Pink vs. Blue

Pink and Blue are two seemingly ordinary colors in the crayon spectrum that have special meaning for parents and babies everywhere. It's pretty well understood that little girls are swaddled in pink, and baby boys are wrapped in blue. 

However, it hasn't always been this way. 

Prior to World War II babies would have been dressed in the opposite color as they are today. 

It's true!

Red was thought of as an inherently masculine color, and any color that was a derivative of red was a color for men. Even little baby men. That meant maroon, and even pink were men's colors.

Blue was thought of to be a delicate, and beautiful color fit for a girl; one fit for a little lady. This was in part because of flowers like blue bells. 

Today when a couple wants to decorate their nursery in neutral colors they use green and yellow. Back in the pre-WWII days, couples would use blue and pink. That just sounds adorable! 

This interesting information lends to the question, well why did this change?

In large part it was because of the WWII imagery and propaganda of Rosie the Riveter in her factory blues, and how that image changed into the June Clever in a pink dress. When Rosie conquered at the factory in blue, and then held her homestead while in a pink dress, the color ideology altered.

What does this have to do with family history?

Any ancestor you have on your tree that was born in America prior to WWII would have been wrapped in a different color than babies are today. So, great-great-great grandpa was a pink baby boy- how cute is that? 

This is a great event to add to your family history timeline. 

Look through your family tree and see which family members would have been dressed in pink or blue. 

(All facts from this article can be seen here.)

Happy Hunting!