Nothing should be categorized by the consumer's gender. Colors, toys, skincare, clothing should never be produced just for a defined group of people. I have liked blue for the majority of my life. I would pick out the blue cup, toothbrush, or anything blue product, ignoring the voices around me saying how "blue is a boy color". The ignorance around imprinting outdated views on literal children is astonishing.
However, the problem does not stop at colors. It has created “the Pink Tax,” a misogynistic way of producing everyday products marketed towards women.
So, what is the Pink Tax? Wikipedia defines it as “the tendency for products marketed specifically toward women to be more expensive than those marketed towards men. This phenomenon is often attributed to gender-based price discrimination, whose name stems from the observation that many of the affected products are pink.”
This definition suggests that pink products cost more than their black or blue counterparts. Advertisements and social media have set societal standards that adhere to these gender stereotypical views, pushing women to purchase beauty products despite the outrageously high prices. Cultural norms foster the beliefs that women should use skincare and makeup products to reach a level of femininity, and fit into social expectations: how a "woman" should really be. The pressure to be looked upon as beautiful creates a loop where women are expected to maintain this unreachable goal of “feminine behavior.” As pink represents the ideology of femininity, most products marketed towards women are this color to reflect this typology.
Based on Pink Tax: What Does Price Discrimination Cost Women? published by Kiplinger, it has been calculated that the Pink Tax can cost up to 1300 USD a year, an infuriating number. From this outdated way of thinking, it has turned into something companies use against women for their benefit.
As the pandemic has made online shopping more popular, women are further subjected to the Pink Tax. A study conducted by Stafford Global to understand consumer behavior and the influence of our online presence on people has exposed that customers tend to buy products with recommendations customized to their preferences. With the advent of technology and online-shopping, a constant reminder of products that cater specifically to one's gender identity intensifies the need to purchase those products.
The pink tax must be boycotted against and further eliminated. It is a phenomenon that is built upon gender discrimination and economic exploitation, which is unfair and unjust. While heavy promoting and marketing of gender stereotypes continue, it is up to us, as the new generation of the 21st century, to increase the demand for genderless and unisex products. This marks an important step in jolting companies to become more conscious of their corporate and social responsibilities.