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What do you look for when you’re choosing a product? Let’s say the product is something essential but banal, for example, a toothbrush. Do you want it to work how it’s supposed to and be comfortable to use? Obviously. Do you want it to be a color you like? Sure. Admittedly not relevant to how it works, but you do see it several times a day, after all. Do you want it to make you feel like a real man or a woman?

Probably not what most of us think of while we’re brushing our teeth every morning, but apparently, advertisers say yes. Here are some products that we don’t think anyone asked for gendered versions of, as found by people on Twitter.

#1

Unnecessarily-Gendered-Products-Thread

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kaisu-reinikainen avatar
Kaisu
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

If you want to make pink binoculars for people who like pink, that's fine! But gendering binoculars is so unnecessary and stupid

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#2

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Sonja
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

well, the women's one is usually narrower, but has more space in the...breast area. at least the mine one has.

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Nobody is saying that selling things in a variety of designs is bad—people have different likes and dislikes and we would be bored if everything only came in brown. But is it any wonder why so many girls end up resenting pink and floral patterns when that’s the one look that advertisements and toy packaging tell them they should be choosing, while boys are encouraged to play with toys in red, green, black, and pretty much every other color?

For adults, who have had their whole lives to get to know their own preferences, it seems shallow and infantilizing. And when design comes at the expense of functionality, like pink glue or more fragile razors, it goes from uncomfortable to insulting.

#4

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Miłka Chromińska
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Finally a product for me, I've had enough of using men's shampoo, apricots have delicate hair you know. We need specially formulated shampoos :D

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Marky Mark
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is aimed at men's insecurities. They may be the same product for all we know, but some guys feel insecure using "apricot" scented product. they want to believe their shampoo is made from manly things like motor oil and beer.

noahkerr avatar
A Water Bottle
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Ah yes. We apricots use this brand all the time. But my friend needs some attack helicopter shampoo, he’s having difficulty finding some so if you guys know where to get some please let me know.

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Carlota Ocón
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Well I don't know about you, but I am glad that we apricots get a special shampoo to keep the fuzz on our skin hydrated.

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kurisutofu
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Hey, why is this in the list? It's very useful to all the apricots I know!

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Baron Simone Von Bianco
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I think the shampoo for men actually has the "for men scent". Original handyman sweat I guess.

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Justyna Gaczorek
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Well, what my hairdresser told me is that actually men's scalp is different to women's so it makes sense to have shampoos that are either for men or for women...

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block of ice on fire
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

the spacing on it reads a p r i c o t its this shampoo for Lovecraft apricots?

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Sandy Too
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I think this is necessary, mens hair can be slightly different to womens and therefore has different needs.

onelungas avatar
Kostas
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

let's just ignore that men and women have different type of hair.

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Morgueuz
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Apricot is a way of naming women's private parts in French. I guess you can see a resemblance. So I find this shampoo very disturbing and accurate...

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Just saying
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4 years ago

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Sometimes men just need a hint that they need to wash their hair

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#5

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Sonja
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

well, sometimes it is better to sort is this way. it is because of herbs inside. better than call it "tea-against-menstruation-pain", or "tea-for-those-who-has-prostate-gland-troubles". this is a better version, i think

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#6

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Falcon
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I wonder if it's a play on words. Hand and Man. Still makes little sense tho unless it actually explodes...

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Then there’s the opposite phenomenon, when marketers think things should be designated “for men” because apparently it’s not manly in the first place to use soap, eat bread, or have a cup of tea (chili in tea... I didn't know there was something effeminate about drinking things that taste good and don’t hurt.)

#7

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Ed Souza
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I can only imagine the outrage if they made this for women... still funny, I would buy this one as a gag gift.

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To be fair, some products are gendered because of average shape and size measurements or nutritional requirements based on sex. Even in those cases, though, what do we get out of labeling them “for men” or “for women” before said sizing or nutritional benefits? That just confuses and embarrasses people whose needs fall outside of those averages, because our proportions and chemistry vary a lot even within the biological categories of male and female. Further polarizing products by putting nuts and bolts or flowers and glitter on the package adds another uncomfortable layer by conflating our personalities and likes with those physical parameters.

#10

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james_fox1984 avatar
I’m Foxxy and I know it 😉
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4 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This one doesn’t specifically say any gender. There is nothing wrong with having a choice of pink plane or blue plane. Some people (whether girl or boy like pink and others like blue).

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#12

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Ana B.
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Just an unrelated reminder that when they say "flushable", that doesn't mean you should flush them. You CAN, but it's not considered a good idea.

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The American Marketing Association has observed that younger consumers are beginning to scoff at advertising that leans on gender, and recommends that brands focus on advertising “what a product is for rather than whom it is for.”

They say that brands could learn more about their consumer base’s habits and do better business by removing gendered marketing that could sway consumers away from products not traditionally associated with their gender, and embracing marketing that presents their products in a positive light for any consumer.

#13

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sunshine_20
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4 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Honestly, this isn't gendered, this is just two different types of products, with different characters/design.

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#15

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Terd Fergison
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4 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The bible is one of the most misogynistic books on the planet. It states that a women who has a female child is twice as unclean as a woman that has a male child. It says that if a woman is raped and they are found, the rapist must pay the father some shekels and they must be married. I don't know many women that want to marry their rapist. Just a sickening, disgusting anti-woman book. Evil garbage filth.

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#16

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Johane Moller
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This isn't really gendered it's colored. Only if you assign blue to boys and pink to girls can you say it's really gendered. As it doesn't say 'for boys' or 'for girls' on the packaging. I would've probably liked this as a child.

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#18

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Kaisu
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Now this kind of gendering of products is problematic. Just making a blue and pink product isn't gendering, but this is just really icky and not the way boys and girls should be taught to think about themselves.

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#24

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Avital Pilpel
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Well, let's just say it's probably because "I went through a whole box of tissues during that movie" means something COMPLETELY DIFFERENT for men and women.

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#25

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I’m Foxxy and I know it 😉
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Cards against humanity brought out the “for her” set as a jab at the “pink tax”. Maybe have a read up on it.

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#26

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Kaisu
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Again, I don't really think this is gendered...? Some kids like to play with the rockets and planes while others like to play with the astronauts. I think it's really cool that there's a female astronaut doll and nowhere does it say that it's for girls or that the other one is for boys

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#30

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Dirk Daring
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Every person who has never found their name printed on a souvenir is really ticked at Eetu right now.

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Note: this post originally had 46 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.