News and Events => Opinions & Editorials => Topic started by: Shana A on April 15, 2011, 10:04:39 AM Return to Full Version
Title: FDR Grew Up in a Dress: It Wasn't Always Blue for Boys and Pink for Girls
Post by: Shana A on April 15, 2011, 10:04:39 AM
Post by: Shana A on April 15, 2011, 10:04:39 AM
FDR Grew Up in a Dress: It Wasn't Always Blue for Boys and Pink for Girls
By Daniel Fromson
Apr 14 2011, 9:21 AM ET
http://www.theatlantic.com/life/archive/2011/04/fdr-grew-up-in-a-dress-it-wasnt-always-blue-for-boys-and-pink-for-girls/237299/ (http://www.theatlantic.com/life/archive/2011/04/fdr-grew-up-in-a-dress-it-wasnt-always-blue-for-boys-and-pink-for-girls/237299/)
Thanks to Smithsonian.com, we now know that little Franklin Delano Roosevelt was once spotted wearing a skirt, with shoulder-length hair and a hat trimmed with a marabou feather. But not because wee FDR was a gender-bender. Instead, the New Deal mastermind's unexpected childhood look is a reminder that our cultural norms about gender-specific clothing for children are a surprisingly recent historical development.
Smithsonian's site has a fascinating story on this topic, "When Did Girls Start Wearing Pink?":
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When Did Girls Start Wearing Pink?
Every generation brings a new definition of masculinity and femininity that manifests itself in children's dress
By Jeanne Maglaty
Smithsonian.com, April 08, 2011
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/When-Did-Girls-Start-Wearing-Pink.html?c=y&page=1 (http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/When-Did-Girls-Start-Wearing-Pink.html?c=y&page=1)
By Daniel Fromson
Apr 14 2011, 9:21 AM ET
http://www.theatlantic.com/life/archive/2011/04/fdr-grew-up-in-a-dress-it-wasnt-always-blue-for-boys-and-pink-for-girls/237299/ (http://www.theatlantic.com/life/archive/2011/04/fdr-grew-up-in-a-dress-it-wasnt-always-blue-for-boys-and-pink-for-girls/237299/)
Thanks to Smithsonian.com, we now know that little Franklin Delano Roosevelt was once spotted wearing a skirt, with shoulder-length hair and a hat trimmed with a marabou feather. But not because wee FDR was a gender-bender. Instead, the New Deal mastermind's unexpected childhood look is a reminder that our cultural norms about gender-specific clothing for children are a surprisingly recent historical development.
Smithsonian's site has a fascinating story on this topic, "When Did Girls Start Wearing Pink?":
----
When Did Girls Start Wearing Pink?
Every generation brings a new definition of masculinity and femininity that manifests itself in children's dress
By Jeanne Maglaty
Smithsonian.com, April 08, 2011
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/When-Did-Girls-Start-Wearing-Pink.html?c=y&page=1 (http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/When-Did-Girls-Start-Wearing-Pink.html?c=y&page=1)