Introduction
People always have an implication regarding gender about color from the point they see a cradle furnished with blue items or pink. There are suggestions made as far as color and sex are concerned. Despite the absence of detailed rules on the masculinity or feminine nature of colors, several researchers have come up with one generalization in the recent past. In our society today, females have a preference for pink whole the male have a preference for blue. These differences in gender are seen in our daily choices and from the early life of individuals. Young children are very sensitive to color when they choose their outfit. Nevertheless, different researchers have come up with several changes concerning color perception in the culture of North America, The color pink, as well as blue; have had a connotation of gender stereotype for a very long time.
History of colors
The dressing tradition of blue for male and pink for the female is dated back to 1920s.in the previous decade; there was an inversion of color coding where boys outfit was associated with pink and the girls, blue.(Paoletti 1997). It is however not clear why the tradition changes in the 1920s. Some young children, as well as toddlers, know about color stereotype; thus, their judgment and social perception concerning color are influenced. Other researchers argue that 2 years old children tend to stare at pink for a longer time than blue when a male voice and face preceded it than when a female voice precede it. It suggests gender incongruity awareness. In 19920s, the United States, documented the social convention in dressing young children in gender specific colors. Recently, shopping malls in the local regions reveal that a majority of infant girls wear pink and the male babies dominate blue outfits as well. It is evident therefore that's the young children as well as adults, are aware that blue relates to boys, and pink with girls. In fact, preschool children in t United States demonstrate a high preference for primary colors. Other researchers explain that infants and children in the pre-schools show a strong preference for red.
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Despite the unclear origin of the identification of cross gender, considerable evidence indicates that, during the preschool years, as well as toddlerhood, it is likely to emerge. Most parents report that gender identity disordered boys, are obsessed with pink. On the contrary, the girls suffering from gender identity disorder will choose dark clothing for instance blue and reject pink. Therefore there is a likelihood that, gender identity disorders among children makes them attend carefully to any sex-dimorphic connotation stimulus.
Psychology of Colors
Researchers reveal that; as the children grow they develop a liking for particular color at five months. They familiarize with their surroundings, eventually adapting to what they see around them therefore if girls are surrounded with pink some develop an interest in pink objects similarly when boys live around with blue attires they grow up liking blue. Familiarity, therefore, becomes the basis for their selective color attention. The theory of gender schema suggests that, during the stages of development, children come up with the schema of sex, or information representation concerning themselves as well as their gender, from the environment, and they further incorporate the knowledge they have into their schemas (Parcello 1990). Together with other constructivists' and cognitive views, they conclude that after recognizing their gender, children seek out information related to their gender actively and integrate it to their gender development concept. Ruble refers to children as ‘gender detectives' who create ideas on their own concerning the meaning of sex, through seeking detailed information about what gender is. However, the personal preferences of the children do not give a clear indication on whether their sex knowledge contributes to preferences in gender stereotypes.
In another study, Ruble et al. reveal that at one-year male infants prefer doll images as opposed to cars; later on, in the development, they will avoid toys. Consistently, while girls developed a liking for pink, the boys to some extent developed pink color avoidance. Therefore there might be a biological basis of gender preference in color. Other researchers argue that there is a woman evolutionary advantage for those who have the attraction for bright colored fruits and leaves. Therefore it is possible that women attraction to pink color is inborn. Those refuting this possibility argue that ‘'If females have a biological predisposition to favor the pink color, the preference should be evident regardless of experience or the acquisition of gender concepts, and in the current research, a preference for red did not emerge in girls until the age of 2.5.''
According to Trautner, the pink color choice in girl's decreases as they advance in age. In preschool years, children have rigid beliefs concerning the behaviors related to gender stereotypes. They believe that girls should indeed behave in a specific way while boys in another. By the time they attain six years they tend to gain flexibility in the rules of gender with a perception of both the girls and boys being able to participate in all activities mutually (Trautner 2005). It explains why one might meet an adult male dressed in a pink shirt. Cognitive understanding, as well as Social factors, can explain the color preferences instability in children. Some parents report that some children show preference to accurate colors due to the association of the color of their favorite toy. Girls' sex-typed behavior is very noticeable than boys. Across several domains of sex, restricted variance is dominant in boys than in girls. On the contrary, blue color avoidance is less in girls.
Conclusion
Due to the way people dress infants; trough color coding and sex-dimorphic ways, color coded environmental exposures, there is a possibility of self- labeling on gender. When children develop self-labeling of sex and seek out information related to gender, there is a likelihood of them putting on specific colored clothes; therefore, it sets a platform for schema system linked to sex. Despite the adults' view of gender color preference an arbitrary, they may create a new surprising window of constructing gender subjectively in atypical and typical children. From the recent research, it is evident to say young girls' pink color particular affinity is present up to two years after birth. Furthermore, as the girls' pink color preference grows the pink color avoidance in boys continues to grow. It is, therefore, important for people to know the age at which children develop such tendencies for one to understand the behaviors associated with the gender stereotype.
References
Hurlbert, A., & Ling, Y. (2007). Biological components of sex differences in color preference. Current Biology, 17, R623–R62543.
LoBue, V., &DeLoanche, J. S. (2007). Pretty in pink: The early development of gender-stereotyped color preferences [Abstract]. British Journal of Developemental Psychology .
Paoletti, J. B. (1987). Clothing and gender in America: Children's fashions, 1890–1920. Signs , 13, 136–
Picariello, M. L., Greenberg, D. N., & Pillemer, D. B. (1990). Children's sex-related stereotyping of colors. Child Development , 61, 1453–1460.
Ruble, D. N., Taylor, L. T., Cyphers, L., Greulich, F. K., Lurye, L. E., & Shrout, P. E. (2007). The role of gender constancy in early gender development. Child Development , 78, 1121–1136
Trautner, H. M., Ruble, D. N., Cyphers, L., Kirsten, B., Behrendt, R., & Hartmann, P. (2005). Rigidity and flexibility of gender stereotypes in childhood: Developmental or differential? Infant and Child Development , 14, 365–381.
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