Red and Blue as Gender Symbols

8/9/2019 Red and Blue as Gender Symbols

1/19

Gender Specific ColorsJ.W. Richter

Fig. 1: The Creator God, Jesus, Maria and the apostles


2/19

Summary

This overview lists some of the relevant gender specific color

codes which have been applied in artwork and publications.

Modern gender specific colors refer blue to male and pink to

female children. This idea is documented to have been

originated around 1920, but also corresponds toTaiji, the Taoist

concept ofyin and yang. In contrast medieval documents relate

blue to female and red to male persons.

According to Paoletti & Thompson (1987), the practice ofassigning pink to an individual gender began in the 1920s in

Western culture, but obviously the authors did not refer to the

religious symbolism (red = male and blue = female) in the

Middle Age and ancient biblical eras. The medieval, religious

symbolism may have disappeared in standard and scientific

publications somewhere between 1918 and 1950...

In modern times the religious symbolism has disappeared to becompletely replaced by commercially (or culturally?)

manipulated tags, which have been documented in JeongMee

Yoon's thesis work, The Pink and Blue Projects (2005). Yoon

photographs children in their rooms, surrounded by their

belongings in pink of blue on a background of the respective

color. In the Pink and Blue Projectshe illustrates the excessive

and culturally manipulated expressions of femininity ( pink

belongings) and masculinity ( blue belongings).

2
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taijihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taijihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taijihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taoismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yin_and_yanghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yin_and_yanghttp://www.jeongmeeyoon.com/aw_pinkblue.htmhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taoismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yin_and_yanghttp://www.jeongmeeyoon.com/aw_pinkblue.htmhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taiji


3/19

300 BC Yin and Yang

Femininity isyin to masculinity'syangin human relationships.Even though the principles ofyin-yangwere used in China in

the fourth or fifth century b. C, there are no known references

to the taijitu there before the eleventh century AD.

However, iconographic forms similar to the taijitu were

recorded in Europe by the fourth or fifth century AD., almost

seven hundred years earlier than the date of its appearance in

China. Symbols with a partial resemblance to the later Taoistdiagram appeared in Celtic art from the 3rd century b. C.

onwards, showing groups of leaves separated by an S-shaped

line.

The flag of South Korea has a white background with a yin-

yang symbol in blue and red. In Korea, yin and yang are

referred to as um and yang.

3

Fig. 2: The Yin/Yang-symbol inthe Korean banner


4/19

According to theEncyclopaedia Britannica:

In Eastern thought, the two complementary forces, or

principles make up all aspects and phenomena of life.

Yin is conceived of as earth, female, dark, passive, andabsorbing; it is present in even numbers, in valleys and

streams, and is represented by the tiger, the colororange, and a broken line.

Yang is conceived of as heaven, male, light, active, and

penetrating; it is present in odd numbers, in mountains,

and is represented by the dragon, the color azure, andan unbroken line.

The two are both said to proceed from the Supreme

Ultimate (T'ai Chi), their interplay on one another (asone increases the other decreases) being a description of

the actual process of the universe and all that is in it.

In harmony, the two are depicted as the light and darkhalves of a circle.

These definitions are not corresponding to medieval

definitions, but correlate to modern definitions (male =blue,

female = pink, respectively red).

4
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/653297/yin-yanghttp://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/653297/yin-yang


5/19

600 The Viennese Codex1

In early Middle Age some medieval people obviously believedin a male God located in the sky, in the sun or inside a cloud,

accompanied by a woman.

The following image found in the Vienna Bible from the sixth

century symbolizes God as a red-colored man sending yellow-

golden sun-rays to Joseph, lying on his bed. The moon does

contain a blue-colored woman with cow-horns like an Egyptian

deity. The stars have been painted like asterisks in an Egyptiangrave.

The Viennese Codex displays a red male sun as a sky-god and

a pale white & blue moon as his wife.

1The Hermetic Codex

5

Fig. 3: Male Sky-God (Viennese Codex - sixth Cent.)
http://www.scribd.com/doc/32981510/The-Hermetic-Codexhttp://www.scribd.com/doc/32981510/The-Hermetic-Codex


6/19

1300 Ypers2

In the Middle Age bright colors had been restricted for the

expensive textiles reserved for higher class people. The lowerclasses used simple, uncolored textiles or pale colored dyes. As

a rule the rural population manufactured simple textiles by

themselves.

Most of the royal persons have been depicted in combinationsof red & blue or purple colors3.

Initially (before the 13th century) the favorite colors in the

Ypres textile industries have been the primary colors white,red, yellow and blue. In contrast green, beige, ochre, grey and

brown were despised for their negative symbolism.

Early Christianity considered yellow as a marker for death,

illness, disbelief, traitors (Judas) and envy. This idea may have

been derived from the Apocalyptic fourth rider who is riding a

pale horse. Yellow had been declared as a signal for decent

citizens against bad influences from executioners, whores andheretics.

At the beginning of the 13nd century a religious movement

also abolished the use of bright colors red and green, which

ruined the red-dyers. Black and blue were to be promoted to

the popular dyes. These conditions may have been valid up to

the end of the Middle Age.

2Information from Brochure Verfgoed (pdf in Dutch language) and De

lakennijverheid in het Westkwartier (in Dutch)3see some examples in:Blue and Red in Medieval Garments

6
http://erfgoedcelco7.be/images/filelib/brochure_verfgoeddefinitief_374.pdfhttp://erfgoedcelco7.be/images/filelib/brochure_verfgoeddefinitief_374.pdfhttp://www.geuzenproject.org/oldsite/lakennijverheid.htmlhttp://www.geuzenproject.org/oldsite/lakennijverheid.htmlhttp://www.scribd.com/doc/29331719/Blue-and-Red-in-Medieval-Garmentshttp://www.scribd.com/doc/29331719/Blue-and-Red-in-Medieval-Garmentshttp://erfgoedcelco7.be/images/filelib/brochure_verfgoeddefinitief_374.pdfhttp://www.geuzenproject.org/oldsite/lakennijverheid.htmlhttp://www.geuzenproject.org/oldsite/lakennijverheid.htmlhttp://www.scribd.com/doc/29331719/Blue-and-Red-in-Medieval-Garments


7/19

1482 Triptych of the Last Judgements

In the Viennese Triptych of the Last Judgements we may

identify the divine clothes for Jesus and the Creator God in the

left and central panels as red garments. The garments for Mariaare blue. The archangels at the left panel wear a red robe and

may be wearing dark (blue ?) wings.

The 12 apostles wear red, blue, green, white and a rather

strange brownish mixture for background persons.

7

Fig. 4: The Creator God, Jesus, Maria and the apostles
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/47/Last_judgement_Bosch.jpghttp://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/47/Last_judgement_Bosch.jpg


8/19

1510 Garden of Earthly Delights

In painting the Garden of Earthly Delights Hieronymous

Bosch must have been aware of the symbolism in the pink

pillar (fountain of love named Mizpeh) and the correspondingblue circle (corresponding to the

cairnnamed

Galeed).

The colors pink and blue may have been referring to divine

commands as given in Exodus and Chronicles4.

4A similar symbolism has been explained in Blue and Red Symbolism in

Freemasonary

8

Fig. 5: The central

creation symbol as apink (rose-red)

fountain over a blue

foundation (1510)
http://www.computus.org/journal/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/the-garden-of-earthly-delights.jpghttp://www.scribd.com/doc/35585654/Blue-and-Red-Symbolism-in-Freemasonaryhttp://www.scribd.com/doc/35585654/Blue-and-Red-Symbolism-in-Freemasonaryhttp://www.scribd.com/doc/35585654/Blue-and-Red-Symbolism-in-Freemasonaryhttp://www.scribd.com/doc/35585654/Blue-and-Red-Symbolism-in-Freemasonaryhttp://www.scribd.com/doc/35585654/Blue-and-Red-Symbolism-in-Freemasonaryhttp://www.computus.org/journal/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/the-garden-of-earthly-delights.jpg


9/19

Several references have been documented for the religious

character of pillars and circles5:

Abraham erected altars wherever he made aresidence; and planted a grove or pillar in Beer-

sheba, as a religious emblem.

...

Jacob is twice mentioned as setting up a pillar, calling

the place Beth-el, and as making libations. On theoccasion also of forming a treaty of amity with his

father-in-law, Laban, the Syrian, he erected a pillar anddirected his brethren to pile up a cairn, or heap of

stones; to which were applied the names Galeed, orcircle, and Mizpeh, or pillar.

More details to the symbolism of the Garden of EarthlyDelights (1510) by Bosch have been documented in

Symbolism in the Garden of Delights by Hieronymos Boschand Symbolism in the Paintings by Hieronymos Bosch .

At his lifetime Hieronymous Bosch has been considered as an

honorable and respected person, who may have been a member

of a respected religious sect. His paintings document the last

phase of religious medieval symbols in the southern part of the

Netherlands. He probably identified pink with a male symbol

and blue with a corresponding female symbol.

5Influence of the Phallic Idea in the Religions of Antiquity.by Hodder m.Westropp and c. Staniland Wake with an Introduction, additional notes, and

an appendix by Alexander Wilder, m.d. Second edition with plates, 1875,

republished 2010

9
http://www.scribd.com/doc/32049150/Symbolism-in-the-Garden-of-Delights-by-Hieronymos-Boschhttp://www.scribd.com/doc/33837206/Symbolism-in-the-Paintings-by-Hieronymos-Boschhttp://www.scribd.com/doc/28152911/Phallism-in-Ancient-Worshipshttp://www.scribd.com/doc/28152911/Phallism-in-Ancient-Worshipshttp://www.scribd.com/doc/28152911/Phallism-in-Ancient-Worshipshttp://www.scribd.com/doc/28152911/Phallism-in-Ancient-Worshipshttp://www.scribd.com/doc/33837206/Symbolism-in-the-Paintings-by-Hieronymos-Boschhttp://www.scribd.com/doc/28152911/Phallism-in-Ancient-Worshipshttp://www.scribd.com/doc/28152911/Phallism-in-Ancient-Worshipshttp://www.scribd.com/doc/28152911/Phallism-in-Ancient-Worshipshttp://www.scribd.com/doc/32049150/Symbolism-in-the-Garden-of-Delights-by-Hieronymos-Bosch


10/19


11/19

1858 Lourdes

Beginning on 11 February 1858, a 14-year old peasant girlcalled Bernadette Soubirous claimed to have experienced a

series of apparitions of a girl dressed in white and with a blue

belt around her waist, who eventually introduced herself as the

Immaculate Conception, a name by which the Virgin Mary was

known.

Fabisch's 1864 statue of Our Lady of LourdesLourdes (Grotte de Massabielle)

Manuel Gonzlez Olaechea y Franco (2005)

"GNU Free Documentation License".

The Lady has been depicted in several variants, always wearing

blue and white. A great number of visitors must have been

spreading sculptures and photographs all over Europe, which

may have influenced the idea of blue correlated to the female

persons.

11

Fig. 7: Blessed Virgin of

Lourdes
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:GNU_Free_Documentation_Licensehttp://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:GNU_Free_Documentation_License


12/19

1905 Postcard in Red & Blue

At the following postcard from Germany red & blue have beenused to symbolize male and female persons. In contrast to

medieval symbolism however the colors' symbolism reversed

to female rose-red and male blue:

Title: I'll cry for my Mother! - He steals her milk...6

Of course this depiction may also be a parody to commoncustoms and ideas. The bipolarity in pink and light blue

however suggests the existence of gender identification by pink

& blue.

6Colored lithographic postcard from Germany, ca. 1905, published in

"Fantasy postcards" - William Ouelette (1975)

12

Fig. 8: Postcard in Red &

Blue (ca. 1905)
http://books.google.com/books?id=emyGNQAACAAJ&dq=inauthor:%22William+Ouellette%22&hl=de&ei=JlRlTI3qNdCl4QaJqbHtCg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CDcQ6AEwAghttp://books.google.com/books?id=emyGNQAACAAJ&dq=inauthor:%22William+Ouellette%22&hl=de&ei=JlRlTI3qNdCl4QaJqbHtCg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CDcQ6AEwAg


13/19

1914 The Sunday Sentinal

The following quotation has been found in the web at variouslocations7:

" At one point pink was considered more of a boy'scolor, (as a watered-down red, which is a fierce color)

and blue was more for girls.

The associate of pink with bold, dramatic red clearly

affected its use for boys. An American newspaper in1914 advised mothers,

" If you like the color note on the little one'sgarments, use pink for the boy and blue for the

girl, if you are a follower of convention." 8

This standard (pink for boys and blue for girls) corresponds tothe standard of medieval conventions (red for male and blue for

female persons).

7Why is Pink a Girl Color and Blue a Boy Color?

8 The Sunday Sentinal, March 29, 1914.

13
http://de-de.colourlovers.com/blog/2007/05/01/11-great-color-legends/http://de-de.colourlovers.com/blog/2007/05/01/11-great-color-legends/http://de-de.colourlovers.com/blog/2007/05/01/11-great-color-legends/


14/19

1918 Ladies Home Journal9

"There has been a great diversity of opinion on thesubject, but the generally accepted rule is pink for theboy and blue for the girl. The reason is that pink being

a more decided and stronger color is more suitable forthe boy, while blue, which is more delicate and dainty,

is prettier for the girl."10

This standard (pink for boys and blue for girls) corresponds to

the standard of medieval conventions (red for male and blue forfemale persons).

9Info from:Why is Pink a Girl Color and Blue a Boy Color?

10 [Ladies Home Journal, June, 1918]

14
http://de-de.colourlovers.com/blog/2007/05/01/11-great-color-legends/http://de-de.colourlovers.com/blog/2007/05/01/11-great-color-legends/http://de-de.colourlovers.com/blog/2007/05/01/11-great-color-legends/


15/19

1920 Color Coding in Pink and Blue11

According to Paoletti & Thompson (1987), the practice ofassigning pink to an individual gender began in the 1920s in

Western culture. [6]

Obviously the authors did not refer to the religious symbolism

in the Middle Age and ancient biblical eras.

According to Jo B. Paoletti and Carol Kregloh, "The Children's

Department," in Claudia Brush Kidwell and Valerie Steele, ed.,

Men and Women: Dressing the Part, (Smithsonian InstitutionPress, 1989). - In the United States:

"The current pink for girls and blue for boys wasn'tuniform until the 1950's.

Obviously the medieval, religious symbolism has been lost

in standard and scientific publications between 191812 and

1950...

11^ Zucker, Kenneth J. and Bradley, Susan J. (1995).Gender Identity

Disorder and Psychosexual Problems in Children and Adolescents. Guilford

Press. p. 203. ISBN0898622662.12 the last generally accepted rule pink for the boy and blue for the girl

15
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pink#cite_note-5http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pink#cite_ref-5http://books.google.com/books?id=atfTHGjjVeIC&pg=PA203&vq=pink+or+blue&sig=9wAt47m2KdAGR6QQ7BOwIkMa_-Ehttp://books.google.com/books?id=atfTHGjjVeIC&pg=PA203&vq=pink+or+blue&sig=9wAt47m2KdAGR6QQ7BOwIkMa_-Ehttp://books.google.com/books?id=atfTHGjjVeIC&pg=PA203&vq=pink+or+blue&sig=9wAt47m2KdAGR6QQ7BOwIkMa_-Ehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Standard_Book_Numberhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Standard_Book_Numberhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0898622662http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pink#cite_note-5http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pink#cite_ref-5http://books.google.com/books?id=atfTHGjjVeIC&pg=PA203&vq=pink+or+blue&sig=9wAt47m2KdAGR6QQ7BOwIkMa_-Ehttp://books.google.com/books?id=atfTHGjjVeIC&pg=PA203&vq=pink+or+blue&sig=9wAt47m2KdAGR6QQ7BOwIkMa_-Ehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Standard_Book_Numberhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0898622662


16/19

1954 Religious Lessons

At elementary school in Eindhoven in 1954 a Catholic teacher

ordered13 the children to draw male persons (Jesus, Adam &

God) in red colors and female persons (Eve and the virgin

Mary) in blue.

13Reference in German at:Religionsunterricht 1954-1955and in Dutch

language at: Godsdienstles 1954-1955.

16

Fig. 9: Adam (red) and Eve (blue)

Fig. 10: Mary(1954)
http://www.scribd.com/doc/26196158/Religionsunterricht-1954-1955http://www.scribd.com/doc/26196158/Religionsunterricht-1954-1955http://www.scribd.com/doc/26196158/Religionsunterricht-1954-1955http://www.scribd.com/doc/25902422/Godsdienstles-1954-1955http://www.scribd.com/doc/26196158/Religionsunterricht-1954-1955http://www.scribd.com/doc/25902422/Godsdienstles-1954-1955


17/19

After the Fall of Man the couple had to be drawn inpurple. But

in fact the Fall of Man had nothing to do with the coloring

symbolism. The couple had to be drawn in purple as soon as

they had performed the matrimonial procedure whichtransformed them into ONEbeing as the image of God.

These color codes confirm the existence of the basic color

symbolism as a religious concept well beyond the 1950s.

17

Fig. 11: Adam & Eve

(purple)


18/19

1956David & Bethsab

The Albertina museum exposed a lithographic painting14

nameDavid & Bethsabcreated by Marc Chagallin 1956.

Marc Chagall (1887-1985) clearly used the symbolic colors red

and blue to identify the female and male person. However it

remains unclear whether red is a female and blue is a male

symbol. According to the arrangement in the painting Chagall

probably applied the red color to represent male symbolism

and blue to represent the female symbolism

15

.

14 Marc Chagall (1887-1985)15

Secret Colour Codes in the Bible

18

Fig 12: Androgynous face by

Marc Chagall
http://www.scribd.com/doc/23708768/Secret-Colour-Codes-in-the-Biblehttp://www.scribd.com/doc/23708768/Secret-Colour-Codes-in-the-Biblehttp://www.scribd.com/doc/23708768/Secret-Colour-Codes-in-the-Bible


19/19

Documents

Red and Blue as Gender Symbols