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that's a good question...


Guest bluey

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....to compliment the random facts thread~ i thought we should have a good Q&A thread :grin:

here you can post those things that really baffle you and perhaps you'll get the answer from all these very clever forum members... ^___^

 

i've been wondering lately: why is it blue for a boy and pink for a girl? where did that idea originate?? :wtf:

 

...(asked bluey) :indeed:

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Yes but why is pink classed as a femininie colour?

 

Because men were very stupid up until very recently, and seeing that it's a cheerfull colour, it's associated with cheer, wich was considered a weakness, and therefore, something a man should not have. The same for yellow and so on... It was reserved for women, who were seen as inferior. And it still carries on to this day.

(Yes, men were assholes, we all know it).

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Apparently some baby site I just visited says that it goes back to the Roman/Greek period or something.

Blue was the colour of the heavens/sky, and was supposed to protect you from all the evil in the world. And since boys were more important than girls, they were given blue clothes to protect them. To differentiate the girls from the boys, they were given pink clothes, the symbol of her biological colour.

 

Or something like that.

 

All I know is that for some reason unknown to me, quite some people used to reverse the colours here (so pink for boys and blue for girls) a couple of generations ago.

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Apparently some baby site I just visited says that it goes back to the Roman/Greek period or something.

Blue was the colour of the heavens/sky, and was supposed to protect you from all the evil in the world. And since boys were more important than girls, they were given blue clothes to protect them. To differentiate the girls from the boys, they were given pink clothes, the symbol of her biological colour.

 

Or something like that.

 

All I know is that for some reason unknown to me, quite some people used to reverse the colours here (so pink for boys and blue for girls) a couple of generations ago.

 

That's more like it!

 

Oxygen, what you're saying would only be the case if the rest of the world did that. But they don't.

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That's more like it!

 

Oxygen, what you're saying would only be the case if the rest of the world did that. But they don't.

 

Of course they do. That is, they did. I meant that men were very sexist up until very recently, and that was worldwide. I mean, it's only been like 55 years since the emancipation of women started to happen.

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Apparently prior to World War II the gender colours were actually reversed. Pink is essentially a watered down red, and that's a fierce, powerful colour. Blue is more passive and dainty, marking it a more 'girly' colour. It's claimed that it has only been since the '50s that this stereotyping was turned on its head, although the exact reason why is unknown.

 

Personally I think the situation was simply muddied prior to this time by different cultures attributing the colours in completely opposite ways due to historic or religious differences, meaning rather than pink and blue trading places universally, it was simply a case of one way becoming the standard. This change was most likely accelerated by the likes of Audrey Hepburn and indeed the Barbie doll, both of which pushed pink into being the colour bound to femininity.

 

I've come across several myths and theories about the reasons for the colour associations, ranging from a superstitious belief that blue warded off evil spirits and so all-important male babies were clad in blue so they weren't whisked away, to the Nazis playing a part via their system of prisoner classification — as Jews were marked with the yellow Star of David, homosexuals were marked with a pink symbol, etcetera. The straightest answer you'll get will most likely be from your grandparents, memory willing.

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Did someone just push this thread off a very, very tall cliff?

 

No Jordan walked into the room. He's a filthy boy.

 

 

Actually in Victorian time pink was a boy's colour and blue was for girls. The most likely reason for the change is the barbie doll and all of the toys for girls.

 

This question's been done now.

 

Next question:

A phobia is an irrational fear. But when people are afraid of flying they are actually afraid of crashing. Which is a pretty rational fear. So is aviaphobia (sp?) actually a phobia?

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Of course they do. That is, they did. I meant that men were very sexist up until very recently, and that was worldwide. I mean, it's only been like 55 years since the emancipation of women started to happen.

 

 

55 years?! wha? Lies :P

 

Next question:

A phobia is an irrational fear. But when people are afraid of flying they are actually afraid of crashing. Which is a pretty rational fear. So is aviaphobia (sp?) actually a phobia?

 

Depends on your definition of rational :P If it were rational, surely everyone would be scared?

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