When you go to pick up items from the store, you rarely care about the color, it’s packaging, or if the item is specially made or advertised for women or for men. Unfortunately, picking up something more feminine might cost you more when your total rings up. Since woman still have to deal with a wage gap, meaning that they take home less money to spend on more expensive products than their male identifying co-workers, why would companies make women’s products more expensive to buy? This is happening every time you go shopping and, it is important to recognize this increase. The fact is most products work the same way no matter if they are designed for women or men in mind. It is unfair that women have to buy men’s just because it’s cheaper, They should be able to pick out what they want to buy. I use men’s body wash because it is generally has a more strong scent, but women shouldn’t have to choose brands like Axe just because they are cheaper. There is even a tax on period products. There shouldn’t be a higher cost for something that is a necessity and a natural part of life.
The more general item is razors. Because men have to shave more facial hair, their razors are more expensive, but the advertising is shocking. I went on the BIC’s website to see how they advertise for both genders. BIC is a company best known for their razors and pens. The company even made a pen for women that comes in pink and purple and has a little jewel in the center. Fun fact: Not all woman love pink. Why do we need random crystals on our shower products? The video advertisement for the men’s razors displays how the razor has changed and doesn’t really have meaning as to why men shave in the first place. On the women’s razor page, it presents women promoting the benefits of shaving to the consumer. It is trying to create a powerful statement by showing girls acting strong and tough, as well as showcasing why they want to shave. Reasons are because their clothes feel better or they want to workout, but it doesn’t portray the real reason as to why they choose to shave, not shave, or why they choose to only shave one part of their body.
There is an option on the website to take a short quiz to find the best kind of razor for you, but the questions are extremely designed for the “ideal woman or man” who are taking the survey. For men, it talks about cars and wild animals. Yet, for women, it talks about dresses and wearing short shorts. Even the background for the men’s quiz is black and orange, while the background for women is purple and contains glitter and palm trees.
When I received my results for the quiz back on the women’s page, it stated “Take shaving, for instance. It’s just one small way you keep things clean, smooth, and delightfully non-awkward.” For a young girl or woman who doesn’t like to shave to take this test, it would make them feel very excluded because it is implying that not shaving is awkward and out of the norm. After taking the men’s razor quiz, my results stated that “You shave so you’ll be refreshed and ready for any crazy thing that comes your way.” The results were drastically different. It even showed a lower-priced razor package for men in comparison to women’s razor packs. The women’s razors were a six pack which cost $10.99, while the men’s razors cost $6.99 for three.
The women’s page contains more negative words in their ads like “awkward” and “worried”, while the men’s consists of optimistic words like “comfortable” and “grown-up”. This proves that products love to stereotype people based on their gender. So next time you are out shopping, check to see if the prices for your products are cheaper and try to find products that are the same price. It is unfair that we have to have biased advertising for products we use in our everyday life. I hope that there will be changes made in the future, but until then, we have to keep fighting.