# Is there really a "Pink Tax"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [September 22, 2020, 10:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-a-pink-tax/921230 "2020-09-22T10:10:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 14
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2020, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-a-pink-tax/921230/262 "2020-09-24T17:09:29Z")
Yes. So, what’s your point? ---
**Author:** ![Kearsen1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Kearsen1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kearsen1)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2020, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-a-pink-tax/921230/263 "2020-09-24T17:10:16Z")
Merely that women weren’t alone. Why does everyone get so damn touchy around here. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2020, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-a-pink-tax/921230/264 "2020-09-24T17:11:44Z")
Strangely, I can be in and out of the bathroom in the morning for work in fifteen minutes - shower, makeup done (I tend to wear my hair in a way that will air dry to save time) - my husband and son both take half an hour minimum. I am REALLY not sure why. I suspect that we learn to be super efficient because so much of our time is “taxed” - its just going to take us a little longer because we do a lot of the unseen labor. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2020, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-a-pink-tax/921230/265 "2020-09-24T17:14:00Z")
It’s like if I came into a thread about, I don’t know, Biden, and asked, hey, doesn’t everyone know the sky is blue? That is, I literally didn’t see the point of your post. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2020, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-a-pink-tax/921230/266 "2020-09-24T17:15:34Z")
> [@Dangerosa](#): > > my husband and son both take half an hour minimum. I am REALLY not sure why. Yeah, you probably _don’t_ want to know… ---
**Author:** ![Kearsen1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Kearsen1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kearsen1)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2020, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-a-pink-tax/921230/267 "2020-09-24T17:25:05Z")
I just responded to a comment that you made. If your comment was on topic, then I suppose mine is too no? ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2020, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-a-pink-tax/921230/268 "2020-09-24T17:41:09Z")
Sure, whatever. What is your view of the subject of this thread? ---
**Author:** ![Kearsen1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Kearsen1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kearsen1)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2020, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-a-pink-tax/921230/269 "2020-09-24T17:44:40Z")
Where it’s at right now or whether or not I take a 30 minute shower? I believe the pink tax to be real. I believe it has long been that way since women have for ages been willing to pay more for things they need. Now that people are actively marketing (well they have been) towards that may cause a fuss but I don’t see things changing anytime soon. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2020, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-a-pink-tax/921230/270 "2020-09-24T17:52:21Z")
Cool. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2020, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-a-pink-tax/921230/271 "2020-09-24T17:55:34Z")
> [@Kearsen1](#): > > I believe it has long been that way since women have for ages been willing to pay more for things they need. I would slightly rephrase that as “Women have for ages been willing to pay for the things that they need, even if they cost more.” It’s not that they were willing to pay more, it’s that they needed the items, and they were not in a position to negotiate the price. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2020, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-a-pink-tax/921230/272 "2020-09-24T18:02:05Z")
> [@Dangerosa](#): > > off topic - Facebook is the king of commoditizing its own users. And we are so naive about it. A friend of a friend recently complained about the new Facebook format by saying, “Don’t they care what we want?” No, they don’t. We are not the consumer, we are the product. ---
**Author:** ![razordance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e47774/32.png) [@razordance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/razordance)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2020, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-a-pink-tax/921230/273 "2020-09-24T19:30:59Z")
I recall a “Cathy” cartoon: CATHY: Can I get these jeans in a 24? CLERK: No, they only come in 28. CATHY: Does somebody think all women have the same length legs? CLERK: No, I guess they figure all women know how to sew. CATHY: OK, I’ll take these, but I want them altered. CLERK: Sorry. They only do alterations on the men’s side. CATHY: Men don’t NEED alterations, their jeans come the right length! CLERK: Oh, well, if we girls want to wear jeans, I guess that’s the kind of thing we have to put up with. ---
**Author:** ![Saintly\_Loser](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saintly_loser/32/4045_2.png) [@Saintly\_Loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saintly_Loser)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2020, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-a-pink-tax/921230/274 "2020-09-24T19:35:43Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > And why can’t the dry cleaner turn the blouse inside out to press it, putting the buttons on the other side? That would be extra labor, and actually justify a higher cost. It’s an extra step. Really, it’s two extra steps, because the blouse/shirt would have to be turned rightside-out again. That said, since the entry of women into the white-collar workforce on a massive scale over the past decades, one would think someone would have come up with a pressing machine that can handle shirts with buttons on either side. Maybe somone has, for all I know. Maybe the cleaners really are ripping off their women customers. I’ve got to take some shirts tomorrow – now I’m curious. I’ll get a look at my local place’s price list. ---
**Author:** ![Kearsen1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Kearsen1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kearsen1)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2020, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-a-pink-tax/921230/275 "2020-09-24T19:37:57Z")
No, I believe that most women are willing to pay more (for varying reasons) All marketing related. Willing to, not want to ---
**Author:** ![Mallard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Mallard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mallard)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2020, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-a-pink-tax/921230/276 "2020-09-24T19:44:27Z")
I have to agree this is just market driven. The business establishments charge more for women’s stuff “because they can”. ---
**Author:** ![urbanredneck2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/5f8ce5/32.png) [@urbanredneck2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/urbanredneck2)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2020, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-a-pink-tax/921230/277 "2020-09-24T19:49:19Z")
> [@Dangerosa](#): > > On the topic as a whole > > Type 1 - Same product marketed for women costs more. Bothers me, but unless there is really a difference … I buy cheap disposible unisex razors and unisex shampoo and soap. > > Type 2 - Same product or service costs more for women - bugs the hell out of me. My husband and I have functionally the same haircut and have for years. His costs half to have it cut. I tend to go to Cost Cutters for the $15 it doesn’t matter which parts are under your jeans cut. When I know I have to play the game, I let my husband play it - i.e. buying a car. > > Type 3 bothers me the most - particular around feminine products. Having hit menopause, its a relief not to have to buy pads any longer (except I do because being a woman of a certain age who has had a baby means I really shouldn’t go for a run without protection). Pads and tampons are expensive. Bras are expensive. And you don’t just get to skip these things (unless you are extraordinarily flat chested). Eventually I went to washable pads - which are expensive up front, but cheaper over the long term - but still expensive. There really isn’t an equivalent for men. There are other - more optional but not entirely optional - parts of being a woman - like buying makeup and having shoes to match outfits. Optional if you are in a situation where it isn’t necessary, but I almost always wore makeup to my office job and I don’t think it was really something I would have had much choice about - women who didn’t bother with makeup really had dead end careers (as did women who wore too much). I think this is changing (again, I’m of a certain age), but it was certainly the case when I was establishing myself. Best response yet on this topic. You know how the world runs and how to play it. I personally think only your “Type 3” example is worth being a true “Pink Tax”. My wife’s hair is short and she could go to a unisex shop but she likes her womens salon. As for her hair and personal care products, my wife likes hers to be very specific. Otherwise she just uses mine. ---
**Author:** ![urbanredneck2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/5f8ce5/32.png) [@urbanredneck2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/urbanredneck2)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2020, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-a-pink-tax/921230/278 "2020-09-24T19:50:53Z")
Question for the ladies: Do women bring up this topic very much - complaining about how products and services for women cost more or about how being a woman in general costs more? Do they discuss solutions? ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2020, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-a-pink-tax/921230/279 "2020-09-24T19:58:41Z")
Right, just as diabetics are willing to pay hundreds of dollars a month for insulin. Willing to, not want to. ---
**Author:** ![urbanredneck2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/5f8ce5/32.png) [@urbanredneck2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/urbanredneck2)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2020, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-a-pink-tax/921230/280 "2020-09-24T20:01:08Z")
Totally different issue. ---
**Author:** ![Kearsen1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Kearsen1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kearsen1)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2020, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-a-pink-tax/921230/281 "2020-09-24T20:02:02Z")
You’re conflating needed items vs wanted items. Women will pay more for wants, market driven of course. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-a-pink-tax/921230.md?page=13) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-a-pink-tax/921230.md?page=15)