Colours, of course, aren’t inherently meaningful. Their meanings are created by the people who live with them. This is why a single colour can mean different things in different places. In the West, white has long been identified with light, life and purity, but in parts of Asia it is the colour of death. In English green is the colour of envy, but in French it is the colour of fear, in Thai of rage, and in Russian, sadness or boredom. 11 In US politics, red is conservative and blue progressive; in Europe, it is the other way around. These kinds of colour meanings also tend to change over time. Most people today think of blue as masculine and pink as feminine, and dress their offspring accordingly. But only a hundred years ago these metaphors were reversed. ‘The generally accepted rule is pink for the boy and blue for the girl,’ one parental guide instructed in 1918. ‘The reason is that pink being a more decided and stronger color is more suitable for the boy, while blue, which is more delicate and dainty, is prettier for the girl.’ 12 All colours are ambiguous - even supposedly unambiguous ones.
