One day Alex went shopping with her mommy, first at Publix, then at Target. As Alex was walking around, she noticed that there were lots of things on the shelves, but Alex only thought about one thing: why was everything pink and blue?

Their first stop at Publix was the pharmacy. Alex looked at the vitamins. There were gummies in bottles that had princesses and pink sparkles on it, and others were blue with superheroes. She told her mommy.

Mommy frowned. “The people who make these vitamins want girls to buy the pink ones and boys to buy the blue ones. They want girls to be like princesses, and boys to be superheroes when they grow up.”

“Can I be a superhero one day, Mommy?”

“Sure you can. We can get the blue vitamins if you want.”

Alex nodded. “Okay."

Mommy said she needed paper towels, so past the pharmacy and down the aisle they went. She picked up a big bag that said Brawny.

“Mommy,” said Alex, pointing. “What does that word mean? Why are the letters so big? The letters on that bag over there are really tiny. And they're pink!”

“Brawny means strong and muscular. It’s called advertising. The people who make these things want people like this,” she pointed at the picture, “to buy them. They are saying that these are strong.”

“But we don't look brawny. Can we still buy them?”

“Of course we can! Just because these people want us to buy the one with pink writing on it, doesn't mean we have to.”

At the end of the  next aisle was toilet paper. As Alex passed the shelf, she saw a bag. “Mommy why does that bear have a pink bow on? Is it to say it’s a girl?” she asked.

“Yes, they want the bear to be a girl. It’s trying to say that the tissue is soft. Instead of being brawny, like men, people think that girls are soft,” said her mommy.

“Well that's not nice. Soft is for comfy things, like my pillow. Girls aren't comfy.”

Next on the list was Vaseline. It was two aisles down on the middle shelf. Alex looked at all the bottles. There were blue bottles that said Men on them, and white ones that said Women. “Mommy,” she said, “is this advertising too?”

“Yes, it is. People think that blue is a color for boys.”

“But blue is my favorite color. I'm not a boy. Is that okay?”

“Of course that's okay. We can get you the blue one if you want.”

“Okay,” said Alex, but she still wondered: why is everything pink and blue?

At Target, Alex wanted to look at the toys. On their way, they passed the kitchen section, and Alex stopped to look at a purple and gold water bottle. It was at eye-level on the shelf. It said Better Late than Ugly. She asked her mommy what it meant.

“It’s telling girls that they should make sure that they put on makeup, even if they are going to be late for something,” said Mommy, frowning.

“But I'm only six,” Alex frowned. “And it’s telling me to wear makeup too? You don't even wear it a lot, Mommy, and you aren't ugly. Am I?”

“Of course you aren't! They want you to wear it because they think that's what girls are supposed to do.”

“I'm not supposed to, though, right? You said I can choose.”

“Exactly,” said Mommy, smiling.

When they got to the toys, Alex look around. Everything in this aisle was pink. She looked into the next one. Everything was blue. In the pink aisle, at the bottom shelf, she found a scooter.

“This is advertising for girls, isn't it Mommy?”

“Yes, it is,” sighed Mommy. “They know that little boys aren't the only ones who like to ride scooters, so they made a pink one that's supposed to be for the girls.”

“But it doesn't have to be. Anyway, I would want a blue one. It’s my favorite color,” said Alex as she happily walked into the blue aisle.

As far as Alex could tell, from top to bottom on the shelves, the aisle was blue. “Mommy,” Alex asked as she stopped at a car, “why isn't there any pink in here? What if boys like pink?”

“The people who make these toys don't think boys like pink, like your friend Henry.”

“Yeah, he got a pink cast when he broke his arm. If he wants a pink car, can he get one?” asked Alex.

“Yes, he can. They make all the toys in this aisle blue, and the things in the next one pink to make kids think that only boys like blue, and only girls like pink. But you know that isn't true. You can get whichever color toys you want,” said Mommy.