Thinking (too hard) About Pink Episode II: A Tax on the Colognes

Last week, I looked at some products sold in our own Penn State Bookstore which, for reasons that are still not entirely clear, came in bright pink in addition to Penn State's blue/white/grey/black/neon green (I still don't quite know what's up with that neon green stuff). While it still seems very strange to me that things like shirts, lanyards, and water bottles need to be colored pink to appeal to women, I can say this in defense of the Bookstore: at least they still had the same price tags. In other stores, one might not be so lucky.

(compliments of KGW)

Yep, that's right. These are two packages of razors from the same store. One set of razors is pink, and the other is blue. They are practically identical in every aspect except their color. And yet, the pink ones are a full ninety cents more expensive than the same blue ones. This is one example of what's being called the "pink tax", where products targeted for women are priced significantly higher than their male-targeted counterparts, and it's certainly not the only one. Just as all sorts of items are divided along gender lines whether it really makes sense or not, so too are prices, on everything from clothes to shaving supplies to perfume, and it's usually (though not always) women who get the short end of the unnecessarily gendered stick.

(compliments of KGW)

How can stores get away with such obvious price discrimination? After all, it's well-known that women make 78 cents on average for every dollar a man makes (a factoid which, despite being oversimplified and misleading, is cited ad nauseam every time any discussion on gender equality comes up, so I'm going to avoid ever using it again here), which should theoretically give women less money to use when shopping. And among people who have actually tried both products of the same type marketed towards men or women, when there is a difference, many say that it's actually the ones marketed to men that are superior. So why raise the price when it comes to pink?

Some products, primarily certain articles of clothing, do actually have some differences between what's sold to men and to women. These are often minor additions or changes in formula that don't have too much of an effect on the product's actual effectiveness, but due to the changes companies claim that they can justify raising the price on one version or the other.

However, when it's just a matter of coloration, there's less to excuse this division. The reason why products marketed toward women often have the higher price seems to be rooted in stereotypes. The theory goes that women are more likely to buy into products that claim to be specially made for them or loaded with buzzwords, even if the price is higher than the alternative, while men are more likely to just go for whatever kind is cheapest. Obviously, it's a very sexist marketing strategy, but apparently it works, as products marketed towards women still stay on the market and sell well despite the higher price. It certainly doesn't help that stores dividing "men's" sections from "women's" sections discourages actually comparing the prices and the qualities of the products, to the point that many people aren't even aware that the "pink tax" exists at all.

Well, now that we are aware, what can we do about it? Unfortunately, I do not think that manufacturers are going to spontaneously realize the error of their ways and lower the prices on overcharged products. (If anything, wouldn't they raise the prices on the male counterparts, since obviously people are willing to pay for them at the higher price?) It instead falls to consumers to make wise choices when they go shopping, and we, all being responsible adults with our own steady incomes and ability to do our own shopping (ha ha), can take part. Next time you have to shop for supplies, carefully check prices and see what your alternatives are, so that you can save money or get the highest-quality product. Or, if one company in particular seems to have a history of unfair pricing, avoid buying from them entirely. After all, there really is no rule that says you have to buy the products which are targeted for your particular gender. If you like it, you can buy it, and nobody can do anything to stop you. And if you can defy the societal norms of gender and save a few cents all at the same time, well!