January 6, 2017

Liv Bulu

Great news ladies, companies (non- American, of course) are now properly realizing the patriarchy that lies within the pricing of different hygiene products from men to women. Which is absolutely undeniable; at least in America, women pay more and earn less. Women’s razors have been priced matched to a man’s razors, and study’s find a significant price change between the two: companies are getting away with pricing pink disposable razors at a much higher price than the blue ones. In Europe, “Blue razors were priced at £0.10, while pink ones were being offered for £0.20” (CNN). Recently, Tesco, a British multinational grocery and general merchandise company, lowered the prices of women’s razors so they pay the same price as a man; you could say we are really progressing in our society. Tesco now charges 10 pence (about $0.12) for both men’s and women’s disposable razors. They changed this because of a push from British Labor Party politician Paula Sheriff (The Guardian). The pink tax is being ridiculed by women from New York to London, and not just over razors. Women’s feminine hygiene products (pads, tampons, etc) are labeled as a “luxury”, as if they can live without those things.

I truly believe we can change the money issue women experience in all countries if we try. If anything, it’s most logical: in certain cases, women’s clothes are far more expensive than men’s and they’re typically made with less material because body shapes are different based on gender. There are some financial agenda’s being made when raising the price of women’s products; majority (not all) of women like to go out and shop for beauty or bath products just because, which influences manufacturers to raise the prices of women’s products because they’re always out shopping for them. However, in the grand scheme of it, a woman’s razor is not any more a luxury than it is for a man. The financial agenda does not excuse the luxury label on necessary feminine hygiene products such as pads or tampons, because every woman needs them: they are not optional.

The pink tax fully sprouts from rooted patriarchy of our society’s present and our society’s past. In order for the revoking of the Pink Tax to occur, there needs to be understanding of women who are upset about this. Instead of our society calling feminists overbearing and “triggered”, there needs to be consideration to what feminists are actually preaching. Our society needs to work on not getting mad at one another for having a certain opinion, but rather educating each other. Everyone needs to break the confirmation bubble we live by by expanding and educating ourselves with the number of possibilities our world provides. We all create our society; we can make it angry, pessimistic, and cruel. Or, we could share knowledge, optimism, peace and insight. Once we stop getting angry with each other and start educating one another is when we can progress. Our society is advancing at such a rapid rate, and traditional ideas are no longer held at a pedestal.