Jo B. Paoletti's journey through the history of children's clothing began when she posed the question, "When did we start dressing girls in pink and boys in blue?" To uncover the answer, she looks at advertising, catalogs, dolls, baby books, mommy blogs and discussion forums, and other popular media to examine the surprising shifts in attitudes toward color as a mark of gender in American children's clothing. She chronicles the decline of the white dress for both boys and girls, the introduction of rompers in the early 20th century, the gendering of pink and blue, the resurgence of unisex fashions, and the origins of today's highly gender-specific baby and toddler clothing.
Jo B. Paoletti is Associate Professor of American Studies at the University of Maryland.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments Introduction
1. Understanding Children's Clothing 2. Dresses Are for Girls and Boys 3. Pants Are for Boys and Girls 4. A Boy Is Not a Girl 5. Pink Is for Boys 6. Unisex Child Rearing and Gender-Free Fashion 7. Gendered and Neutral Clothing since 1985
Notes Bibliography Index
What People are Saying About This
"Pink and Blue challenges the cultural panic over how children's clothing affects gender and sexual identity. Paoletti shatters myths about what girls and boys 'naturally' like, and does so with details that will fascinate both the casual and professional reader."
Daniel Thomas Cook]]>
Paoletti delivers an insightful analysis of the origins, transformations and consequences of gender distinctions in children's dress over the last 125 years. . . . A must-read.
Peggy Orenstein]]>
Pink and Blue challenges the cultural panic over how children's clothing affects gender and sexual identity. Paoletti shatters myths about what girls and boys 'naturally' like, and does so with details that will fascinate both the casual and professional reader.
Susan B. Kaiser]]>
Pink and Blue is an interdisciplinary tour de force. Readers will never again take gendered children's fashion for granted.
Daniel Thomas Cook
Paoletti delivers an insightful analysis of the origins, transformations and consequences of gender distinctions in children's dress over the last 125 years. . . . A must-read.
Susan B. Kaiser
Pink and Blue is an interdisciplinary tour de force. Readers will never again take gendered children's fashion for granted.
Peggy Orenstein
Pink and Blue challenges the cultural panic over how children's clothing affects gender and sexual identity. Paoletti shatters myths about what girls and boys 'naturally' like, and does so with details that will fascinate both the casual and professional reader.
