Student thoughts: “The Pink Tax” costs more than you think

Nicole Stone / Contributing Writer

opinion@fiusm.com

The next time you go on a deodorant run, take a moment to wander into the aisle designated for each gender. You may notice a change in color of the products labeled for sale, or perhaps that there are different words being used to describe these products. Undoubtedly, the prices of said products vary significantly. This is all part of a marketing phenomenon dubbed “The Pink Tax,” which exists for you if you live anywhere other than California, New York City or Miami-Dade County. These are the only places in the United States where gendered pricing is illegal.

“The Pink Tax” is the price discrepancy between products labelled for a specific gender, and women are paying for it – literally. In 1995, a study in California found that women pay nearly $1,350 more for toiletries than men in a year, and quantity of purchases has little to do with the phenomenon.

“The Pink Tax” can be spotted lurking in clothing stores, hair salons and even at the dry cleaners, but is most of all present – or, more accurately, obscured – in the hygienic product aisles of your local supermarket.

For example, in two identical packs of razor products from Target’s brand, Up & Up razor products, where each razor has three blades and each pack has five razors, it may be unsettling for some to notice that these identical products are gendered. There is a pink one marketed specifically toward women for $5.39 and a blue one targeted at men for $4.99. There is an obvious, 40 cent difference in price between two products made by the same company, of with the same quantity and quality – the only difference here is the intended consumer.

Another example can be found in the lotion aisle. At Walgreens, Gold Bond has a 14.5-ounce daily lotion product with no gender labelling which costs $10.99, but a 14.5-ounce daily lotion specifically labelled for everyday use by men, costs $9.99. Both these products claim to contain “seven essential moisturisers” along with hypoallergenic, “non-greasy” and fast-absorbing properties.

Gendered pricing is problematic for our wallets – all these subtle discrepancies in price add up in the long run. What could be worse, though, is that it is part of a sales strategy that is harmful to all young people’s developing perceptions: gender marketing.

Gender marketing strengthens and perpetuates gender stereotypes. Men are usually marketed with angular product designs and words with connotations that imply edge or mystery because they are seen as stronger and more emotionally closed off. Women receive a similar marketing tactic, except with rounder, more curvaceous and colorful designs along with words that have a relaxing or nourishing ideas connected to them like “exuberant” or “luscious”.

We are not safe even away from the place of sale. TV is another opportunity to market. Ever watch a razor commercial? If the commercial is for male razors, there is usually some depiction of a man shaving away some sort of scruff in front of a mirror, then that same man is depicted after he shaves appearing sharper or cleaner. The reality is very different with women’s razor commercials – the actress is usually in a bubbly tub or shower setting, getting clean similarly to the man grooming his facial hair, all is fine here. But then comes the zoom in of the actress’s legs, only to see her raking a razor across already hairless skin. For a product that is supposed to shave away something, it is disheartening to see that product being demonstrated on nothing when hair is absolutely human, but that is the jist of gendered marketing.

So why have companies been getting away with the Pink Tax? Stores often separate their hygienic product aisles by male and female products to better reach their intended consumer audience, making it harder to compare prices. It also feeds off of the idea that nowadays, people are in a hurry and simply don’t go where they don’t need to go. The good news is, you don’t have to go pink. The only thing telling you to buy gender-tailored products are the companies that make them.

Recently, Dollar Shave Club, an online shaving subscription service, launched a campaign calling ladies to arms against the Pink Tax. This campaign has worked to effectively increase awareness and sales of gender neutral razors, featuring an advertisement with two razors, one labelled “HIS” one labelled “HERS.” Both had the same look, both had the same price. Though, this proves to be a false victory for feminism, as Dollar Shave Club has raised a lot of criticism for this move. Customers are accusing the company of riding the fight-for-your-rights bus and using the emotions of people with strong ethical convictions to expand its consumer audience, and the size of its income. Upon visit to their website, there is absolutely no mention of women, except as an afterthought and extension of its primarily male audience:  “You will love this razor – and your girlfriend can use it too.” The hypocrisy in this entire campaign proves that we have a long ways to go before social equality is no longer a concept, but a reality.