Lesson 3: How Did Pink Become a “Girl’s Color” in America?

In 1918, the color rules for boys and girls were different from today

• True

• False

Answer explanation

It’s true! In 1918 people thought girls should wear blue and boys pink.

What was the writer’s job?

• Fashion designer

• Just a writer

• University professor

• News reporter

White became the most popular color for baby clothes after the 1770s. Why? Choose all the correct answers.

• White cotton cloth became cheap

• It became easy to bleach clothes to make them white

• White cotton clothes are durable

• People thought babies looked clean in white clothes

There were rigid color rules for girls and boys in the 1850s.

• True

• False

Answer explanation

It’s not true. The rules were still changing in the middle of the 19th century.

Who wanted to make rigid rules about clothing colors for boys and girls?

• Parents

• Clothing companies

• Everyone

• Universities

Why did clothing companies want to make up color rules for children?

• They wanted to make parents happy

• They wanted to make more money

• They wanted to make children look fashionable

What are “hand down” clothes?

• Hand-made clothes

• Cheap clothing

• Clothes a younger sibling inherit from an older sibling

• Clothes that both boys and girls can wear

Pink became the most popular color for young girls after 2000.

• True

• False

Since 2004, pink has been becoming a unisex color.

• True

• False

Answer explanation

That’s true! These days, pink is becoming popular with older boys and men.

Which sentence best tells the main idea of the story?

• Up to the 1770s infants mainly wore colored dresses

• There are stories about the gendered colors of pink and blue in the USA

• Our stereotypes can easily be changed