Are women color blind, too?
 

Yesterday I was driving my husband to work and I mentioned I loved the color of a pickup that went by and he said he didn't like green. It was blue. I said "it was blue" and he asked me if I was sure. Yes, I was sure. So, I know that some men can't tell blue from green, so I did a test on him on blue colored cars and trucks and any blue car that wasn't bright blue he thought was green. Are there women that are color blind or is it only men? I've only read about men. Now I know why when I've asked him to come in my sewing room and help me decide which colors to use for a quilt, he says that they all look good to him. It's because he can't really tell the difference. Poor guy. It must be horrible not to be able to tell the difference in colors. I know he knows red and yellow. It's the blue and green that he can't tell apart. I just have never heard of any women having this disability.

Hi Jeanne,

my dad is red/green colorblind. The defect is carried on the X-chromosome so it's much more likely to occur in men, as they only have one. Women whose fathers are colorblind, like me, are therefore carriers (defect on one X-chromosome and one X-chromosome with the gene for normal color vision from my mom who isn't a carrier). If my mom had been a carrier, I would have had a 50% chance of being colorblind. Or put another way, if I were to have children with a colorblind man, there is a 50% chance that my daughters would be colorblind. All our sons would be colorblind. It's much much rarer though in women for this reason

Has your husband been tested for color blindness?

Our grandson, the one in my avatar, is colorblind. It was discovered this past summer when he had his eyes checked for Kindergarten...He's had 2 yrs of preschool and seems to fake it well or knows how to compensate fairly well. There were times when we questioned his answers about color, but somehow he'd change his mind and get it right. He is red/green colorblind. My dad was colorblind and this is my daughter's child.

I once knew a man who could only see in black, white & gray. One of my uncles was color blind. I think it was the blue/geen, also. My sons and none of my brothers are color blind.

YEARS ago, I had an ongoing "argument" with both of my sons. They said a coffee mug we had was blue, I said it looked purple. We never resoled it and still talk about it today with laughter.
I really do think that there are certain colors where, male or female, it's hard to tell which color it is.

My DH is color blind...blue/green/red/green/yellow/orange/purple...he struggles with them all. When we went our first date, he told me if he asked what color a blinking light was to just tell him, not to ask why. He will pull over for a blinking light on a vehicle behind him and then find out it was a tow truck. For the past 33 years I have automatically told him what color blinking lights are on vehicles or traffic lights. He didn't want red rose bushes in our yard because he can't tell the flowers from the leaves, but can see the contrast of yellow roses. When we see a beautiful sunset, he asks me what colors it is. He's not any help picking out colors for anything, but on the other hand I usually get what I like best!

We do think our 3-yr-old grandson may be colorblind, will probably have him tested in a year or so.

I've known at least two women who are color blind. One is a quilter. Now THAT must be difficult. Sometimes her quilts are, well, interesting.

Yes women can be color blind. However for some reason many more men are color blind than women.

Kat

My DH & I couldn't agree on what a color was if our lives depended on it! It's pretty funny!

I am fascinated by this subject. My DH of eight years is red/green color blind. There is informative info on the internet which has helped me learn how he sees color. My DH helps me pick out fabric. A lot depends on how light reacts with the color. He often tells me certain things are a pretty blue... I usually let him know it is hot pink. I know that blue is part of the make-up of hot pink which is what he picks up on. He sees beautiful sunsets but in different colors than I do... usually he sees all the yellows/golds. I don't know any females that are color blind. Most literature I have read says it mostly runs in men.

Just this last month we picked out a green color for the exterior of our home. We started out by testing a blue but the way the light shown on it, it looked drab to him. So, we went for this green. It looks great to him. I watched the colors dispensed into the paint cans. Even though there was some red and some yellow, mostly there was blue pigment and lots of white.

My DH is color blind. His world looks so much different that the one I see. In the spring the new grass is orange to him, but the leaves are green. He can't see many pastels (sp?). He is an artist and sometimes the color he uses are vivid to say the least. Once he drew a picture of our Siamese cat and the cat was a beautiful green. We have interesting conversations about colors when we want to paint the house or rooms. But we finally reach an agreement.

Colorblind tests are easy. Your grandson should be tested before starting school so the teachers can be alerted to it. There may even be a printable "test" on the interenet. Your grandson's doctor can easily test for colorblindness if he knows ahead of time to have the test available.

My BBF is colorblind. She is a nurse so the clinic where she works made her a cheat sheet so she could read simple blood tests that you compare the results to a color chart. Love her like a sister but I never ask her opinions on color combinations on my quilt projects.

I was at the eye doctor with my husband when we found out he was color blind. Blue/Green/Yellow. I started laughing when he read the number on the card and I read a different number. I couldn't believe he didn't see the same number that I saw. He had lived more than twenty years not knowing. I have a friend who is color blind. She is an embroiderer and has to have someone pull her threads for her. I also grew up knowing a man who was completely colored blind. His wife had to pick out his clothes every morning. Boy did he ever hate to make her mad.

Ironic - I saw a report on one of the TV news shows a couple nights ago that said some men see blues as slightly or very green. It was an 'Ah ha!' moment for me and DH. Explained why we OFTEN argue about those colors! I love blues, and I use them a lot in quilts - in many shades. He doesn't 'get' the shades, and puts blues and greens together as if they blend when they don't to me. NOW we both understand why.

so many flowers are blue to my husband but are really purple. his favorite colors are blue, gray and brown! I think more men are color blind that women. Men, of course, would say that's a good thing! huh?

I found this test online.........

http://www.colour-blindness.com/colo...r-test-plates/

The color blind test posted by Chasing Hawk is the best I've seen. It's very specific. My dad was color blind, and so are three of my four sons. I am definitely a carrier. I didn't realize why my sons had no problem wearing pink until I found out that with their sight it was gray.

not sure about my DH, but any shade of aqua, he insists is GREEN. I say, blue-green, he doesn't listen.

there's been a new study done that shows that men and women DO perceive colors differently, and women "see" them more accurately. more men than women are colorblind, as well. (women tend to have a more acute sense of smell, as well--probably goes back to the days when it was up to "us" to sniff the game to make sure it was edible, back in the cave days...) interesting that color really is in the eye of the beholder, and that some of the beholders --can't! my uncle had to have my aunt hang appropriate ties on the hangers with the shirt, tie, and suit, so he didn't look ridiculous when he went to work or church...

My husband is red/green color-blind. He has an uncanny way of "filtering" colors and can match things, such as curtains to the paint color in the room.

My dad was color blind and my oldest son is also color blind. We didn't really notice until he was older, like around 10 or 11. He sees shades not color. I used to think how sad, but he doesn't seem to mind so much. I guess you don't miss what you never had.

That's a good one, Chasing Hawk!! Good one for you on finding it! Now folks who read this board and wonder about their loved ones (seems like a lot of husbands may be taking this test soon!) have a free resource to check. :o :thumbup:

When our oldest daughter was having eyes tested she wasn't able to read the part of the test that had to do with colored numbers in a background of another color and I just couldn't believe it. I stood behind her and looked at the page and it was so obvious to me - but the Dr. said it does happen to females but just not as often as men.

I have trouble making out the numbers for the red/green, but it is not too bad. Not sure if it is a 7 or a 2 for example. My husband who is not color blind often disagrees with me as far as what color things are so aware that I have a slight problem. My son is color blind so know that I am a carrier. The advantage to being color blind for men is that can see movement or patterns better and is an advantage when it comes to hunting. I can pick out a deer in the woods rather well because it helps me to see patterns. I often ask my husband for input on matching colors for a quilt and sometimes take his input. When I don't take his advise, he and other quilters tell me that I combine colors that they would not.

Women are the carriers of Color Blindness
gene & they pass it on to their Male children.

My son has problems with bues & purples.
Kept him from becoming a pilot, but
no problem with red, green, yellows so he
is a Jet Mechanic.

Now as I get older I also have problems with
Navy & Black that I never had when younger.

J J

My Dad was shade color blind. He loved to buy shirts for my brothers, they were the awfullest color combos.

Two of my four brothers are/were red-green color blind. It is more common in men.

My father is colorblind, but loves to paint landscapes so he depends on the paint labels. My husband is not colorblind, but can see different shades much better than I can. Still can't talk him into fabric shopping with me.

My sister is shade blind, she can tell blue from green, but not differences in the shades of blue or others. Blue is blue and green is green. Sky blue and aqua are the same to her. No wonder she was such an interesting dresser when we were kids, since this wasn't discovered until we were adults.

I think they can be but it is rare, I think it is somehow attached to the y chromosome, but I think females are the carriers and when it attaches to the y chromosome it causes colorblindness

4 years ago, my grandson came to live with us when he entered high school. He is red/green color blind. He was told his father carries the gene. His father is adopted and does not have the disability. Therefore, we have not traced it back into his background. My grandson loves red because it is bright. Of course, anything in the red family looks red to him. We purchased all his clothes to coordinate with everything else. The only exception was his running clothes. I always hung the orange set together so he would not wear the orange shirt with red shorts. The first tme he did that, he encountered some interesting comments from his friends.

When my son was small, my father-in-law asked if he knew his colors? He did. Then dad told me there was colorblindness in the family. My husband was not colorblind.

Years passed, and my husband lost the sight in one eye. That was when we realized he was now colorblind. I asked his doctor if people can be colorblind in only one eye. He thought that is what happened. We have learned that one of my grandsons is colorblind. But that didnt keep him out of the Marines.

Color blindness runs in my family.

It's carried on the "X" chromosome. Women can be color blind if both their "X" chromosomes have the colorblind problem. A good "X" will compensate for the colors. Eight times more men are color blind then women.

Men can pass the colorblind gene to their daughters on the "X" chromosome. Women can pass it to either child.

Luckily my sons are not color blind. Had the doctor test them when they were little. Hopefully they won't pass it on to their daughters.

Sometimes the color blindness can be really subtle. My oldest brother did not know until he joined the Army that he could not tell the difference between brown and green. To him it was normal.

I have several male relatives who are totally color blind. One uncle's job in the military during WWII was spotting enemy camouflage from helicopters. A cousin is very popular fishing companion - he can spot them really good.

I had another Uncle who could only see red. My Aunt said it was a good thing she liked red because everything he bought was red!

So, summary: Women can pass to either child, Men can pass to daughters.

Meant to read: Women can pass to either a son or a daughter, Men can pass to daughters (then daughter can pass to a son or daughter!).

One of the quilters on here, a woman, is color blind. So yes, there are women who are color blind!