Try to go shopping for any girl between the ages of say 2 years old and 10 and you’ll find a very common theme: pink. Who knew there were so many shades (other than the folks at Crayola)? OK, you’ll also find variations on the color purple and maybe some hints of aqua (the GIRLIEST blue) thrown in for good measure, but pink definitely reigns supreme. Why is that?

It looks like author Peggy Orenstein found a good explanation. Annie Murphy Paul points out Orenstein’s discovery in this New York Times article. Sure, the Disney princess machine has fed the beast, but Orenstein gets to what seems the heart of the matter by pointing out that for young children, as Paul puts it, “external signs — clothing, hairstyle, favorite color, choice of toys — determine one’s sex.” Hence your 3-year-old’s unyielding need to wear her pink tutu every day — even if only to cover up her decidedly boyish dinosaur pajamas as you read “Skippyjon Jones and the Big Bones” to her for the gazillionth time. You see, in her mind the pink tutu trumps all and proves to the word that she is, in fact, a GIRL.

Paul’s article piqued my interest, so I’ll be checking out Orenstein’s latest book, “Cinderella Ate My Daughter: Dispatches from the Front Lines of the New Girlie-Girl Culture.” While I’m at it, I might give “Waiting for Daisy” a look and revisit “Schoolgirls: Young Women, Self Esteem, and the Confidence Gap.” Of course, this might set me back a bit on my 2011 reading list, but with nieces of varying ages, I figure it couldn’t hurt.

Do you have a little one who LOVES pink and all things frilly? Have you read, “Cinderella Ate My Daughter”? If so, what’s your take on what Orenstein has to say? Let us know. And while you’re thinking pink, don’t forget to follow How-to Stuff on Facebook and Twitter, and download the new HowStuffWorks iPhone app from iTunes!