All things pink and flowery, all things blue and buildable

[Sock Puppet]

Oh, I didn't realize you didn't know said story. Basically it's in sneaky-and-morally-questionable-inbetwean-poaster's Smithsonian link.

Once upon a time, some peoples thought that pink was a moar masculine color, and blue was moar feminine. Then somehow it got switched. There might have been fairies involved. [C WUT I DID THAR]

The end.

[Demimonde]

I totally missed the connection! When you wrote "flip-flop" I was thinking about shoes, (prolly because I am a stereotypical shoe obessed lady person) not an indicator of changing times. Originally, I thought you were referring to some story/fable or whatever about blue shoes and pink shoes and someone picking between them with a moral at the end about gender expectations or something. So when I googled it, all I found were a bunch of links to a video of a person named Prue in pink and blue sandals who I think might be foot fetish porn star celebrity or something.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VfeJOL23C0U

[Spacemonkey]

[Angakuk]

Originally Posted by Demimonde

That idea still reinforces the system that has boys on top and girls below

I am not sure why you thought you needed to bring the missionary position into this discussion but I just wanted to say, THAT IS THE WAY GOD INTENDED IT TO BE!

You may now return to your little discussion about children's toys.

[Qingdai]

The most common story I've heard about pink and blue being gender assigned is the Nazi Germany one, wherein the pink triangle became associated with homosexuals. It's repeated a lot, but one of those nebulous societal things that doesn't seem to have any real way to prove itself, other than after WWII pink became assigned to females.

Looky here, scholarly article that mentions it:

http://www.springerlink.com/content/v17324p7g47771gk/

Wow, look at these photos. OVERLOAD!

http://www.brainpickings.org/index.p...-blue-project/

[ceptimus]

I put a link to the Wiki article on the flip-flop. See post #35 in this thread.

[The Lone Ranger]

I asked my Legos-loving friend about this line earlier today. As it turns out, she thinks it's a great idea. She doesn't see the line as being sexist or demeaning of girls at all.

She figures that if it gets a few more girls interested in Legos that's great, and the ones who have any aptitude and interest will quickly move up to the more complex building tasks. She even told me that she has bought some of the kits herself, because she uses some of the slightly more realistic human figures in some of her own building projects.


Cheers,

Michael

[Ensign Steve]

I ordered a happy meal at the drive through the other day and the guy asked "boy or girl?". Normally I would consider bucking the system, but I had been inside the store recently and saw that it was either Barbie or some kind of monster truck thing, and I wanted Barbie.

I get it, and it's a stupid teddy bear. Then I get home and see the TV commercial and realize the boy toy was Star Wars. Argh! Why can't they ask "teddy bear or star wars?" so I can make an informed choice?!

Also the teddy bear was dark blue with neon peace signs on it, so I bet LS's queer little peacenik would have been way into it.

[LadyShea]

Kiddo is a Star Wars fanatic, he saw the bears and ignored them!

[Ensign Steve]

[Angakuk]

His peacenik status is not thus endangered. Star Wars is all about achieving peace. Peace through mass annihilation.

[ZEZOZE]

most people don't live in pink houses and most people don't own a millenium falcon.

[Angakuk]

I live in a pink millenium falcon. But then, I am not most people.

[Ensign Steve]

Posted to my women's studies board:

Pink & Blue by james parris — Kickstarter

What is 'Pink & Blue'?

It's a coffee-shop conversation...that became a scribble on a napkin, that became a PSA-style short film project, using whimsy to promote gender equality at playtime. The miniature universe of kids' toys is the setting we're choosing to power a simple idea: It's healthy for girls and boys to share EQUAL access to imagination during their developmental years - and beyond.

Although strides are being made in our culture, girls and boys often receive unequal messages from the adults around them, regarding expectations for their attitudes about themselves. These subtle messages can be as simple as the toys we give as gifts. 'Pink & Blue' allows the toys themselves, in a light-hearted way, to show the effects of gender segregation - and the joy of integration.

Looks like they reached their fundraising goal, so here's hoping to comes to fruition.

[Janet]

I'm on some Amazon high-end discount a day mailing list that I never buy from. Today they had a section for toys with a "Vintage blue kitchen" set. I noticed it because of this thread. It had sold out by the time I checked, which I suppose is a good sign.

[LadyShea]

That is pure awesome. I want the real thing in my kitchen

[livius drusus]

Bless the 50s and their candy-colored everything.

[Ensign Steve]

OMG, y'all! This is too fun.

The HTML5 Gendered Advertising Video Remixer

Oh shit! They have a LEGO specific one!

[Ensign Steve]

In other news, my friend from HS keeps pinning ideas for decorating "Syd's room" in a panda theme, complete with real bamboo furniture and accessories. I can't tell by the name or the decor whether Syd is a boy or girl. No idea if she's doing it intentionally, but still,

[LadyShea]

This made me sad that there is a perception that boys don't enjoy crafting, and that there are otherwise crafty parents not crafting with with their sons for no other reason than they have penises.

Red Ted Art's Blog » Blog Archive » Boy Get Crafty

[lisarea]

Sometimes, I think people sit around brainstorming new ways to apply gender binaries to previously neutral things.

They probably do that in "man caves."

[LadyShea]

I was wondering if it's a language thing. Women craft, men make or build.

[livius drusus]

What about craftsmen?

[lisarea]

There does seem to be a strange binary between crafting rigid materials vs. soft ones. Sewing is for ladies, carpentry is for men.

I was thinking about those two recently for some reason. I have roughly the same skill level in each--that is, not very much--and they're really sort of similar skills, with a few notable differences:

Rigidity of material.
Cost of materials and supplies.
Difficulty levels.

Generally speaking, carpentry supplies and materials are bigger, heavier, and more expensive than sewing materials; but sewing is MUCH MUCH more difficult. With about the same level of skill in each of those, I can make a simple, functional piece furniture that doesn't instantly scream "SOME DUMBASS LOSER MADE THIS THING," but I have never made a piece of clothing that could pass sufficiently to be worn in public. I can make a bag or a pillow or pajamas that nobody outside immediate family will see me in, but that's about the extent of it.

[Ymir's blood]

nm