“The “Pink Tax” is a term used to describe the phenomenon where goods and services marketed specifically to women, are priced higher when compared to similar goods and services marketed to men.”
“Women in Canada paid more for toiletries and more than 50 per cent more for deodorant and body washaccording to 2021 data.May 9, 2023”
Latest development: no buttons or buttonholes or pockets on many jackets and cardigans. Same price or higher than before but still they cost more than men’s cardigans. Imagine a man putting up with this shyte.
Pockets are such a rarity than in my family when we find a skirt, trousers or shirt with pockets we rave about it. Men would roar loud and long if pockets and buttons were eliminated from their clothing and they were still charged the same price.
On a sidenote I always buy men's pyjama bottoms and men's t-shirts. Why? They each have pockets AND last longer as they are better made. Women's nightwear is not made to last and costs a bundle compared to men's.
Dry cleaning charges for male and female shirts have a huge discrepancy in price. Guess in whose favour?
Walk down the personal care product aisle and see the price differences on:
Body wash
Razors
Deodorant
Shampoos and other hair stuff such as male hair dyes and female hair dyes.
And don’t get me started on the tax on menstrual products in many countries but eliminated in Canada.
With women making far less than men in the world, this is unconscionable. And an unfair tax burden on women.
I imagine this is something many men don’t think about.
It's true I don't think much about the difference, and am only occasionally reminded of it by an angry woman letting rip. Yes, why on earth is there such a difference in male and female products? You don't mention hairdressers. My haircut costs £10.50 while Jenny's costs £52 - and we have almost identical hairstyles!
ReplyDeleteMy original comment got trashed, no idea why. Good point on the hair styling, Nick. A couple of my women friends moved to barbers and are thrilled with the low price and no nonsense approach to haircutting.
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Barbers in Belfast won't cut women's hair, they're referred to a women's hairdresser!
DeleteAll I can say is grrr!
ReplyDeleteSeconded Marge. What makes me grrrrrrr is that they get away with it.
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The pink tax is often HUGE too. Sometimes fifty per cent and more. Hiss and spit.
ReplyDeleteI guess we could boycott but I recognize that many women love the girliness of their "female" clothes. I am all for utility and longevity though and abandoned girlie so long ago it's lost in the mist of time.
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I agree with you!
ReplyDeleteGlad you're part of the club, e!
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It is something I am well aware of and it seems to be both the free market at its best, to make profits, and also at its worst, to take advantage. I wonder if there is a similar gap between means and women's personal needs and clothing in developing countries.
ReplyDeleteYay for you being aware of it Andrew. my bros are oblivious. But yes, I wonder about developing countries but then again many of them, unfortunately, dictate what women wear.
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I've bought men's trousers and shirts for years because the quality is so much higher.
ReplyDeleteNot quite gone to men trousers ( I have a rounded body) but love male shirts and baggie T-shirts. They last forever.
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I have been buying mens tshirts and flannelette shirts for decades and men's fleece lined trackpants too, I buy the large or extra large to fit around my fat bum and belly and take up the hems. They last forever, while women's clothes wear out in one or two years, the fabrics are so flimsy. I buy mens deodorants too, they are cheaper and more effective and smell just as nice. I used to buy mens jeans too, but not now.
ReplyDeleteGood for you River. I forgot to mention shorts. I buy men's boxers as shorts. Totally comfy. cheap. Double seamed. Last forever.
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I'm with you on the pockets. I always wear men's trousers and pyjamas for this reason -- actually most of my clothes are from the gent's department because of my long arms, love of practical clothing and cotton, and my dislike of lace. As I do not use those other products mentioned - we buy one unisex shampoo ;) - I never noticed a difference. I'll look next time I go shopping as this made me curious.
ReplyDeleteI wonder is it unique to different countries in the way the tax is levied, Charlotte. Yes, I buy men's razors and men's deodorent but I am going to check out the shampoos now. I use a unisex body wash.
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I looked today. It seems we have a blue tax here. Unisex / family product were cheapest, many were the same price for different versions, and where a difference existed, specific "smart-men" products were more expensive than "smart-women" things (no male-specific hairdye though ;) ). Same goes for underwear and socks, where I compared like qualities and own brand (not a la mode things). At least it was like this in the one supermarket, where I looked; but I think this is OK representative as it is a big shop in a really big (probably the biggest non-food) nation wide chain.
DeleteIt varies from country to country then Charlotte? I know several of my women friends use the male hairdye (if you're into that kind of thing) and find (1) it's cheap, way cheaper and (2) easier to apply and (3) lasts waaaay longer. There's only a small section in the drug stores here for the men stuff.
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It sure seems to vary. I was happy to be early for an appintment and able to study the shelves, mens and ladies shlves held almost the same things, only colour and smells seemed to be the variable, even razors, pink for women and black for men, but same offer for the cheapest (4 for the price of 3) and exorbitant prices for the expensive brands - that even came strawberry-scented for ladies (forgot the men's scent).
DeleteI do not use, nor buy this kind of things as I am sensitive to smells. I make our soap myself from scratch, and we use one brand of non perfumed shampoo - no makeup or perfumes - this makes for easy shopping and a tidy bathroom ;)
Charlotte I had to shop for a hat today to protect my head from this heatwave. I was shocked at the price differences between the baseball hats for men and for women. I got a men's for $10, women's varied between $16.00 upwards to close to $30.00. It's crazy.
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That sure is crazy!
DeleteI actually just recently looked at straw hats, and choosing a normal look, the difference between men and wonmen ones were the size range and the colour of the band ;)
It must be something cultural. Of course you can pay a bazillion for fancy-pants thing, but this goes for women and men alike - like those scented shavers ;)
But base supplies are almost alike - size and colour being the visible difference. I'll be on the lookout for this in weeks to come, because it sure surprises me that things are like this at your place, and not here - if I saw any bias, then men's are a bit more expensive, and things for kids - but this IS cultural and recent. Children have turned into a prestige project.
Oh, I found one ting where women pay more: Haircuts.
DeleteYeah barbers are the cheapest and what's all the nonsense about "styling" I've known men, nearly bald as an egg, go in for "styling" on their few bitty hairs. I would go at it with a scissors and it would be finished in 2 minutes. Free!!!
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I don't buy any of those items because I don't wear them; flowery "blouses" and skirts etc. I buy cotton/spandex and have three changes of clothing, all Navy and Black. I buy women's panties which at $7 a pair are the same or cheaper than men's shorts. I don't wear anything in bed: it makes it hard to turn over and around and hurts my back. I buy the cheapest shampoo I can get, around $3. It's not more than men's shampoo. I buy bar soap, Goat's Milk. It's not "sexed". I buy men's sport socks: they're expensive. I cut my own hair. I buy women's boots and shoes of course, my feet are small. I haven't bought anything new for years. My Columbia fall and winter jacket is cut for women's bodies. It was bought at Goodwill so long ago I can't remember what I paid for it. I buy women's clothing because it's CUT for women's bodies, with differences between shoulder to waist and waist to hip/leg length. I'm not a 14 yr old boy and I want clothing cut for me: a FEMALE. Just stop buying clothing if you need to economize. Emma.
ReplyDeleteWhat the *(&%! are you "shaving". Stop it. Wash your armpits you don't need deodorant unless you're an athlete, in which case, wash again. Emma
DeleteEveryone is different in approach and style Emma. We need to tolerate all personal choices and allow others to express their opinions too, as you do. No lecturing please.
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The pink tax is alive and well here in Australia but it doesn't bother me too much because I use basic "genderless" toiletries and buy a lot of clothing second hand.
ReplyDeleteI have been kicked out of a mens barber which I went to because they cut more to suit my hair than trying to give me the latest style.
I have always assumed that womens clothing has no pockets because woman don't want the bulky things in pockets to detract from their shape. At least, I made that assumption in relation to the trendy stuff which is often quite form fitting.
Stop lecturing.
ReplyDeleteAh those wonderful free-enterprise marketers. How smart they are. After to make unconscionable profits is just part of the system isn’t it? I enjoy your blog and have been trying to find a way to follow it so that I get notified of new posts, but have been unsuccessful. Am I missing something?
ReplyDelete