In this provocative book design historian Penny Sparke argues that, through its emphasis on masculine rather than feminine cultureùon, that is, production rather consumption, style rather than taste, and the public sphere rather than the private sphereùdesign modernism was a highly gendered project that was intrinsically flawed and destined to prove inadequate in the pluralistic, multicultural, postmodern world that we inhabit today. Ranging across histories of domesticity, feminine consumption and homemaking, as well as modern design and cultural theories, Penny Sparke offers a new version of the history of modern material culture. --Book Jacket.

Why do car manufacturers use paisley interiors to sell their products to women, and does it work? Is women's taste really different to men's? Who says so? And does it matter? In this highly original book Penny Sparke uses familiar objects of our everyday environments - furniture, cars and domestic appliances and interiors - to look at how taste has become a gendered issue in our culture. Ever since the industrial revolution, the cluttered interior has been associated with femininity while the minimal forms of modernist architecture have acted as markers of a masculine aesthetic. As Long as It's Pink argues that 'taste' has been a quality assigned to women while 'design' is a man-made construction which has taken aesthetic authority away from women. This in turn has succeeded in trivializing and marginalizing women's material culture. Ranging across histories of domesticity, feminine consumption and home-making, as well as modern design and broader cultural theories, Penny Sparke offers a completely new version of the history of our modern material culture.

Twelve-year-old Lucy Desberg is a natural problem-solver. At her family’s struggling pharmacy, she has a line of makeover customers for every school dance and bat mitzvah. But all the makeup tips in the world won’t help save the business. If only she could find a way to make it the center of town again—a place where people want to spend time, like in the old days. Lucy dreams up a solution that could resuscitate the family business and help the environment, too. But will Lucy’s family stop fighting long enough to listen to a seventh-grader? In a starred review, Kirkus said this novel “successfully delivers an authentic and endearing portrait of the not-quite-teen experience,” and Booklist called it “a warm, uplifting debut.” Readers everywhere have responded to Lucy’s independence and initiative—not to mention her great style. F&P level: T F&P genre: RF

Vividly illustrated with photos of vintage paraphernalia, this entertaining social history revisits the nostalgic past, but only to offer a refreshing message to women who lived through those years as well as those who are coming of age now. 45 b&w illustrations. of color.

Jo B. Paoletti's journey through the history of children's clothing began when she posed the question, "When did we start dressing girls in pink and boys in blue?" To uncover the answer, she looks at advertising, catalogs, dolls, baby books, mommy blogs and discussion forums, and other popular media to examine the surprising shifts in attitudes toward color as a mark of gender in American children's clothing. She chronicles the decline of the white dress for both boys and girls, the introduction of rompers in the early 20th century, the gendering of pink and blue, the resurgence of unisex fashions, and the origins of today's highly gender-specific baby and toddler clothing.

An empowering and educational board book that proves colors are for everyone, regardless of gender. Pink is for boys . . . and girls . . . and everyone! This timely and beautiful board book rethinks and reframes the stereotypical blue/pink gender binary and empowers kids-and their grown-ups-to express themselves in every color of the rainbow. Featuring a diverse group of relatable characters, Pink Is for Boys invites and encourages children to enjoy what they love to do, whether it's racing cars and playing baseball, or loving unicorns and dressing up. Vibrant illustrations help children learn and identify the myriad colors that surround them every day, from the orange of a popsicle, to the green of a grassy field, all the way up to the wonder of a multicolored rainbow. Parents and kids will delight in Robb Pearlman's sweet, simple script, as well as its powerful message: life is not color-coded.

Celebrate the fifth anniversary of the Women's March with this delightful multigenerational picture book about female empowerment. Lina notices her grandmother knitting with pink yarn and soon learns that she’s making special hats to wear at an important march to celebrate women and their rights. Even though she sometimes feels small, Lina learns how to knit her own pink hat, and her confidence begins to build. When Lina and her family join the Women’s March in Washington, DC, she is energized by the crowd and the sea of pink hats. It’s amazing to see so many people all knitted together! And as Lina marches, she feels much bigger than she ever has before. Celebrate the importance of the Women’s March with young children in Virginia Zimmerman’s and Mary Newell DePalma’s remarkable and empowering story about one girl’s journey from knitting a hat to making a difference.