It is really funny. An arbitrary woman heads out the door for the day, sambas tied on her feet, matcha latte in hand, a podcast running in her headphones. She is having a good day, feeling like she’s owning it – little does she know that a familiar mise en scène of companies and institutions, simultaneously playing their part in enforcing gender stereotypes, is what will greet her at the door. 

I am certain that everyone has come across the metaphor where society is depicted as a factory, norms as the cute little cookie molds, and all citizens as carbon copy cookies, a product of machinery’s cheap labor and the relieved mental burden of streamlining. Maybe it is a slightly overworked metaphor, but then again, it probably would not be if it was not very applicable. Of course, the factory that is society 2024 does not have only one mold intended to fit all 8.1 billion people in the world. No, that would be silly. This factory has two molds. One mold is pink, and one is blue.

I won’t indulge in an extensive exposition of female stereotypes and ideals, but here follows the rapid-fire version. Women are conditioned from birth; the pink and purple, the flowers and bows, the linking of inherent worth with appearance, all pushed upon them from early infancy. It’s the woman from the TV commercial, garb form-fitting, and hair in picturesque curls, smiling contently at her new jasmine-scented fabric softener. It’s the stranger smiling at your stroller and politely asking what you’ll name him, the no more than a few months old chunky baby, who happens to wear a blue hat. It’s the 2018 report from the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, declaring how the 80 cents to a dollar that is usually mentioned when discussing gender-based pay gaps, actually should be corrected to 49 cents to a dollar. It’s the fact that you can enter a clothing store of choice and find different sections for your child based on gender, and even more so that they are distinguished by a gradient change from baby pink sequins, bows, and dainty chiffon to durable Gore-Tex and dark shades of blue and brown with velcro tape. Being a woman comes with a sign-up bonus of high expectations on looks and lighter paychecks. This is hopefully old news to a vast majority of us, but in case it wasn’t, everyone is now brought up to speed. 

Okay, quick rewind, what exactly is the pink tax and what does it have to do with anything?

Pink tax is not, as the name connotes, a literal tax that can be found in a financial record somewhere, but rather a name for a pricing mechanism. On average, hygiene products targeted at women are priced marginally higher than the equivalent of corresponding quality that is not marketed towards women. Basically, a pink razor tends to be more expensive than a blue one and you are likely to be charged more for a deodorant that smells like a summer’s meadow as opposed to one that smells like a lumberjack’s cabin. The gender-based price disparities put an economic burden on women. The gender pay gap is not closed, meaning women on average earn less than men do. You see the issue here?

We’re talking about a systemic issue, and for the sake of avoiding misconceptions, let’s sort out what that means. There is no one spiteful CEO who set a business model to repeatedly hurt women. The pink tax is instead a result of capitalist and sexist structures conjoined into a neat package that allows women to invest in their own femininity. It’s simple really; businesses make money when they sell their products, and even more so if they manage to up their prices without lessening demand. By conditioning people into a believed need to buy products with a certain image in order to play their part in society correctly, that is made possible.

Let’s imagine for a second that it’s your first day of school. You have a brand new backpack on your shoulder, sat on pins and needles on your chair, scanning the classroom for potential friends. A teacher stands at the front of the room, checking attendance and explaining the rules that apply in her class. You are supposed to use red pens on tests, you are not allowed to throw snowballs in the courtyard during recess when winter approaches and you have to put your chair up on the desk at the end of the day. The semester passes and you stick to the rules. On the last day of school you are content, certain you have been a model student, only to be handed an invoice  For each time you have followed a rule; used a red pen or been sat with a coloring book during recess, you have been fined. Now that doesn’t seem too fair, does it? That is the pink tax for you.

And I find this funny how? 

You have to acknowledge the cruel irony of the situation. What should and should not be defined as feminine is forced upon women from the day they are born. There is an inescapable need for all people to buy and utilize hygiene products. Women are purchasing the products they need to, and by every means are expected to, and doing so at an unjustly inflated price. The pink tax is the bad punchline we have been hearing for years, only women are paying for the privilege of laughing along – Isn’t it funny?