical and Community Controls. Sex Roles, Vol. 55, 385-395.