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.

Color Choices: Made through Imitation?

                It is seen that the different genders have different color preferences. The question is where does this come from? Where are children taught that there are certain colors for boys and girls? There is some research that proves that children are not necessarily told to like blue or pink, but instead they learn which colors to like, use, and wear through imitation.

                Imitation is a very important aspect to the social learning theory.  Children learn by watching positive models. When a little girl often sees her mom wearing pink or another warm color, it is installed in her that girls wear warmer colors, especially when she sees her dad wearing colder colors, like blue or green consistently. The child’s color choices are made through imitation.

                Along the same lines as imitating color choices for clothing, children sometimes also imitate the colors they use in projects.  In a study conducted by Judy Rosenblith, Imitative Color Choices in Kindergarten Children, an experiment was done showing whether children rely on imitation for color choices or not.  The research showed that the color of the pencil being used did not matter as much as imitating the same sex model. The experiment consisted of doing a maze on paper with colored pencils. First the child did the maze on their own and had the choice of a red, blue, green, blue or yellow pencil. The yellow pencil had regular lead though. They were not told which color to use at all. Three weeks after they completed the first maze, they were taken again to do the experiment except this time they had someone to “play’ with. They partnered the child first with an adult of the same sex then later with the opposite sex. The child imitated the color choice of the adult of the same sex rather than of the opposite sex (Rosenblith, 1961). When the boy saw the male adult chose a blue pencil, he was more likely to use the blue pencil. When he saw him use a red pencil, the child used a red pencil. When the boy saw the female use a red pencil, he was more likely to use the blue. The children imitative the color choices of their same sex models.

                Rosenblith’s research shows that although color choices play a role in a child’s life, they make these choices through imitation. Parents and media tell children which colors they should choose. The study by Rosenblith was done on children in kindergarten. This just shows that younger children rely on imitation in color choices, which also helps people to better understand why children’s favorite colors change as they get older. When they are younger they choose colors that they see models of the same sex choose. As they get older they are able to start making their own decisions and conclusions about colors.

Dad and son both dressed in blue. Although they probably dressed the son in this color on purpose for the photo, it instills in the child later that I should dress like dad.



The same goes for this little girl with her mother. The picture may have been preplanned, but it is telling the little girl that her mother is wearing pink so  this is a good color choice. Children at a young age are likely to imitate the choices their parents make or better yet are forced to make the color choices they make.

Rosenblith, Judy F. (1961). Imitative Color Choices in Kindergarten Children. Child Development, Vol. 33 Issue 1, 211-223.

Toys: Color and Shape

                When you walk in a department store and head to the toy aisle, the first thing you can identify is where the dolls and trucks are. Why does this seem to be? This is because the toy aisles are color-coded. It’s commonly known by our society that gender can be differentiated through toy selection. The real question is what or who makes the decision for us to choose these specific toys for the two sexes. Who says what toys boys are to play with? Who says dolls and dress-up is just for girls? Also we have to wonder why these toys are always gender stereotypical colors. According to research on toy selection, by Vasanti Jadva, Melissa Hines and Susan Golombok, color has a role on what toys boys and girls choose.

                In their article, Infants’ preferences for Toys, Colors, and Shapes: Sex Differences and Similarities, Jadva et al(2010) stated, “girls’ toys tended to be colored in pastel shades, especially pink and lavender, and boys’ toys tended to be colored in intense colors, such as red, blue and black” (p. 1262). They also examined experiments done by different researchers that tested three different age groups, each group consisting of 3 boys/3 girls. The first group was ages 3 to 7. The researchers set 6 felt pigs (3 stereotyped male colors being blue, brown and maroon and 3 stereotyped female colors being light pink, bright pink and lavender) in front of each child individually. All chose a pig in their stereotypical color. The second experiment worked with children ages 3 to 12. These children were asked to choose their three favorite colors from a color chart. Each child chose three colors from their stereotypical colors. The boys chose all blues and the girls chose pink/purple. The last experiment Jadva et al (2010) examined worked with adults. The adults were forced to choose a color. Even the adults chose colors in their stereotype.

                Jadva et al (2010) continued evaluating other research, but they also did their own experiment using toy selection. They chose 5 colors (pink, pale blue, blue, red, and colorless). They created visual images of cars and dolls in these 5 colors and had the children choose which one they liked the most. Their research showed that color did matter, but the shape had a larger influence on selection. In general the girls chose the dolls and the boys chose the cars.

                After reading the article by Jadva et al (2010), I found they didn’t find as much evidence that I thought they would have in color influence. This makes me question though, why then, if color doesn’t matter as much as shape, are all girls’ toys always pink? Why does the market use color as significantly as they do if it doesn’t matter? Even stores color code their aisle according to gender. I believe color matters a little more than some people want to believe.

(girls aisle: PINK and barbies and dress-up)
(boys aisle: BLUE and action figures and light sabers)

  

Jadva, V., Hines, M., Golombok, S. (2010). Infants’ Preferences for Toys, Colors, and Shapes: Sex Differences and Similarities . Arch Sex Behav, 39, 1261-1273.

            DOI:10.1007/s10508-010-9618-z



Coloring Activites: Who knew there was more behind the scenes?

                Coloring has always been an important skill for young children. The color crayons children chose to use have a lot more meaning than what people may think. Girls use warmer colors when coloring pictures, but they don’t differentiate between colors as much as boys do. An article based on colors of gender entitled, “The Color of Children’s Gender Stereotypes”, by Rachel Karniol stated:

Gender-differentiated color preferences are also evident in children’s coloring activities. There are two general patterns. First, although the age of gender-differentiated color use varies across studies, American, British and Japanese boys between the ages of 5–10 generally use significantly fewer colors in their free drawings than girls, and boys often opt to draw in black and white. Second, girls use a greater variety of colors, more warm colors, and especially more pinks and purples than boys. (p.2)

 It was found that their use of colors resulted from the provisions that were given to them by their parents and teachers. Stereotypes are constantly enforced just by the materials that they are given to use. Research has also shown that girls are more drawn to vibrant colors than boys are also.

                Overall, by looking at different research we can see that gender stereotypes can be universal in some aspects. The research that I read discussed how they found that coloring affected boys and girls in not only America but Britain, Japan and Israel. Colors are universal and everyone learns what to associate with them through their culture.

Karniol, R. (2011). The Color of Children's Gender Stereotypes.Sex Roles. 65,119-132.
            DOI: 10.1007/s11199-011-9989-1

(NOTICE: the girl is dressed in pink, the boy in blue and neutral yellow. The blue pencils near the boys, the purple in front of the girl)



Pink vs. Blue

When you say girl, people think pink. When you say boy, people think blue. If you were to walk down the toy aisle in any store, the girl aisle would be hot pink with dolls and dress up clothing. The boy aisle would be blue with guns, trucks and Ninja Turtles. Continue your journey through the store to the clothing. The girl's clothing consists of pinks, purples and yellows. Each article of clothing has either glitter, lace or flowers. The boy's clothing are mostly blue. There are some green and red, but overwhelmingly blue. The shirts all have corny sayings on them like “daddy’s little slugger”. The last stop in the store is the craft aisle. All the crafts that have girls on the boxes are dressed in pinks making pottery or friendship bracelets. The coloring book selection for them consists of princesses, fairytale themes, etc. The boys have model cars and airplanes to build. Their coloring books consist of cars, sports, etc. Color is one of the most obvious ways to categorize gender

Over the course of the semester, I will be researching the affects of color on males and females.  The research will consist of everything from the color of their clothing to the colors boys and girls use to color pictures. I chose this gender stereotype because I think this stereotype is very prominent in our society. It is something that is easily observed every day. Also this stereotype is one that is trying to be debunked by many people so I thought it would be interesting to see how much color truly affects gender.