Gendered associations of pink and blue

Okay kiddo, have you ever noticed that sometimes people say that pink is for girls and blue is for boys? This is what we call gendered associations - it means that boys and girls are told to like different things just because of their gender.

The idea that pink is for girls and blue is for boys actually started pretty recently, just a hundred or so years ago. Before that, it wasn't really that important to dress kids in different colors based on their gender.

Some people think that the pink and blue thing started because pink is a lighter, softer version of red and red has always been seen as a strong, bold color. So pink was seen as the more delicate, feminine version of red. And blue was chosen as the color for boys because it was seen as a stronger, more masculine color.

But here's the thing, it's actually okay for anyone, no matter what their gender is, to like any color they want! So if you're a boy and you like pink, that's totally fine. And if you're a girl and you like blue, that's also great. It's important to remember that colors don't have a gender - they're just colors!