Did you know “blue” meant girl and “pink” meant boy not too long ago? Sometimes what we know in the present was the opposite many years ago or just a few years ago: take the example of boy and girl clothing.
Now, pink is generally attributed to a baby girl, and blue is generally assigned to a baby boy. But, this baby clothing idea was not always the case. Prior to the 1900’s, most babies wore white dresses due to the ability to bleach and the ease of changing. But, ideas changed.
In a June, 1918 article from the trade publication, Earnshaw's Infants' Department said, “The generally accepted rule is pink for the boys, and blue for the girls. The reason is that pink, being a more decided and stronger color, is more suitable for the boy, while blue, which is more delicate and dainty, is prettier for the girl,” according to Jo B Paoletti, a Historian from the University of Maryland and the author of Pink and Blue: Telling the Girls from the Boys in America. She was quoted in an article (April 7, 2011) in the Smithsonian, “When did Girls Start Wearing Pink?”
In a Fast Company magazine article, How Pink and Blue Became Gender Specific, June 6, 2013, Mark Wilson noted, “In 1927, Time magazine printed a chart showing sex-appropriate colors for girls and boys according to leading U.S. stores. In Boston, Filene’s told parents to dress boys in pink. So did Best & Co. in New York City, Halle’s in Cleveland and Marshall Field in Chicago.”
And, in The Vintage Times article, “Pink Used to be a Boy’s Color and Blue for Girls” (May 1, 2019) Khadija Bilal wrote. “Strangely enough, in the wake of World War 2, the script was flipped and pink suddenly started being marketed and sold by fashion brands and retailers as the perfect color for women, while blue was suddenly manly and masculine.”
And, again, almost as quickly—“The women’s lib movement of the ’70s actually pushed retailers back to gender neutrality. But in the ’80s, the once lace-deprived girls became new moms, and the division of pink and blue started anew,” Wilson (Fast Company)
So, fashion can change on a dime—one person or a few people can decide to turn ideas around. And, this concept is true in many areas. You can make a difference—you can challenge the accepted—for what is accepted today by most can be disrupted by an event or one person.
Je, ulijua kwamba "blue" ilimaanisha msichana na "pink" ilimaanisha mvulana hivi karibuni? Wakati mwingine kile tunachojua sasa kilikuwa kinyume miaka mingi iliyopita au miaka michache tu iliyopita: chukua mfano wa nguo za wavulana na wasichana. Kwa kawaida rangi ya waridi huitwa rangi ya msichana, na rangi ya bluu huitwa rangi ya mvulana. Lakini, wazo hili la mavazi ya watoto halikuwa hivyo sikuzote. Kabla ya miaka ya 1900, watoto wengi walivaa mavazi meupe kwa sababu ya uwezo wa bleach na urahisi wa kubadilisha. Lakini, mawazo yalibadilika. Katika makala ya Juni 1918 kutoka kwa jarida la biashara, Idara ya Watoto ya Earnshaw ilisema, "Sheria inayokubaliwa kwa ujumla ni nyekundu kwa wavulana, na bluu kwa wasichana. "Kwa sababu rangi ya waridi, ambayo ni rangi ya kuvutia na yenye nguvu, inafaa zaidi kwa mvulana, wakati rangi ya bluu, ambayo ni nyembamba na nyembamba, ni nzuri zaidi kwa msichana, ""alisema Jo B. Paoletti, mwanahistoria kutoka Chuo Kikuu cha Maryland na mwandishi wa ""Rangi ya Waridi na Bluu: Kuwaambia Wasichana kutoka kwa Wavulana huko Amerika.""" "Mwanzoni mwa mwaka wa 1927, gazeti la Time lilichapisha chati inayoonyesha rangi zinazofaa kwa wasichana na wavulana kulingana na maduka makuu ya Marekani.""" Huko Boston, Filene's aliwaambia wazazi wawavale wavulana mavazi ya waridi. "Hali hiyo ilifanyika katika makampuni ya Best & Co. huko New York, Halle's huko Cleveland na Marshall Field huko Chicago, na katika makala ya The Vintage Times, ""Pink Used to be a Boy's Color and Blue for Girls"" (Mei 1, 2019) Khadija Bilal aliandika." "Kwa kushangaza, baada ya Vita Kuu ya Pili ya Dunia, maandishi yalibadilishwa na rangi ya waridi ilianza kuuzwa na kuuzwa na bidhaa za mitindo na wauzaji kama rangi kamili kwa wanawake, wakati bluu ilikuwa ya kiume na ya kiume. ""Mashindano ya wanawake ya miaka ya 1970 kwa kweli yaliwasukuma wauzaji kurudi kwa utatuzi wa kijinsia." "Lakini katika miaka ya 1980, wasichana waliopoteza lace walipata kuwa mama mpya, na mgawanyiko wa rangi ya waridi na bluu ulianza tena. ""Wilson (Fast Company) ""Kwa hivyo, mtindo unaweza kubadilika kwa dime, mtu mmoja au watu wachache wanaweza kuamua kubadilisha mawazo." Na, dhana hii ni kweli katika maeneo mengi. Unaweza kufanya tofauti - unaweza kupinga kilichokubaliwa - kwa kile kinachokubaliwa leo na wengi kinaweza kuvurugwa na tukio au mtu mmoja.