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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
Community Member
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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#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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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.
Community Member
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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Nora H.
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Why then is it not green and yellow? Traditional marketing (and everything else) goes: pink targets girls, blue targets boys. Everyone knows that, even unconsciously.

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james_fox1984 avatar
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

Seems like some people will find anything to complain about or find that is gender biased etc.

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

They purposely 'forgot' to show that you have these in red, green, yellow and purple too...

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

Oh, I'm not sure this is actually gendered. Here in Belgium I've seen not only pink, but yellow and red Pritt sticks as well. My kids and their friends like them to add a touch of colour to their designs instead of just glueing.

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Becca Gizmo the Squirrel
Community Member
4 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I've seen pink tools and took kits. It's just them trying to make a sale. Like a woman can't use tools lying around the house because they aren't pink. The kids clothing companies started this just to double up on sales a long time ago

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

this post is kind of labeling pink and blue as "girl" and "boy" colors itself because the packaging doesn't say any genders...

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

This is more about visibility of the glue on the medium to which you are applying it. There are other colors as well. I use violet glue sticks myself.

erin_16 avatar
Erin
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

These come in a variety of colors. I have the pink, purple and yellow in my desk drawer. My blue got used up.

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Vladimír Neumann
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This example is about those people obsessed with genderism searching it literally everywhere. Nothing wrong to sell a product in different colors, your problem you must always connect the color to gender. Customer has free will.

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

I'm going to say this about a lot of these: That doesn't count.

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

Pink and blue have been gendered colors for as long as I remember. When I was little I wanted a blue bike, but they didn't make girl's bikes in blue.

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

If I bought either and they weren't the color listed I would be upset.

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

Is the glue blue and pink inside the tube? Or is it just the packaging that's colored

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

Maybe this is just colored? I Dont see any gender mentioned on either pack.

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

How sensible and stupid. For me, just two colors. For you, the end of the world. I think you have some kind of trauma. Must be.

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

If it's not gendered why not put one of each in the package? Are there other colors?

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

I think the ones with a bias are the people uploading the picture who seem to think pink=for girls.

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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-reinikainen avatar
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.