Sometimes, it really pays off to be one gender instead of the other.
The New York Daily News recently released an article noting that despite bans in places such as California and New York City on gender-based pricing, the practice still goes on. In New York City, there were 200 violations cited by the Department of ?Consumer Affairs last year alone.
Yes, if you want to deny that the wage gap is a thing, you can. But you can’t argue the math used to compare the prices women pay for products almost identical to the ones men buy.
According to a Californian study from 1995, women pay on average $1,351 more for the same products as men. This custom of being overcharged is known widely as the “women’s tax” or “pink tax.”
In a YouTube video by the Daily Share, two similar products, one marketed to men and one to women, were ?compared by their prices.
A Shick Hydro 5 (marketed to men) is $8.56. A Shick Hydro Silk (marketed to women — I mean the box is pink, of course) is $9.97.
That’s a big difference, especially when most American women have a larger surface area to cover when shaving than men and will thus buy more razors.
Narciso Rodriguez Eau de Toilette for Him is $87.00. Narciso Rodriguez Eau de Toilette for Her (another pink package) is $106.60.
It goes beyond your convenience store shelves. Before 2010 when Obamacare banned the practice of gender pricing, women paid $1 billion a year more than men in health insurance premiums.
For long term care insurance, women pay on average 13 percent more than men. Insurance companies will tell you this is because women typically live longer than men. I’d like to reiterate that being a woman isn’t a choice, nor is it a choice to statistically ?live longer.
The Daily Share video went on to show American Apparel prices for men’s and women’s Oxford shirts are the same, but a dry cleaner that serviced both of these identical shirts charged more if the shirt had a “ladies” description on ?the label.
To some, this issue might seem like an unsolvable problem. Marketing companies are known for being ever-so sly, especially when men’s and women’s products are often shelved in different places in stores (if you don’t go into the opposite gender aisle, you’re unlikely to compare prices). If California can’t fix it, who can?
But I’m here to give you a weapon against corporate America: stop buying into it.
Confession time — I buy and use men’s razors.
No, it isn’t because I’m a secret bearded lady or because I mistook them for women’s razors. I buy men’s razors because I’m tired of overpaying for the same product simply because it’s marketed to women.
I’ve never had to explain myself to a cashier, as I’m sure they usually assume I’m just buying them for someone else such as a boyfriend or sibling. Sometimes that ruse is harder to use when I’m also buying vanilla-scented shaving cream. But if a CVS store clerk tries to give me a judging look when they’ve caught onto my scheme, I give an eye roll that would make Scarlet O’Hara proud and continue on with my day.
To me, there’s nothing “feminine” or “chic” about a pink razor. Every single ladies razor I’ve used since middle school has left me enough nicks on the back of my ankles to last a lifetime.
The worst part is that I’d been paying more for something that didn’t even live up to its name as a razor, more like that of a dull cheese grater. My point is that you, too, can be a secret savvy shopper that sticks it to the man.
Don’t just buy something because it’s marketed to your gender or not buy something because it’s not. You shouldn’t have to pay more because every marketing team thinks all women love pink or every women’s product has to be rose-scented.
Venture out into the other aisles. If you feel embarrassed, use the “I’m buying for my kid brother” excuse. You not buying these products is as revolutionary but not quite as wasteful as the Boston Tea Party. Remember, they can’t tax what you don’t buy.
maehogan@indiana.edu
