March 21, 2011

Beyond Pink and Blue: A Look at Gender Colors

It goes beyond culture. There is science behind the gender-relationships when it comes to colors. A study by John Hallock compares the color preferences among various demographics and takes into account information collected from 22 countries.

Our friends at KissMetrics put together this informative infographic that tears down the gender barriers to reveal what really goes on in visualizations.

Click any portion to enlarge.

 

Colors by Gender

True Colors 2

The Color Purple – The most notable gender difference can be seen in the color purple. The study reported that 23% of female participants chose purple as their favorite. No males chose purple.

True Colors 3

Blue Reigns Supreme – Both males and females like the color blue, which receives favor with 35% of female respondents and more than half of the male respondents. Tomes could be written about the color blue and why people like it so much. Blue is universally associated with clean water, clear skies, authority, truth, tranquility, etc. – making it a perennial favorite among all ages groups and genders.

True Colors 4

 

A Closer Look

In 2007, Doctor Anya Hurlbert and Yazhu Ling created an experiment to explore how men and women differ in their perceptions of color.

True Colors 5

True Colors 7

True Colors 6

 

Results of the Experiment

The experiment showed that men and women both preferred blue out of the sets of colors. When asked to choose from mixed colors, women liked colors that are closer to the red end of the spectrum, where shades of pink are found.

True Colors 8

 

Color Naming: Men Keep It Simple

What may be simply “purple” to a man could be grape, plum, or any other fruit-like variant to a woman.

True Colors 9

Disclosure:

Some of the links in this article are affiliate links and we may earn a small commission if you make a purchase, which helps us to keep delivering quality content to you.

JD Rucker

JD Rucker is Editor at Soshable, a Social Media Marketing Blog. He is a Christian, a husband, a father, and founder of both Judeo Christian Church and Dealer Authority. He drinks a lot of coffee, usually in the form of a 5-shot espresso over ice.

43 thoughts on “Beyond Pink and Blue: A Look at Gender Colors

  1. The only use for this data is to further perpetuate the same garbage advertisers try to manipulate. Nothing about this is inherent.

  2. Gender bias, gender bias everywhere. I’ll bet that these people that think women use various “fruity” colors for color names also think all women use too much makeup each day. I’m a girl, I prefer bright colors, and I fit neither of the male/female color-naming patterns. (it’s useless to name colors after fruits because fruits being part of nature vary in shade)

    although, to be fair, commenters say that pink was excluded, and it wasn’t. “When asked to choose from mixed colors, women liked colors that are closer to the red end of the spectrum, where shades of pink are found.”

  3. But there is a historic reason why baby boy = blue and baby girl = pink. Have they consider that in the study?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Similar Stories

The Social Media Monster

The Social Media Monster

September 17, 2012

The monster never sleeps, never stops watching, and never lets go. It whispers in your ear the moment you wake...

The Currency of The Internet Is Personal Data

The Currency of The Internet Is Personal Data

July 30, 2012

Imagine a world where money is not the most valuable asset, your data is. Every time you browse, shop, or...

5 Reasons That Social Media May Never Die

5 Reasons That Social Media May Never Die

November 18, 2022

“Never” is a bold word. It is absolute and endless. To say that something can never happen is one of...