Pink tax punishes those with two X chromosomes

Olivia S. '19, Writer

Every girl knows the frustration of walking through the grocery store, sighing at expensive feminine products vital to personal hygiene. Deodorant, shaving cream, razors, shampoo, conditioner, body wash. All necessities—all expensive.

The “pink tax” has been terrorizing females’ wallets for decades. Items which can be made to fit either gender are significantly more expensive when catered to female needs. Add the color pink to a product or make it smell like flowers, and suddenly the price skyrockets.

According to the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs, personal care products marketed toward women are 13 percent more expensive than products marketed toward men. The same can be said for all general items, as the study found female merchandise cost more than male products 42 percent of the time.

This revelation of the “pink tax” is nothing new either. A 1994 study in California estimated women paid an additional $1,351 annually compared to men for the same services and goods.

“It makes me upset because men and women are equal; there’s no reason for [women’s] items to be more expensive,” Nicole S. ‘19 said.

This extra tax coupled with the persistent wage gap creates an enormous economical disadvantage for women. In 2015, http://www.iwpr.org concluded on average, women earn 80 cents to every dollar earned by men, amounting to a wage gap of 20 percent.

The statistics speak for themselves. In the grocery store, at the shopping mall and in the workplace women will come across obstacles which will seem small at the time. However, when added together, paying a few extra dollars at the register combined with getting paid 20 percent less every day creates a clear economic prejudice against women.

This injustice can be somewhat avoided, though. Feminist advocates are calling for a boycott on items that have been “pink taxed.” Their solution? Buy the men’s items when possible.

“You’re just as well off with dark blue as you would have been with pink, and it’s cheaper,” University of Houston Marketing Professor Betsy Gelb said.

Despite its loopholes, the “pink tax” will always present issues within American society. From birth to adulthood, girls will always face a price for possessing two X chromosomes. Besides the surface-level economic challenges the increased prices pose, an underlying sentiment of sexism and manipulation is clear and must be justified.