Pink Girl, Blue Boy: Difference between revisions

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In fiction, and sometimes in [[Real Life]], we tend to [[Color Coded for Your Convenience|differentiate between "girly colors" and boyish ones]]. It is clearer with babies, when we are prone to see girls dressed in pink and boys in light blue.

What's [[Newer Than They Think|funny]] is that [http://hueconsulting.blogspot.com/2007/03/why-is-blue-for-boys-and-pink-for-girls.html this is actually a recent development]. In fact, in some cultures, it used to be the opposite: pink was associated with baby boys, because it's derived from red, which is a good masculine color (in some countries, it still is). Blue used to be feminine (and [[True-Blue Femininity]] often still applies), as it was the color of the Virgin Mary.

What's [[Newer Than They Think|funny]] is that [http://hueconsulting.blogspot.com/2007/03/why-is-blue-for-boys-and-pink-for-girls.html this is actually a recent development]. In fact, in some cultures, it used to be the opposite: pink was associated with baby boys, because it's derived from red, which being the color of blood is a good masculine color (in some countries, it still is). Blue used to be feminine (and [[True-Blue Femininity]] often still applies), as it was the color of the Virgin Mary.

Note that lots of female characters have had a pink motif that they wear with pride and sheer [[Cute Bruiser|badassery]]. Male characters as well, because [[Real Men Wear Pink]]. But sometimes, pink is considered too childish and disrespectful, especially to an adult woman, so [[Lady in Red|red]] may be substituted.

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A [[Sub-Trope]] of [[Pink Means Feminine]] and [[Color Coded for Your Convenience]].

Compare [[Tertiary Sexual Characteristics]], [[Red Oni, Blue Oni]], [[Color-Coded for Your Convenience]], [[Pink Is for Sissies]], [[Princesses Prefer Pink]]. Not to be confused with [[Pink Boy Blue Girl]], a redirect to [[Masculine Girl, Feminine Boy]], which describes a pairing of a masculine girl and a feminine boy.

Compare [[Tertiary Sexual Characteristics]], [[Red Oni, Blue Oni]], [[Color-Coded for Your Convenience]], [[Pink Is for Sissies]], [[Princesses Prefer Pink]]. Not to be confused with "Pink Boy Blue Girl", a former redirect to [[Masculine Girl, Feminine Boy]], which describes a pairing of a masculine girl and a feminine boy.

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* Jessie and James of Team Rocket from ''[[Pokémon (anime)|Pokémon]]''.

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== Art ==

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* Two paintings – ''[[wikipedia:Pinkie (Lawrence painting)|Pinkie]]'' by Thomas Lawrence and ''[[wikipedia:The Blue Boy|The Blue Boy]]'' by Thomas Gainsborough – have long been grouped together. The pink girl and blue boy are displayed directly across the room from each other at the Huntington Museum in Southern California.

== Comic Books ==

* The mutant twins [[The Avengers (Comic Book)|Quicksilver]] and [[Scarlet Witch]] often wear blue and red costumes respectively, although Quicksilver's first costume was green.

== Film ==

* [[The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl|Sharkboy and Lavagirl.]]

== Literature ==

* In one of the ''[[Xanth]]'' novels, the male and female main characters had switched bodies due to a magic spell gone wrong. When they manage to acquire clothes from a clothes tree, they take colors according to their mental gender, much to the confusion of their semi-sentient horse.

* Stephen King's Dark Tower series features the sentient monorail Blaine and his 'sister', Patricia. They feature the reversed color scheme: Patricia is blue, and Blaine is pink.

* Stephen King's ''[[Dark Tower]]'' series features the sentient monorail Blaine and his 'sister', Patricia. They feature the reversed color scheme: Patricia is blue, and Blaine is pink.

== Live-Action TV ==

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** Interestingly, this also extends to ''[[Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger]]'', where the Rangers have the power to assume the forms of their predecessors (complete with [[Distaff Counterpart]] costumes where necessary). Thus far, Pink Ranger Ahim is the only person to use any Pink Ranger Keys, while every other color has been used by people of both genders (except, again, for Green).

*** This is averted in the Gokaiger Vs. Gavan movie, where the whole team change into pink Sentai warriors.

== Music ==

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* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OtdC8d8FmIA This video.]

* The more well-known [[Vocaloid]] characters are [[Color Coded for Your Convenience|differentiated by hair and/or outfit color]]; true to the trope, pink-haired Luka is a girl and blue-haired Kaito is a boy. Inverted with Miku, who has light blue hair and is a girl.

== New Media ==

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* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G67qUno5lDo This youtube video] combines this concept with {{spoiler|[[Girls Have Cooties]]}} for a cute little short.

* The website [http://www.girlsaskguys.com/ Girls Ask Guys] uses this scheme to differentiate between male and female users, by highlighting their username, their 'rank,' and, if asking the question, their rating stars with the respective colour. If the user has not yet chosen an avatar, they sport a silhouette of their gender with the corresponding shade, too.

== Newspaper Comics ==

* [[Conversed]] in ''[[Family Circus]]'', January 28, 2008:

{{quote|''The [[Pink Panther]] is a girl. If he was a boy he'd be the Blue Panther.''}}

== Tabletop Games ==

* The ''Game of Life'' board game is an example of this. Boy pegs are blue, girl pegs are pink.

== Toys ==

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* Inverted in ''[[Bionicle]]''. The females still retain the "pink" personality, but the majority of the female main characters are blue. And while there are no pink characters, the red ones are all male.

* Fisher-Price Little People toys and playsets usually avert this, with characters wearing whatever they realistically would. However, Fisher-Price has started making all-pink sets. What makes this stupid is that they are simply recoloring old molds, usually ones with normal colors. So now girls can buy a pink (instead of yellow) bus or dump truck, and a pink (instead of white and blue) plane. And a pink house, which is identical to the normal house in mold, except pink. It's borderline condescending and, since the main difference between the two molds is one is entirely pink, completely insulting.

== Video Games ==

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* Although he is associated with the color red because of his hat and shirt, [[Super Mario Bros.|Mario]]'s outfit also includes blue overalls, and his love interest, Princess Peach, wears pink.

* ''[[Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri]]'': In the expansion pack ''Alien Crossfire'', the opposing leaders of [[Scary Dogmatic Aliens|the two Usurper factions]], Guardian Lular H'minee (the leader of the Manifold Caretakers) is a pink female (although the game lore states that [[Ambiguous Gender|''"gender fluid in Progenitor culture; female is the closest human analogue"'']]) and Conqueror Judaa Maar (the leader of the Manifold Usurpers) is a blue-greenish male (note: actual gender indeterminate).

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== ~~Visual~~ Art ==

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* Two paintings -- ''[[wikipedia:Pinkie (Lawrence painting)|Pinkie]]'' by Thomas Lawrence and ''[[wikipedia:The Blue Boy|The Blue Boy]]'' by Thomas ~~Gainsborough—have~~ long been grouped together. The pink girl and blue boy are displayed directly across the room from each other at the Huntington Museum in Southern California.

== Web Comics ==

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* Princess Cadance and Shining Armor as one of the few [[Official Couple|canon couples]] in [[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic|My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic]].

* In ''[[Jelly Jamm]]'', Rita and Mina fit the "pink girly girl, blue tomboy" subtrope. Averted with the male characters, however, as two are purple and one is red.

== Real Life ==

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[[Category:Characteristic Clothing Colors]]

[[Category:Red Index, Blue Index]]

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[[Category:Ensembles]]

[[Category:Color-Coded for Your Convenience]]

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