Taking into account the wises words of ABBA from the hit song “Money, Money, Money,” “Money Money Money, must be funny in a rich man’s world.” I feel connected to the lyrics. Especially when ABBA calls this a rich man’s world. It’s not a women’s world because the money it costs to be a woman in today’s society is outrageous. Women are expected to buy things to keep this feminine air about them.
For example, bra and panties can’t be plain, they must be lacey—and even plain ones cost upwards of forty dollars, and five pairs of underwear for 30 dollars. Who has that cash to spend? A girl needs more than a week’s worth of undergarments.
There is a big vice grip on us saying we have to have these things: they must look nice, and go spend almost a hundred bucks for two bras, and a girl needs more than one sexy bra for her collection. No matter where you go, from JCPenney, Hanes, or Victoria’s Secret, a bra is expensive, and if you go to places like Walmart or Kmart then the products just aren’t that good and will need to be replaced quickly, because things break easily. honestly there is never a win-win situation when it comes to a woman’s expenses on undergarments.
But then of course we move onto makeup, which is a big debate. Men find it frivolous, but then if a woman doesn’t wear makeup she’s considered lazy and gross, and people don’t understand that some girls actually like makeup without wearing it to impress others! I realize there are affordable brands such as Wet and Wild, but then there are brands such as Too Faced and Urban Decay, where one product can cost up to 50 dollars.
Even if you don’t buy the expensive stuff, the little things add up. There are generally 14 essential products to make up the whole face, and even if you get everything on the cheap, it still costs upwards of 90 dollars though it is a steal compared to 351 dollars for a full face of Too Faced makeup . Women in particular are expected to look absolutely perfect everyday. There is a distinct correlation with the money a woman spends to what is expected by society, and the more in demand products are, then the more money each product costs.
Then of course here comes the big kicker: tampons and pads. Women unfortunately receive and monthly gift from our dear Aunt Flow, and it sucks. Periods are awful, and to stay clean we need pads and tampons, so we don’t just bleed everywhere. And here we are paying upwards to ten dollars for one package, plus the luxury tax. And there it is ladies, according to Ax the Pink Tax, the pink tax which is officially called the Luxury tax, it a tax on goods considered nonessential, but funny enough hygiene products such as toilet paper are not included, and a pad is kind of just glorified toilet paper. Because of stuff like this it costs up to 1,351 dollars more a year to be a woman than it does to be a man.
But the true kicker is that women are not paid equally, and with all this extra baggage of expectations and limitations, women should be able to make the same amount of men. Then of course there is the fact that women are thought of as weaker, and are most decidedly picked on as a weaker link by men. Especially in auto part stores, where women are preyed on and have to pay more money than a man, because we are assumed as dumb and unknowing about cars. According to Healthline, there is this deal about how women pay more health insurance, just because we use what we pay for! Men pay less due to the fact that they would just lay at home and complain about their illness while a woman takes care of them, and a woman will actually go to a doctor and get help.
This is honestly just grazing the top of everything wrong with society, but men have the ability to get ahead and women are held back due to various money constraints. Because the world revolves around money, money which women are made to spend and don’t have enough of, this is indeed a man’s world.