# When did pink become a color associated with homosexuals? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 23, 2010, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-pink-become-a-color-associated-with-homosexuals/561678 "2010-11-23T17:49:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2010, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-pink-become-a-color-associated-with-homosexuals/561678/21 "2010-11-24T15:06:33Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > That’s a rather unfortunate abbreviation, given the talk of Nazis in this thread. :dubious: **Eats\_Crayons** meant same sex and not nazis? Ahhh, now I get it. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2010, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-pink-become-a-color-associated-with-homosexuals/561678/22 "2010-11-25T12:36:13Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > That’s a rather unfortunate abbreviation, given the talk of Nazis in this thread. :dubious: And there I was mentally correcting the sentence to the past tense (not likely to be many SS weddings these days.) ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2010, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-pink-become-a-color-associated-with-homosexuals/561678/23 "2010-11-25T13:59:49Z")
> [@Richard\_Pearse](#): > > And there I was mentally correcting the sentence to the past tense (not likely to be many SS weddings these days.) Only if you are very traditional. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2010, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-pink-become-a-color-associated-with-homosexuals/561678/24 "2010-11-25T14:13:49Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > Also, when/if did pink gradually become superceded by the rainbow symbol? It was never really superseded; both are in use, sometimes together, like a rainbow flag with a pink triangle in the upper left corner. ---
**Author:** ![D18](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c57346/32.png) [@D18](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D18)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2010, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-pink-become-a-color-associated-with-homosexuals/561678/25 "2010-11-25T17:42:57Z")
Cecil’s column mentions the pink/blue/girl/boy affinities coming well into the 20th Century. What I wondered about when I originally read that column is [Blue Boy](http://www.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=http://cache2.allpostersimages.com/p/LRG/7/781/Z78I000Z/posters/gainsborough-thomas-the-blue-boy-1770.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.allposters.com/-sp/The-Blue-Boy-1770-Posters_i290831_.htm&usg=__hp8xFV2LuG15g_dR5L5sQc4ASbo=&h=450&w=355&sz=43&hl=en&start=0&sig2=HE6qvqNNiY0V5RJdo2o_kQ&zoom=1&tbnid=ZMA1UjMTmun5aM:&tbnh=150&tbnw=114&ei=kp3uTOTmBs-UnQeb4bSCCg&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dblue%2Bboy%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26sa%3DN%26biw%3D938%26bih%3D611%26tbs%3Disch:1&um=1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=236&vpy=92&dur=371&hovh=253&hovw=199&tx=122&ty=131&oei=kp3uTOTmBs-UnQeb4bSCCg&esq=1&page=1&ndsp=16&ved=1t:429,r:1,s:0) and [Pink Girl](http://media.photobucket.com/image/pink%20girl%20gainsborough/doodlebug_6591/revolution2b.jpg?t=1247075324%2520/) which have the modern colour/gender affinities. These paintings were done in the late 18th century. (Although I didn’t realize until now that Pinkie wasn’t done by Gainsborough. Ignorance fought.) At any rate, obviously co-incidences happen, but it does seem that these two paintings certainly hint at a blue/boy; pink/girl affinity relatively long ago. Now, I’m not an expert, so maybe there are plenty of counter-examples, and these just have entered the public consciousness whereas the myriad counter examples haven’t. Can anyone put these paintings into context? ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2010, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-pink-become-a-color-associated-with-homosexuals/561678/26 "2010-11-25T17:49:21Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Huh. I tend to associate pink with straight females, and purple with homosexuals. No, purple is for old women. http://labyrinth\_3.tripod.com/page59.html ---
**Author:** ![dotchan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9d8465/32.png) [@dotchan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dotchan)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2010, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-pink-become-a-color-associated-with-homosexuals/561678/27 "2010-11-25T19:21:23Z")
What, pink’s not for breast cancer awareness? /badumtish ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2010, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-pink-become-a-color-associated-with-homosexuals/561678/28 "2010-11-25T20:37:39Z")
Actually, lavender is the acceptable gay color now, not for triangles, but just as a color. I suspect this may have come about from the erroneous idea that gay people are somewhat androgynous . . . and lavender is midway between pink and light blue. ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2010, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-pink-become-a-color-associated-with-homosexuals/561678/29 "2010-11-25T23:22:57Z")
> [@D18](#): > > Cecil’s column mentions the pink/blue/girl/boy affinities coming well into the 20th Century. What I wondered about when I originally read that column is Blue Boy and Pink Girl which have the modern colour/gender affinities. These paintings were done in the late 18th century. (Although I didn’t realize until now that Pinkie wasn’t done by Gainsborough. Ignorance fought.) > > At any rate, obviously co-incidences happen, but it does seem that these two paintings certainly hint at a blue/boy; pink/girl affinity relatively long ago. Now, I’m not an expert, so maybe there are plenty of counter-examples, and these just have entered the public consciousness whereas the myriad counter examples haven’t. Can anyone put these paintings into context? Cecil looked into this; IIRC there were numerous examples which he found of boys and girls in a variety of colours throughout the 1500’s through early 1900’s. To help the Big Guy out, I also searched through my online art gallery (which has about 35,000 works, mostly from 1650 through 1950) and could not come up with a consensus with respect to pre-1900 colours for children. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-pink-become-a-color-associated-with-homosexuals/561678.md?page=1)