Rachel Campbell
Reporter
The price difference between women’s and men’s items because the color is pink, for women’s products, as known as pink tax, should not exist. Women pay about an extra grand each year for feminine and “pink” products according to the article, what is the “Pink Tax” by Samantha Anthony. Women also are paying for tampons and pads when condoms can be free. Also affecting girls/children with “boy” and “girl” toys where the “girl” toys cost more because of the pink colors.
Why are pink products more expensive? “The “pink tax” isn’t on women’s products, but just the color itself because it costs more to produce items with the color pink,” according to every uneducated guy. That isn’t true. Even though some colors are harder to make, the most expensive pigment is called “lapis Lazuli” according to the site, Color Matters of J.L. Morton. This color is actually a deep rich shade of blue, so it’s not pink that is more expensive. In Fact, on Color Matters, the reason in China why colors were becoming more of a sexual origin was because, “At a time when certain dyes were quite rare, pink dye was readily available and therefore inexpensive.”
Since blues were rare and expensive, it was therefore considered to be more worthwhile to dress a boy in blue. Now pink used to be for boys because it is a shade of red, so it seemed bolder and more masculine, while blue seemed calmer and soothing for girls. Now according to UMKC by Maleigha Micheal, in the 1960’s the colors were starting to be switched to go against social norms and gender labeling; however, it didn’t last long because prenatal testing became a thing.
This meant parents were now pre planning for when their child was to arrive and buy/decorate things. This soon became popular and retail jumped on that idea and started marketing towards gender specific colors for babies, making blue for boys and pink for girls. This means, not just for girls, but for boys a stereotype they are “supposed” to grow up in which lead to all of women’s products from the 1960’s and on to today to be of a higher price.
In addition, Women have no choice but to purchase, over-priced pads and tampons, On the other hand, condoms are a great thing to have, they aren’t a necessity in a male’s life. So why should unnecessary male products be cheaper than women’s products or even free?
Crowder student Makenzie Ritter expressed her thoughts on the pink tax as well by stating, “I feel like the pink tax only becomes annoying in the sense of razors. I don’t understand why girls end up paying more for razors just because one is pink and the other is a standard grey or black men’s razor. So, the girl ends up paying more for an object that does not even work as good as the men’s razor. So then when a girl’s razor breaks, she can either spend twice as much on just razor heads or buy another overpriced piece of plastic.”
In conclusion, the pink tax for woman’s products, includes pads, tampons, razors, and even children’s toys, should not exist. Marketing this color of pink is putting gender color stereotypes starting at birth and making women pay about an extra grand per year for periods they are born with, while condoms can be free.
Leave a Reply