Actually, I’ve gone back and forth over the years, using electric for awhile then blade for awhile, and occasionally throw in a depilatory cream. It’s probably more common than you think.
Women actually use more options that men do for hair removal: shaving both blade and electric, hair creams, and waxing and its variations. They do make a facial depilatory cream for men, but it’s usually in the “ethnic” a.k.a. “black” hair care aisle. Same problem again: quite a few people who aren’t African descent won’t go near it but the truth is that it works just as well on other skin shades. You also get the flip - folks who will only shop in that aisle even if the same damn thing is available cheaper one aisle over.
My conclusion, after several years in retail, is that marketing and advertising work.
Especially t-shirts, and the cut of the t-shirt is also different [women’s are tapered ‘girl cut’ which I detest, I have never liked tight clothing. I buy men’s t-shirts to get the sturdier fabric and roomier torso cut. Sometimes they are also cut longer and ride up less.]
I also tend to wear men’s jeans - I am not so bound up in changing fashions every damned year or season. Give me classic, well made garments and I am happy. I don’t care if this year cranberry is the popular color, and next year scarlet is the hot red color, I would have no trouble if we could buy clothing and order the color off the panetone book …
I’ve bought men’s deodorant for years for exactly this reason, but I suspect that many women aren’t even aware that the men’s version is cheaper. There’s no obvious reason why this should be the case, men’s and women’s deodorant are often in different areas so comparison shopping takes some extra effort, and IIRC when I originally did the comparison (which happened only because I’d heard somewhere that men’s deodorant cost less) I found that the price per stick for my preferred brand was the same – only the men’s version was slightly larger, and thus a better value.
I suspect that that’s true of dress pants as well, or at least that they’re comparable.
It’s complicated to calculate. Women’s suits have generally seemed cheaper to me than men’s, but women’s fashion changes faster. Women’s shoes can top out much higher than men’s, but I think the average range for dress shoes is cheaper for women. On the other hand, men can often get by with fewer pairs.
This is probably a joke, but in case it isn’t then I am not a large woman and I’ve never had trouble using “man-sized” deodorant. Some brands of women’s deodorant do come in a “daintier” slim stick, but I think others are the same width as men’s deodorant but slightly shorter. I do not believe it is for my benefit or the benefit of the average female shopper that deodorant marketed towards us should cost more per ounce than the men’s version.
Mens good quality razor products are ridiculously over priced. So much so that finally someone figured it out, and there’s cheaper alternatives out there (for men and women) that’s just as good as what I use to buy in the store.
I take the aim of that campaign to be to make more people aware of the issues involved so they can make more informed buying decisions. And of course that is intended to have an effect on demand, which will in turn affect supply. But the idea doesn’t seem to be to “blame” manufacturers and expect them to unilaterally change prices just because it would be fairer to do so.
I respectfully disagree. This thread explores the intriguing and important point of whether the discrepancy should be chalked up to something blameworthy. Sure, as a side note, women could buy masculine marketed products, and perhaps some who hadn’t thought about it before will start. But I think it’s interesting that there could be various blameworthy things going on, and it might do some of us good to notice as much. And, in fairness, this IS the point of the OP itself, to wit: “Question is whether and why this is so (and what if anything should be done about it).”
Little inequities just magically seem to pop up all over the place. It’s almost as if it were designed to be a man’s world…
Women’s products cost more because women are willing to pay more than men. If they did not, prices for women’s products would drop to the level paid by men. Why are women willing to pay more? ask a sociologist.
In childrens and toddlers clothing their are these stores like Childrens Orchard that sell used and their is WAY more selection for little girls than boys. Why? Boys tear up and wear out their clothes faster so little is available for resale.
In adults swimsuits always amaze me. With women its seems like they are always moving to a smaller and smaller suit while boys wear these big jams. Yes womens cost more.
And with underwear, women pay $16 for a 6 pack of thongs at WalMart while for men its $9 for a 7 pack.
It’s not data, but my feeling is that it is common for women to return clothing after purchase because once they get it home they no longer feel about it they way they once did. Maybe they found something they like better, maybe they bought a provisional ouitfit to wear if the weather turned out different, maybe they find a flaw that wasn’t apparent in the store, who knows why?
I know my wife has returned many items of clothing over the four decades we’ve been married, while I have never done the same. If I bought it, I keep it. The cost of all of those returns has to be amortized over the cost of the purchases. Somebody’s gotta pay for it.
This is a case where any “unfair” disparity (vendors charging more to women because they want to, not because of any inherent supply cost disparities) would result in a business opportunity for someone to sweep in and sell their own stuff at a more fair price. Do we see this? If you think that women’s clothes are too expensive, why not start your own clothing label and sell it at “mens” prices? The whole idea behind this is that a free market is self-correcting.
Women I’m friends with on Facebook often post about how bad their clothes are. Either they don’t have pockets or the pants are too long. And I always point out 1) why do they buy clothes without pockets if they want pockets? Buy the clothes you want, don’t buy something just because it’s on sale or whatever. And 2) you can get your pants hemmed. Clothes are not made to fit anyone. That’s what tailors are for. Clothes are made to look good on mannequins or folded on a table in the store. Unless you are a mannequin, visit a tailor if you want your clothes to fit right.
I think the problem is women shop more for social reasons, and buy clothes they don’t intend to wear as often or for as long. For example, a man wearing the same suit everyday isn’t that shocking. Or a man owning two or three suits and alternating them for years. But a woman wouldn’t be caught dead wearing the same dress two days in a row, or even twice in the same month to social outings. And a whole lot of women won’t wear last year’s fashions.
So women (on average, in general, etc. If the shoe doesn’t fit, don’t get offended – I’m talking in generalities here) buy more clothes, more often, wear them less, and are concerned far more with whether the clothes are stylish or flattering or in season and less about practical issues like whether they have pockets or will protect you from inclement weather without dragging through the mud. All these things cause the quantity demanded to go up (increasing the price) and the quality and practicality to go down, because those aren’t features women focus on so much when buying clothes.
For the women who care about quality and practicality, I’m sorry. It’s other women who are ruining clothes for you, not sexist fashion designers. There’s always the men’s section at least. It won’t be the most fashionable wardrobe, but it will have pockets and probably last for a decade. But don’t forget to visit a tailor when you’re done shopping.
My wife’s wardrobe is full of items that require hand washing or dry cleaning or some other special laundering technique. Bleh. My suit needs to dry cleaned, but everything else I have can be tossed into the washing machine. If I wanted to buy a shirt, but saw that it needs to be dry cleaned, that shirt isn’t going to leave the store.