18 Unnecessarily Gendered Items That Annoy The Heck Outta Me

    Fun Fact: A pink loofah and a black loofah are both loofahs.

    Yesterday, I was searching for a weight set and came across two packages by the same brand, except one was pink, marketed toward women, and about $6 more than the standard black set. After commenting on this, my friend introduced me to the r/pointlesslygendered subreddit, where people share photos of products that have no business being gender specific.

    Header of subreddit r/pointlesslygendered with abstract gender symbol graphics

    Here are the wildest examples I found:

    1. This stomach pain relief medicine with the same makeup, but the green box is for guys.

    Double pack of pain relief medication boxes, one for abdominal cramps, the other for stronger pain

    2. This science kit, because apparently girls need to conduct different experiments than boys.

    "Science kit packaging titled 'GIRLS' FIRST SCIENCE KIT' with illustrations of lab equipment and a rainbow."

    3. These loofahs, 'cause men and women need different colors to clean their a**.

    a loofah display in a store

    4. These his and hers Porta Potties.

    Two portable restrooms from Hedges, one blue and one pink, side by side in an open field

    5. These toys meant to teach kids coding...but it'll cost girls $5 more for that kind of education.

    Two Critters Go Pets Coding Learning Resources kits with discount labels and delivery dates

    6. This ad for ~clean girls~, 'cause you know. Girls are the target audience for cleaning products, I guess.

    Advertisement for Fabuloso cleaner with the text 'Clean Girls' and various sponges

    7. These bath bombs for men, because having scented bath water and clean skin is feminine??

    Product display of ZenseMe men's bath bombs, 8 in a black box with various textures

    8. These tweezer sets. (I'm noticing a strong trend in color association at this point.)

    A collection of tweezer sets for various grooming needs displayed with their packaging

    9. These grapes for the girlies.

    Plate with sliced fruits and the text "Healthy girl foods +Benefits +Lemons!" with social media interface overlay

    10. These reusable bottles that are exactly the same, except the pink one comes with a literal pink tax.

    Product image of a pink straw sippy cup with lid against a white background

    11. This dog shampoo, because girl and boy dogs apparently need different levels of cleanliness.

    Two bottles of dog shampoo, one for girls and one for boys, with cartoon dog illustrations

    12. These nail clippers that may look exactly like normal nail clippers, but upon further inspection...there's still no difference. But they're just for men.

    Two Equate Men's grooming products on a shelf: barber scissors and nail clippers set

    13. These men vs. women's multivitamins. I'm not a doctor, but I'm pretty sure a vitamin is a vitamin.

    Two bottles of Centrum multivitamins, one for women and one for men, being held

    14. This lip balm for men, 'cause only men get cracks in their lips.

    Hand holding a camouflage package of 'Sef Stick Lip Care for Men' with a lip balm tube visible

    15. These party crowns for "kings" and "queens" that look the same. Might I suggest a simple "Monarch" crown?

    Packaging for "Party Queen" and "Party King" crowns with smiling person on each. Text on package in various languages

    16. These fitness gloves, which are usually sold by design, style, purpose...and now gender?

    Four pairs of fitness gloves with different designs and pricing, displayed for sale

    17. This bacon bouquet for men. I'm kind of tired of meat-based gifts in "gifts for him" lists. It feels very caveman.

    Promoted ad showing a bouquet of bacon strips arranged on a wooden board with a black glove

    18. This heavy duty skin repair lotion where the guy tackles ashy hands with an iron fist.

    Two tubes of DU'IT Tough Hands cream on a shelf, one for intensive skin repair, the other for irritated hands

    19. And finally, this pink tool kit for the ladies, because we apparently won't be comfortable around a hammer without a little color.

    Pink Kinzo Ladies 39-piece household tool kit packaging with image of tools and icons indicating contents