Have you ever noticed that men don’t get colours?!
Although we know that statistically men are much more likely than women to be colour blind, this is not what I’m talking about.
I first noticed this as a newlywed, when we were decorating our bedroom.
The curtains we’d picked were the perfect shade of salmon. I’m sure (if you are female) you can picture it in your head and know exactly what I mean.
Not according to the hubster though. They were orange! Eventually he relented and decided that “apricot” was a fitting name, but there was no way he agreed that they were “salmon”!
Purple? That doesn’t even begin to describe a particular colour! Rather, a woman would know that it is in fact lavender; mauve; wisteria; lilac; mulberry; violet; indigo; grape or amethyst, to name just a few.
Green? Lime, apple, mint, olive, khaki, eucalyptus, bottle, emerald, sea, moss, aqua, chartreuse …
A Limited Colour Vocabulary
Or think about blue. A man’s colour vocabulary would be limited to “dark blue”, “light blue” and maybe “bright blue” (if you’re lucky!).
Ask a woman to describe a particular shade of blue and you will likely hear any of the following:
- powder
- ice
- cobalt
- steel
- indigo
- wedgewood
- turquoise
- jacaranda
- sapphire
- cornflower
- electric
- midnight
- navy
- periwinkle
- baby
- cerulean
- tiffany
- sky
- royal
- azure
- airforce
- denim
- french
Perhaps it’s because men don’t get colours, that their fashion colour choices are also much more muted than what is available to women. Have you ever tried to purchase PJs or a sweater for the man in your life – that are NOT dark blue or green, black or grey? It’s nearly impossible, no matter what the season!
Upon reflection, human beings are one of the few species where the female is clothed (feathered/furred/whatever!) more colourfully than the male. And I for one am glad!
What’s been your experience – have you find that men don’t get colours?!
