Baby's Afghan
DimensionsOverall: 73.7 x 101.6 cm
Credit LineGift of Mr. Harry Morgan, London, Ontario, 1964
Object number1964.055.008
Label TextThis crocheted afghan features colours that we associate with babies: pastel blue, pink, green, and yellow. Many Westerners view green and yellow as gender neutral. But blue is for boys and pink for girls. This understanding dominated from the 1940s. Manufacturers and retailers created the distinction based on their understanding of consumer preference. Before the 1940s, consumers received conflicting advice:
• Pink was for boys because it is a strong colour and blue for girls because it is “dainty”;
• Blue-eyed babies should wear blue and brown-eyed ones pink; and,
• Pink suited brunette babies and blue suited blondes.
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