Goodbye Pink Tax, Hello True Happiness
By: Mel Timbers
It all started in the 7th grade when I saw that I was the only girl on the soccer team who had hairy legs. Granted, my hair was blonde and barely noticeable, but to a pre-teen, self-conscious girl, I obviously needed to follow the fashion trend in school. So, I went out with my mother and bought my first pair of crocs as well as a little pink razor. Yes, crocs were a fad in my middle school, but that’s beside the point. So, that night, after soccer practice, I hopped in the tub and after my mom gave me the 411 on shaving, started shaving my legs. That was the beginning of me being charged the “pink tax.”
What is the pink tax, you ask? It’s also known as the “woman tax” and has been a study since 1995 on how much more women pay in basic hygienic products.
If you’re reading this and rolling your eyes, I challenge you to take a quick trip down to your local store, stand in the personal care aisle, and look at the men versus women products. On the average shelf today, women are paying at least $2 more on their razors, facial washes, moisturizers, and deodorants. Sure, companies have been arguing that they put different ingredients in their feminine washes, moisturizers, and deodorants to accommodate the wanted soft skin in women, however, there has not been a valid argument yet on why women’s razors are more expensive than men’s. In fact, after several studies, it’s been revealed that a lot of the blades on men and women’s razors are the exact same: four to six blades, both doing the same job.