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Being a woman is expensive, even more so than being a man. They invest a chunk of their money in makeup, skin care, reproductive healthcare, and maternity costs, to name a few.
To add insult to injury, the pink tax makes these expenses even pricier than most women would prefer. If you don’t know, it is the hidden extra cost companies charge for their products, which, in some ways, further highlights the gender gap and inequality.
Here are some examples of the pink tax at play, as shared by the women who feel its burden in their daily lives.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
Our clothes often being flimsy, paper thin, and needlessly cropped compared to men's, but yet also costing more.
Nathaniel He/Him Cis-Het 4 hours ago
Can I interest you in a pair of trousers that have functional pockets?
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#3
Menstrual products. Why am I spending almost $30 on some pads?? It’s not my fault I bleed every month. Then you have cancer causing chemicals and heavy metals in them.. like dude.
LakotaWolf (she/her) 1 hour ago
I switched to period panties a few years ago. It's WAY more maintenance and kinda grosser (you have to rinse out the panties if you aren't going to be immediately laundering them, vs just tossing a pad or tampon into the trash) but it's so much cheaper in the long run than buying boxes of pads or tampons. The panties are pricy, but you can use them over and over again. And I cannot even convey the peace of mind that they give overnight! No matter HOW I placed multiple pads, I always seemed to leak overnight - I had to sleep on towels. With the period panties, that's no longer a risk.
#4
The bikini top and bottom being priced as two separate swimsuits when it's like ten inches of fabric.
#5
A few years back, I went to PetsMart to get a birthday treat for my dog. They had these "cakes" that had little slices already cut into them. They weren't the "bakery fresh" type, but like a boxed treat. They had one (in a blue box) for a good boy or one (in a pink box) for a perfect princess. Everything else was exactly the same-- size, ingredients, color of the actual cakes, etc. The one for girls was a dollar more. Like what the actual hell? Dogs can't even see pink!!
Lukas (alt) 4 hours ago
What made me sad was that my local pet store had birthday cake treats for dogs, but not for cats.
#6
I bought a coat once when I was relatively poor and so I looked at the men’s. Same coat, men’s colours ( ie black/navy/red instead of “girly” colours), more fabric because it was longer, it was $20 less for the men’s coat.
#7
Auto repair. I swear I've paid thousands extra over unneeded "repairs". The number of times mechanics have told me my "clutch is going out" or "brakes need work" is pretty appalling. Especially when I've brought it in for something else that I know is wrong.
#8
Birthday cake. Same cake, same filling, but pink frosting cost more than the blue cake for whatever reason I simply cannot understand. I asked why the pink one was almost 20% more expensive. The cashier didn't know, couldn't answer me.
Jokes on them. Bought the blue one and made Elsa themed birthday party for my daughter.
#9
Pants with functional pockets. If you find them they cost way more than men’s pants which ALL have pockets you can stick keys and a phone in.
#10
Shoes, like anything plain and flat. Sandals, tennis shoes, and boots. I can find one I like in women's, then walk over to the men's and find the exact same shoe, just with different sizing and $10 less. So I have a lot of men's shoes and nobody knows.
#13
I'm a butch lady who usually cuts her own hair. But my therapist told me it would be good for me to let somebody else do it, so I went to a barber who worked at a cheapo local unisex hair salon. Men's haircuts $21. Women's haircuts $27. I went in there, pointed to a series of men's haircuts from her Instagram, about 2" long on top, fade on the sides. She did that. Charged me $27. I woulda tipped her more than that, it was a great haircut, but I'm back to doing it myself on principle.
#15
I saw a video where a woman was showing the price of children socks at like Walmart or Target. On the boys side, bluey socks were $3.
On the girls side, bluey socks cost $9. The cheapest pair overall was still like $6.
The tax starts when we’re just babies.
#16
Earplugs. The regular type are cheap but the "women's" are more expensive. I also heard a radio ad for Old Navy with a back to school sale. Kid's and men's shirts are $6 each, women's were $8 each. Like literally WTH.
#17
Minoxidil for women.
It's rogain. They sell it topical as a foam or liquid to put on your scalp. You can buy it at wal mart. Women (up until very recently) were only recommended 2.5% solution because it could affect hormones, so Rogain for women is It's own product. For men, the solution was 5% and is It's own product.
Guess which version was more expensive? It literally has less of the ingredient and it costs more.
#18
The expectation to wear makeup in professional and formal settings. More broadly, the narrative that to be presentable is to look young and beautiful. We already make less on average, and yet we are expected to spend far more of our disposable income on essentially useless cosmetic products and services just to avoid social stigma.
On top of the money, though, it also takes up our free time. One survey found that, as a very rough estimate, women spend two whole weeks a year on our appearance. It's not like I'm against makeup or looking good or anything, but I feel like beauty culture as a whole, whether intentionally or not, ends up serving as a socially-enforced drain on women's money, time, mental health, and energy.
LakotaWolf (she/her) 1 hour ago
I loathe wearing makeup. My mother was born in 1944 and she is of the generation/mentality that believes a woman shall not go out in public without a full face of makeup, perfectly coiffed hair, and well-dressed. She will spend an hour putting on makeup just to go to the grocery store for 15 minutes. I have confused and infuriated her all my life with my refusal to wear makeup on a daily basis. I'm prone to acne (still! I'm 44!) and wearing makeup makes me break out, plus I hate how itchy it makes me and I hate the work I have to do to clean it off/remove it. No thank you. I don't need to calculate my value by the amount of makeup I slather onto my face. I am worthy and I am a real woman even if I don't wear makeup to go to the grocery store.
#19
Men can get a vasectomy no problem, insurance says yes.
A female goes day in and day out with severe bleeding, and insurance says no.
LakotaWolf (she/her) 1 hour ago
I've been fighting to get a hysterectomy for most of my adult life. I've wanted one since I was a kid - I knew I never wanted children, and I've had painful, excruciatingly-long periods ever since I started menstruating at 11. The last time I saw my OBGYN a few years ago, she STILL refused to even do a tubal ligation because "I might want children someday". Bítch, I'm past 40, no, I do NOT want children "someday"! So... I had to settle for an IUD, which has done nothing for my painful, long periods :(
#20
Razor blades. Pink ones are more expensive. I’ve been using a men’s razor since high school because I figured it out. I told my neighbor (who is married and has 2 sons) and she nearly fell over. She has since seen the light.
#21
Menopause treatment. More women are going onto HRT but big pharma won’t increase production of estrogen patches. So women have interruptions in their care.
#22
Having to go to the doctor more often for issues because "it's just anxiety and lose some weight".
LakotaWolf (she/her) 1 hour ago
I've told this story before, but it's just so ridiculous. I have had lifelong intermittent hip pain, literally off and on since earliest childhood. Ignored it for my whole life until a couple of years ago, when it was suddenly so bad one day I couldn't even walk, and the pain didn't go away like usual. Went to an orthopedist. When he handed me my paperwork, under "Diagnosis" he had literally only written "BMI of 26." His diagnosis was "you're fat." Yes, I am, but this is an issue I've had all my life, before I got fat! XD Saw a second orthopedist, and it turns out I have (congenital) messed up hip joints that don't fit together properly. Could need a hip replacement in my 50s if I'm not careful. So no, I wasn't "just" fat XD
#23
Something that accidentally came up when my husband bought women's multivitamin gummies instead of his usual men's at Costco - the amounts of vitamins were less in the gummies and it was slightly more expensive. I think he said there were fewer gummies as well, but I'm not sure now if he meant it by amounts or actual gummies.
#24
The price difference for basic stuff like shampoo is infuriating, same product but women pay more.
#25
Dress trousers. No pockets. [Terrible] workmanship. Same price as men’s pants that have all the seams nicely finished.
#26
Women are often misdiagnosed for mental disorders like ADHD because the tests are built around male brains.
#27
On toddler PJs this weekend. There was a rack with two version of Halloween PJs, the girl directed one was $17, the boys was $12. Same material just different prints and color. My daughter got the boy ones.
#28
I buy winter coats almost exclusively from the men section, they are better built, have large pockets and no weird sewing to imply "hourglass sillhouette".
#29
Not exactly the answer you’re looking for, but the fact that, out of nearly 200 countries in the world, only 8 implement menstrual leave policies at the national level is unbelievable.
Women may face bigger issues, but this is also a very real one for those of us who go through excruciating pain every single month due to biological reasons. The only solution most of us have is to use up our sick leave allowance.
#30
I mobile order chipotle under my husband's name because they fill it more than they had been when I ordered under my own name.
#31
As a primary teacher—the mental exhaustion that comes from the pressure of a cute classroom. I just watched a video from a male hs teacher who joked that he didn’t need to put anything decorative up. Yet—if my room looked like his (me being a Kindergarten teacher), parents would be unimpressed. Decorative items comes out of my pocket. I know I don’t have to make it Pinterest ready and I won’t do that because it definitely goes against research, but it needs to look presentable and organized.
#32
When damages are calculated in a civil case, women’s loss of income damages are automatically discounted because it is assumed that a woman will, at least once in her life, leave the workforce to have a child.
#33
Hair dresser who is my friend i got charged 80 dollars for my cut and style. Wavy hair halfway down back. Ex who had [long] medusa curls...30.
#34
Symptoms of a heart attack are different in women and many medical providers brush off women experiencing symptoms as anxiety a long with everything else that women experience. We get gaslit by Drs more often than men.
#35
Not money related but worth mentioning.
Men raising their voice during an argument at work; they're "expressing themselves".
Women raising their voice during an argument at work; they're getting "emotional".
#36
Blue collar workwear. Either you need to buy from a company that exclusively makes women's workwear and costs a lot more. Or you pay the same as the men's version but the quality is inferior (carhartt pocket shirts and winter chore coats are a prime example). At 5'0 and 95lbs I cant just "buy the men's clothes" the loose fabric is a major safety hazard in a factory or on a jobsite.
#38
Last week Target had women’s razors 25% off but men’s were 30% , I made a comment about it out loud and some old MAGAt went on a diatribe about how this is a woman’s world and men deserved the extra 5% ?!?! Lmao, “ok buddy”.
#39
I read Invisible women, you can say buying women’s product is dumb example but seriously the dumbest thing is when you have family of man and woman with kids, women pay higher tax to government through her salary based on statistics and men get tax refund much higher. Women work less paid jobs but in terms of taxation they get taxed higher than men in the same household. That is the dumbest thing ever if you ask me.
#41
Deodorant! They separate the women’s and men’s and I read through all of them and the men’s have a higher percentage of aluminum for cheaper.
LakotaWolf (she/her) 1 hour ago
I've been using men's deodorant for years. I unfortunately have a hell of a nasty pit-stink even soon after a shower, and I've stunk my way through every women's deodorant I've ever used. So... Axe it is XD The dark-chocolate-scented one is quite nice!
#42
I bought men’s shirts and had them altered. Then I could get them laundered for the male price of 99 cents instead of $5.99 for women’s.
#43
Surgery.
OBGYNs get paid less
Insurance will pay gyns less to perform Women's surgeries....and will pay less out to cover them so you pay more out of pocket.
Because of this women's surgeries get the worst surgery time and day. Fridays in afternoon. Inductions on on Fridays or Saturdays nights and get charged for the whole day.
Pregnant women, if you are going in to deliver, go right after midnight! Schedule for 1am! you don't get charged for the whole day before.
#44
Dry cleaning. Some dry cleaners charge men a few dollars a shirt, but if a woman brings in a cotton button down shirt she will pay many times more.
#45
I was at Walmart trying to buy white socks and they came in packs of like 4. And then I walked through the men’s section and they had a massive bag of like 24 socks for the same price. And they had bags of underwear like that. I was so mad they didn’t have a small enough size.
#46
Went to walmart to buy jeans. Levi 501s were stocked in the mens and womens section. There was no discernible difference between the two pairs. I tried both on. even the pockets were the same size. The jeans in the mens section were $5 cheaper.
#47
Clothing quality - material and sizing. Husband and I both ordered the same version and color of Carhartt overalls this year, other than one being the women's version and one being the men's. They show up and are entirely differently made. His are a fantastic thick fabric that holds shape and is durable. Mine were so flimsy they they got creases from me sitting down. Ridiculous.
Clothing pricing - the amount of women's clothing that costs more for larger sizes is ridiculous. I don't see this in men's clothing.
Cost of services. His haircut - 30 bucks. My haircut - 200. Even if I just get a trim, it still costs more.
Charges for necessary products: menstrual products, deodorants.
#48
A company tried to make me pay money to update my legal name on documents. I think I'd rather just get a lawyer for that.
#49
Pink everything costing like 5$ more than it actually should. Also for some reason women deodorants do NOT work for me like at all.
#50
Women's workwear is substandard compared to men's even with the same brands. Mens are proper fitting, better materials and more often more material. I made a complaint to HR and they said they were the same, I brought up 2 examples to prove they were not the same. The mens outdoor coats had hoods and the womens didn't. Apparently they didn't think women would work outside as much as the men so they could go cheaper. I rebought all the women the mens clothes in the women's sizes....cost them double then...was nice having pockets in my trousers!
#51
Having a separate doctor for reproductive health while men are able to do most if not all of their yearly check-ups at their primary.
#52
It's the smallest dumbest thing here but one day I was at the supermarket, looking for an exfoliating glove to use in the shower and the only one they had came in grey and was labelled "Men's Exfoliating Shower Glove" like women don't have skin to exfoliate. And it's not even that rough, like it's not a darn steel scrubber for the dishes, why would my skin be "too delicate" for this shower glove?
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