# Why is the colour black associated with masculine and white with feminine? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 10, 2004, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-colour-black-associated-with-masculine-and-white-with-feminine/239394 "2004-04-10T23:38:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Xavier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/2bfe46/32.png) [@Xavier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xavier)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2004, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-colour-black-associated-with-masculine-and-white-with-feminine/239394/1 "2004-04-10T23:38:10Z")
Is there any cultural/historical reason for it? I know that white is considered pure/angelic etc. whilst black is more brave/tough/warrior, but why did the colours come to be known (at least from a European perspective) as they are, in this case? And what about cross-culturally? Do the colours black and white carry the same meaning with cultures across the world? And why/why not (is) this so? ---
**Author:** ![missbunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/76d3ee/32.png) [@missbunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missbunny)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2004, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-colour-black-associated-with-masculine-and-white-with-feminine/239394/2 "2004-04-10T23:45:57Z")
I’ve never heard of that in the U.S. The only colors I can think of here that are associated with a specific sex are blue for boys and pink for girls. And the blue-for-boys association disappears after a while although I think pink is still somewhat associated with being a “girl” color - not 100%, but kind of. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2004, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-colour-black-associated-with-masculine-and-white-with-feminine/239394/3 "2004-04-10T23:51:22Z")
Never heard of this association, either… ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2004, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-colour-black-associated-with-masculine-and-white-with-feminine/239394/4 "2004-04-10T23:51:56Z")
US resident here. I’d never heard of that association before myself. ---
**Author:** ![Already\_in\_Use](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a9adbd/32.png) [@Already\_in\_Use](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Already_in_Use)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2004, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-colour-black-associated-with-masculine-and-white-with-feminine/239394/5 "2004-04-10T23:54:26Z")
Eh, examples in the US would probably be stuff like black personal Bibles for men and white ones for women, black ice skates for men and white for women, black tuxedos for grooms and white dresses for the brides, etc. I’m not sure where those traditions come from. As for angelic vs. demonic, I think it has to do with the fact that in Western society, Satan is called the “Prince of Darkness,” with Hell generally conceived of as an “underworld,” going back to pre-Christian times, whereas God creates light, Christ is the Light of the World, etc. Of course, Satan has also been referred to as “Lucifer,” and I believe there are some traditions that refer to the divine darkness of God as a metaphor for ultimate mystery, but it usually seems to be the other way around. ---
**Author:** ![ltfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@ltfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ltfire)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2004, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-colour-black-associated-with-masculine-and-white-with-feminine/239394/6 "2004-04-11T00:01:27Z")
Black and white was a staple of old movie and TV cowboys. Good and Evil. The good guys were usually dressed in white (Hopalong Cassidy, though dressed in black, had a white horse) Roy Rogers, Gene Autry come to mind. The bad guys were always in black, ( the Have Gun Will Travel guy was in black, but he did good things). Is this helping? Probably not. Never mind. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2004, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-colour-black-associated-with-masculine-and-white-with-feminine/239394/7 "2004-04-11T00:03:22Z")
> [@Already in Use](#): > > Eh, examples in the US would probably be stuff like … black tuxedos for grooms and white dresses for the brides, etc. But not white tuxes for guys and black cocktail dresses for girls ? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![missbunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/76d3ee/32.png) [@missbunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missbunny)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2004, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-colour-black-associated-with-masculine-and-white-with-feminine/239394/8 "2004-04-11T00:06:23Z")
Ah, I hadn’t thought about the skates and the Bibles. But I don’t think it’s a case of black = tough, white = angelic but rather than white skates on boys is girlie. Not manly. I suppose could say “not manly” is the opposite of “tough,” but I don’t think there’s a white = angelic corollary. And it’s not universal, as Tapioca points out. Black clothing is worn equally; in fact, I’d guess more women wear all black than all men since men in all black tends to come out like Sprockets. ---
**Author:** ![missbunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/76d3ee/32.png) [@missbunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missbunny)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2004, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-colour-black-associated-with-masculine-and-white-with-feminine/239394/9 "2004-04-11T00:07:36Z")
I hope that last mangled sentence was clear. If you can’t figure it out, please let me know. ---
**Author:** ![ricksummon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ricksummon/32/3333_2.png) [@ricksummon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ricksummon)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2004, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-colour-black-associated-with-masculine-and-white-with-feminine/239394/10 "2004-04-11T00:10:55Z")
In Taoism, yin is feminine and black, while yang is masculine and white. ---
**Author:** ![Already\_in\_Use](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a9adbd/32.png) [@Already\_in\_Use](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Already_in_Use)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2004, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-colour-black-associated-with-masculine-and-white-with-feminine/239394/11 "2004-04-11T00:12:11Z")
Eh, yeah, I was just thinking that the colors at weddings were more culturally standardized. Although I suppose it wouldn’t be seen as that unusual if a groom wore white. (Or maybe it would; I’m a straight male and societal gender roles have permitted me to live thus far without knowing this stuff. All I know is that the little guys on the cakes I’ve seen generally wear black.) But really, skates and Bibles are the only clear-cut examples I can think of, so I hope **Xavier** will pop in again and give us some more. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2004, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-colour-black-associated-with-masculine-and-white-with-feminine/239394/12 "2004-04-11T01:32:45Z")
[The little black dress](http://web.syr.edu/~jlmurp01/ret181/word.htm) makes gals look mannish? Who knew 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2004, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-colour-black-associated-with-masculine-and-white-with-feminine/239394/13 "2004-04-11T12:49:21Z")
Huh. In my religion black/darkness is associated with the female principal. I don’t think we have a gender specific correlation with white, though. Then again, neo-Paganism isn’t mainstream. (yet) ---
**Author:** ![hyjyljyj](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/0ea827/32.png) [@hyjyljyj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hyjyljyj)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2004, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-colour-black-associated-with-masculine-and-white-with-feminine/239394/14 "2004-04-12T12:04:55Z")
There definitely is an association here, but as for the reason, probably it isn’t known for certain. Just a guess: When looking at who populates the world’s prisons, we find that \>99% have a y-chromosome. Criminals historically prefer to operate at night to avoid detection. Wearing dark or black clothing assists in this goal. (Yes, the little black dress and white-collar crime like Martha Stewart and Tyco and Enron and Worldcom are exceptions. We’re just talking in general here.) Also, many sports teams incorporate black into their uniform designs because (a) it gives the impression of being meaner and tougher and (b) black sells the most sports merchandise, which is bought predominantly by men. ---
**Author:** ![Futile\_Gesture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f05b48/32.png) [@Futile\_Gesture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Futile_Gesture)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2004, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-colour-black-associated-with-masculine-and-white-with-feminine/239394/15 "2004-04-12T13:18:18Z")
> [@hyjyljyj](#): > > There definitely is an association here, but as for the reason, probably it isn’t known for certain. Just a guess: When looking at who populates the world’s prisons, we find that \>99% have a y-chromosome. Criminals historically prefer to operate at night to avoid detection. Wearing dark or black clothing assists in this goal. (Yes, the little black dress and white-collar crime like Martha Stewart and Tyco and Enron and Worldcom are exceptions. We’re just talking in general here.) Any cite about the percentage of crimes that are committed at night and require stealth? My, completely unsupported, guess is that they do not make up the majority. Few prisoners are your stereotypical black-clad burglar. So I think your wag here is reeeeaaaaaallly a stretch. > [@](#): > > Also, many sports teams incorporate black into their uniform designs because (a) it gives the impression of being meaner and tougher and (b) black sells the most sports merchandise, which is bought predominantly by men. Yet you’ll find far more teams in all sports that feature white in their colours, the supposed ‘feminine’ colour. I’ve never heard of the OP’s association. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2004, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-colour-black-associated-with-masculine-and-white-with-feminine/239394/16 "2004-04-12T15:01:14Z")
As far as the black tuxedo at weddings, it is my understanding that, over time, American society has all but gotten rid of the white tie/black tie distinction. That is, formal events were considered black tie (with a black tuxedo) and the really formal events were white tie (with white dinner jacket). Now, for the most part, Americans only really have black tie events. I do not know if weddings were ever considered white tie events. However, since, in the US, almost all formal events have now become black tie, my guess is that that grooms wear black in accordance with the “lack” of other formal dress options, rather than a societal significance of black meaning masculine. And I know nothing about ice skates, having grown up in California, but I always thought white skates were for figure skating and black skates were for hockey. Am I wrong? ---
**Author:** ![Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bippy_the_Beardless)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2004, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-colour-black-associated-with-masculine-and-white-with-feminine/239394/17 "2004-04-12T15:18:33Z")
Just done a little web research on Tuxedos. I had a WAG they may have been derived from Mourning Wear (which is black since it is for Mourning the dead) but was wrong. [This site](http://www.bensilver.com/style04/about_clothingTerms.htm) gives the following > [@](#): > > Originally designed by King Edward VII for private parties and based on the English smoking jacket. An American dinner guest, much impressed, took a copy made by the King’s tailor back to New York where it became the official dinner wear for the Tuxedo Park Club. Hence ‘Tuxedo.’ This indicates the development from Smoking Jackets, which would for reasons of practicality have been of very dark color. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2004, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-colour-black-associated-with-masculine-and-white-with-feminine/239394/18 "2004-04-12T15:32:30Z")
> [@missbunny](#): > > I’ve never heard of that in the U.S. The only colors I can think of here that are associated with a specific sex are blue for boys and pink for girls. And the blue-for-boys association disappears after a while although I think pink is still somewhat associated with being a “girl” color - not 100%, but kind of. And it used to be the other way around: pink for boys, blue for girls (at least for babies.) The modern convention didn’t solidify until around the 1940s. ---
**Author:** ![ArtistCeleste](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/45deac/32.png) [@ArtistCeleste](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ArtistCeleste)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2004, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-colour-black-associated-with-masculine-and-white-with-feminine/239394/19 "2004-04-12T17:43:27Z")
Damn it! What happened to my color association guide? Okay, here’s the gist of what I learned in my color and design class. Color associations are mostly cultral, or so I’ve been told. For example, we in the US associate the color black with death, while many Asian cultures associate white with death. Black is thought of as many things, good and bad: power, money (lots of “high-class” advertizements make good use of black), elegance, professionalism, also death, sorrow, depression, oppression. . . you get the point. I’m having more trouble recalling the specific associations of white besides: purity, innocence, clean, empty. So, many people associate men with the black adjetives, and to an extent woman, with the white adjatives. Or I may be totally off base. Anyway, that’s my personal theory ---
**Author:** ![ArtistCeleste](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/45deac/32.png) [@ArtistCeleste](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ArtistCeleste)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2004, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-colour-black-associated-with-masculine-and-white-with-feminine/239394/20 "2004-04-12T17:47:19Z")
Sorry, that explaination was very poorly written. I should have previewed it. I hope you get the point, because i’m too lazy to clarify it. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-colour-black-associated-with-masculine-and-white-with-feminine/239394.md?page=2)