# 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:** 6
**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 22, 2020, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-a-pink-tax/921230/101 "2020-09-22T21:08:35Z")
> [@urbanredneck2](#): > > If some cleaner really is charging extra for the same item I think they should be called on it because thats price discrimination. It’s your own thread – It would be nice if you read the responses. Yes, more than half of the cleaners that CBS News checked charged more for the same shirt. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2020, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-a-pink-tax/921230/102 "2020-09-22T21:13:05Z")
Most women buy over the counter. I’m pretty sure that some men buy from salons. That really isn’t the issue. And what RitterSport said. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2020, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-a-pink-tax/921230/103 "2020-09-22T21:25:38Z")
> [@bump](#): > > But for consumer goods, the prices are RIGHT THERE. So are the ingredients. If you look, you’ll notice that they’re substantially the same. Which is also generally true across brands for the same basic product. Of course they’re going to say that it’s “for women” or “For men” and tailored to your special body chemistry, or cleans off your manly stink better, but that’s, to paraphrase Elwood Blues, not lies, just bullshit. It’s not necessarily that easy, though. In my example (post #23), I bet many people would have been fooled by the fact that a man’s three-month supply was $15/month whereas the woman’s was $11-something a month. I had to look really closely to figure out why the woman’s stuff was more expensive. You know they did that on purpose to fool people. It’s also not necessarily obvious, unless you take the time to do some research, that there isn’t an important difference between the male and female product versions. After all, we think of male pattern baldness, women’s hair thinning after menopause and so forth as gender-specific phenomena. So why would your average layperson be expected to automatically know that there is not important difference between the male and female Rogaine? We can’t all be armchair endocrinologists. I used to buy the woman’s Rogaine. But then I read (on our very own ignorance-fighting board, aptly enough) that one woman’s doctor told her to just use the men’s product as it was more concentrated. And then I noticed that the minoxidil is advertised as not containing any hormones. That’s when I realized I could safely buy the cheaper men’s version and not worry about it. But even a relatively smart (I hope) cheapskate like me got conned into the more expensive stuff for a while. Everyone, regardless of gender, should try to be a smart shopper. But we all get tired, careless or indifferent from time to time. Women pay a greater price for those lapses than men do, and that is unfair. ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2020, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-a-pink-tax/921230/104 "2020-09-22T21:38:20Z")
Re: extra fringe and whatnot on tops, my tuxedo shirts cost more to dry clean because of this, but honestly most of the tops the women in my office wear (when we were in the office) are as plain as my office shirts. It’s a very grey suit kind of place. I normally wouldn’t have a clue about this but my wife asked me to scout office wear when she was changing careers a few jobs back. I asked my last dry cleaner and she said it depended on whether they could machine press the shirt or if they had to hand press it. Full-shouldered, no extra material, minimal pleating, and not too big or small, then they could machine press it. If not, they charged more. Whether she was feeding me a line, I don’t know. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2020, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-a-pink-tax/921230/105 "2020-09-22T21:46:51Z")
> [@Ruken](#): > > Whether she was feeding me a line, I don’t know. The best way to tell would be to have your wife go in and ask the same questions. ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2020, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-a-pink-tax/921230/106 "2020-09-22T22:13:43Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > The best way to tell would be to have your wife go in and ask the same questions. True, although we don’t live there anymore. I (was – now I work in gym shorts) getting pick-up/delivery dry cleaning since we moved, and most everything she wears can be machine washed. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2020, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-a-pink-tax/921230/107 "2020-09-22T22:18:55Z")
In any case, there probably are some dry cleaners charging fairly. The question is whether most of them are doing so. The two studies cited in this thread apparently found in one case slightly under half and in the other study something over half. I would say that if approximately half of such businesses are still doing this, that’s definitely enough to be a problem. And many people don’t have easy access to lots of different dry cleaners; so aside from the fact that in single-gender households, or households in which only one person’s clothing of a given type usually gets dry cleaned, they may not realize this is happening: ‘go shop somewhere else’ may not be a practical option. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2020, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-a-pink-tax/921230/108 "2020-09-22T22:33:45Z")
I just checked amazon for deodorants, and the prices seem about the same. Same with most toys. Adults womens clothing costs more than mens, of course- but there is a reason for that. 90% of Women’s clothing is taken off the shelves and sold to discounters after only a few months, as it is _out of style._ That is very expensive to the manufacturers and the retailers. OTOH, mens shirts, pants ect, say the same, year after year, with a few new items coming in, and of course warmer/cooler clothes for the season. A men’s dress shirt of s certain type can be sold for years and years, often a decade or more. Hanes tshirts havent changed in decades, except maybe becoming tagless. etc etc. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2020, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-a-pink-tax/921230/109 "2020-09-22T22:38:22Z")
I just checked on amazon, and similar disposable razors- were more expensive for men. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2020, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-a-pink-tax/921230/110 "2020-09-22T22:47:03Z")
Yep. Mens 'fashion"- at least for working clothes- is pretty stagnant. Ties change, but you just cycle thru them. as for women dressing for women: > **[How women dress for other women](https://theconversation.com/how-women-dress-for-other-women-130573)** > > Recent research explores how women ‘dress defensively’ to avoid the aggression of other women. > **[Sorry chaps, women only get dressed up to impress each other](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2002391/Sorry-chaps-women-dress-impress-other.html)** > > A poll of 2,000 debunks the myth that they spend hours in front of a mirror on a Saturday night to impress men. > **[Women dress for other women, not for men](https://nation.africa/kenya/life-and-style/women-style/women-dress-for-other-women-not-for-men-1083502)** > > Dressed nakedness! What a poetic phrase! It’s from a book I read a few weeks ago. The phrase, at a glance, is confusing, but only if you are a woman. That is very well known. ---
**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 23, 2020, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-a-pink-tax/921230/111 "2020-09-23T01:30:35Z")
I buy all of my hair care products from a single salon in France at $300-$400 per 5 ounce bottle. My wife rummages through our neighbor’s garbage for leftover shampoo. ---
**Author:** ![eschrodinger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschrodinger/32/122_2.png) [@eschrodinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschrodinger)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2020, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-a-pink-tax/921230/112 "2020-09-23T01:41:09Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > as for women dressing for women: So what? How are you imagining that relating to this topic? If the form of the social pressure is that it comes through women, then do you think it isn’t oppressive? Whether it comes through women or men, the beauty standards exists for women, and has real consequences. Also, why do you think women might try to enforce beauty standards on other women? Do you think it has nothing to do with men or misogyny? ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2020, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-a-pink-tax/921230/113 "2020-09-23T01:42:23Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > I just checked on amazon, and similar disposable razors- were more expensive for men They may well be priced differently now, I have no idea. When the whole thing of different prices for women’s vs men’s came out many years ago, there _was_ a considerable difference in price between the pink ladies’ razors and the men’s razors. ---
**Author:** ![eschrodinger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschrodinger/32/122_2.png) [@eschrodinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschrodinger)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2020, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-a-pink-tax/921230/114 "2020-09-23T01:52:12Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > I just checked on amazon, and similar disposable razors- were more expensive for men. I just checked and, comparing apples to apples, saw the opposite. The Schick Quattro, e.g., has women’s and men’s versions, with the women’s being more expensive. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2020, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-a-pink-tax/921230/115 "2020-09-23T03:07:14Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > as for women dressing for women Personally, I dress for the weather. ---
**Author:** ![Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aji_de_gallina/32/260_2.png) [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aji_de_Gallina)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2020, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-a-pink-tax/921230/116 "2020-09-23T03:19:43Z")
If women oppress women it cannot be a “pink tax” in any way. Social pressures will exist, they can’t be erased. So, if women complain about the price of makeup, because men don’t have to spend on it or that they hairs-care is more expensive, it’s because they want to impress each other, it’s “men” or “societal pressure”, it’s themselves. This is something we men cannot help much with. Most women’s trousers/pants/skirts still don’t have proper pockets. Women prefer fit over practicality, apparently. Go tell them to switch. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2020, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-a-pink-tax/921230/117 "2020-09-23T03:22:29Z")
> [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](#): > > Most women’s trousers/pants/skirts still don’t have proper pockets. Women prefer fit over practicality, apparently. Go tell them to switch. This makes me crazy! I know no women who don’t want pockets. I refuse to own pants that don’t have them. This makes pants buying options extremely limited. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2020, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-a-pink-tax/921230/118 "2020-09-23T03:26:20Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > This makes me crazy! I know no women who don’t want pockets. I refuse to own pants that don’t have them. This makes pants buying options extremely limited. In support of this post, and of women’s desire for pants with pockets: [https://www.boredpanda.com/women-demand-pockets-memes](https://www.boredpanda.com/women-demand-pockets-memes) ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2020, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-a-pink-tax/921230/119 "2020-09-23T03:41:29Z")
> [@urbanredneck2](#): > > Some have said the “pink tax” goes down to toys and that toys for girls cost more than boys. > > Is this true? Yes, for many children’s toys [it is true](https://www.kshb.com/news/local-news/toys-for-girls-cost-more-than-almost-identical-toys-for-boys). > [@](#): > > Researchers compared almost a thousand different products with boy and girl versions. The products were virtually the same, except for their gender-specific packaging. > > The study found the items for girls cost an average of 7 percent more than the items geared towards boys. […] > > - Store #1 – A gender-neutral scooter cost $29.92, while an almost-identical pink one with tassels cost $32.82. […] > > - Store website #3 – A gender-neutral kitchen set cost $138.99, while an almost-identical one featuring pastel colors cost $172.61. [Here are some examples of other items with different prices based solely on the color/gender marketing of the packaging](https://www.huffpost.com/entry/pink-tax-examples_l_5d24da77e4b0583e482850f0), such as store-brand “foam earplugs” colored blue at $4.59 for 14 pairs, and the exact same earplugs colored pink and labeled “women’s earplugs” at $5.29 for 12 pairs. > [@](#): > > Ace Hardware was stocking “his” and “hers” personal care kits for hotel patrons. Of course, the kits featured traditional gendered coloring, and the pink “hers” version cost $2.40 more. They contained the exact same items. […] > > Here’s another blatant example of a literal pink tax. Both of these calculators are exactly the same ― the only difference is the color. Even the manufacturer’s suggested retail price is listed as $8.99 for both versions. Yet the black calculator is regularly priced at an affordable $6.99 while the pink version is “on sale” for $7.99. […] > > Not even children are spared the pink tax. These two Paw Patrol bike helmets, both designed for toddlers ages 3 to 5 and featuring nearly identical artwork, are priced quite differently [depending on gender](https://www.target.com/p/paw-patrol-toddler-girl-helmet-skye/-/A-50947159). It’s a Catch-22: girls and women are incessantly told that they’re supposed to have the “pinkified”, “feminine” versions of things whose “men’s” versions are just “standard”. And then the women get charged more for the “feminine” version. To be fair, the same phenomenon does exist in a reverse direction for products that are considered innately “women’s stuff”—such as household cleaning products, bath soap, etc.—which can then be modified into a more stereotypically “manly” version to sell at a premium. For example, [you can buy alcoholic drinks called Mangria and Brosé](https://www.carolladrinks.com) if you think it’s too “girly” to be seen with ordinary sangria or rosé wine. If keeping random small objects in a small box seems embarrassingly fussy and feminine, you can buy a [Man Tin](https://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Bright-Side-Man-Tin/dp/B004T8MVME) proclaiming that your small objects are “leads and screws” and other pointless (but manly!) stuff that you “must keep”. This box doesn’t contain any seashells or beach glass or sentimental souvenirs, guys, it holds SCREWS! Can’t get more manly than that. If you want to wash your skin but you think a bottle of [Dove brand moisturizing body wash at $8.94 for 34 fluid ounces](https://www.walmart.com/ip/Dove-Body-Wash-with-Pump-Deep-Moisture-34-oz/38260427?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=0&adid=22222222227900582138&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=463541631767&wl4=pla-776216950230&wl5=9004745&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=8175035&wl11=online&wl12=38260427&veh=sem) looks kinda effeminate, you can buy the far more rugged-looking steel-gray hi-tech-dot-fade-patterned flask of [Dove Men+Care Clean Comfort Body and Face Wash at a mere $7.34 for 23.5 fluid ounces](https://www.walmart.com/grocery/ip/Dove-Men-Care-Body-Wash-with-Pump-Extra-Fresh-23-5-oz/38260426?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=0&wl13=2146&&adid=22222222227026249552&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=42976796912&wl4=pla-81469254992&wl5=9004745&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=120643079&wl11=local&wl12=38260426&veh=sem&gclid=CjwKCAjwwab7BRBAEiwAapqpTICXrEOGAFM0zJDFrPZ5CNgmX4kC5rsUK6aIfyLN_mjb6EYpGSRsGRoCCH4QAvD_BwE). So yeah, if overpricing “feminized” packaging of standard items to sell to women can be considered a “performative femininity tax”, then there does exist a corresponding “performative masculinity tax” in macho-fied packaging of standard items to sell to men. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2020, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-a-pink-tax/921230/120 "2020-09-23T03:41:42Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > (I do buy “men’s” deodorant, etc., because it’s cheaper.) Does “men’s” deodorant make you not-smell like a man, as opposed to making you not-smell like a woman? 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-a-pink-tax/921230.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-a-pink-tax/921230.md?page=7)