Why was my family speaking in such cold, unfamiliar tones?

When I was growing up, I always got slighted in favor of my sister. My sister had blonde hair and blue eyes, and she always got the royal treatment. She got the best bedrooms and the first pick in any number of other areas. 

I remember growing up, there was always a cold, impersonal tone in the conversations in our family. I didn't know why my parents addressed us in those cold, unfamiliar tones, but now I realize it must have been my sister who initiated it; she must have felt like an alien in the family (my mother and my father both have brown eyes and brown hair), and addressed my parents in a tone of distance and hard-heartedness. In return, my parents would address her in those tones, and I just got the short end of the stick. I was kind of mellow, kind of reticent. 

I wasn't very aggressive in conversation. I was used to being put on the back burner. My sister got the special, favored treatment, while I was relegated to just being some kind of 'mistake.' My opinions weren't taken seriously. My statements weren't given the time of day. Nor would anyone really listen to me. My aunt told me recently that, when she saw me growing up, she saw me trying and trying to speak my mind, but always getting interrupted. No one payed me any serious thought. Like I said, my sister was always getting the preferential treatment. I was just disregarded or brushed aside.

I was wondering where those cold tones came from, and this morning the insight came to me.

Did you ever feel like you were subordinated to someone of more 'importance'? Did you ever feel like you had to give up your privileges to someone who was 'above' you? Did you ever have to share your time with someone who was more 'worthwhile?' Did you ever have to take the back seat to one of your siblings 'cause your parents afforded them more prestige, class, and respect than they did you?