I’ve recently seen quite a few TikToks discussing the “pink tax,” the phenomenon of women’s products being priced higher than men’s products. After some extensive research (a lot of Googling done in the middle of the night), I have learned that some of the most bizarre products have been priced up simply because they have pink packaging and the word ‘women’ stamped on them. We truly are living in a man’s world.
You may be thinking that I am referring to this price inflation in regard to feminine hygiene products. And although that is a very prevalent issue, seeing that menstrual hygiene products are taxed as luxury products (yes, it’s a real luxury to have unbearable cramps every month!), I am talking about more general products. One of the most bizarre examples that I came upon was laxatives. Yes, laxatives. Some “women’s” laxatives are priced .50 cents higher than normal laxatives. And you would think maybe there is a special ingredient or prototype that works better for women’s guts, but no. The only difference stated on the packaging is that one is a “pink” stool softener while the standard product is blue.
This instance is not a coincidence. A simple search brings up a multitude of products that have been priced similarly. Another odd example that really stood out to me was razors. The razors we use could easily be switched between men and women, meaning they quite literally will perform the same function no matter what gender the person is. However, because of the pink tax, razors made for women are on average priced .20 cents higher.
In a world where we are consistently progressing toward equality, it seems very backward to continue practices like this sexist tax. Frankly, it’s extremely odd that these price differences were ever in place, to begin with. With products having the exact same function the absolute bare minimum we can expect is that they will price them the same. Going even further, I think it’s quite absurd that these products are still produced. If manufacturers are aware that the two products are identical, apart from their pink factor, they should not be producing two separate ones, simply to exploit their female customers.