We've been mindlessly buying gendered products ever since we were young.
Sarah: I'm not a pink, girly person per se, but I almost always buy products made for women. I guess I thought there had to be something unique about the product. There's a reason it's for girls and not rough, smelly boys. Right?
Kiebus: A lot of products like lotions and creams haven't been marketed toward men until the past few years. So maybe I just like feeling noticed. I also assume I prefer the scent of some of the male products — more of a lumberjack scent as opposed to lavender and roses.
True girly products smell more like roses, but that doesn't mean the gendered differences aren't complete bullshit.
Sarah: We decided to trade gendered bathroom products for a month to see if we really preferred stuff aimed at our respective genders.
Kiebus: In today's age, with the gender binary feeling so antiquated, it's weird how popular women's and men's items are.
Sarah: For our test, when a product did not have a version specifically aimed at both genders, we had the neutral stand-in for the missing gendered items.
Kiebus: Most brands assume lotions are for women. They don't need to include that in the packaging. For us men, we need a little convincing with black and orange design and bold fonts.
Sarah: Going into this, I expected women's stuff to be more expensive, just because my gender is used to getting screwed. I quickly found out that's not always the case.
Note: All prices were accurate at the time of purchase.
"It puts the lotions in the basket."
Men sweat from adventure, whereas women sweat from sex.
Razors: Why do we need so many blades?
Do you have an extra dollar for shampoo?
Everyone has zits.
Cotton swabs and tweezers: There should be NO DIFFERENCE.
These are the honest-to-god instructions for cotton swab use:
Creme: Like cream, but French.
Why is bar soap more expensive for men?
Here are our takeaways:
1. When it's gendered, it's likely more expensive.
The only exception was the men's razor. If you are looking for the cheapest price for the same product, go for something gender-neutral. Something your grandmother would buy.
2. Men's products have really chemically smells.
Sometimes this was pleasant, but most of the time it was just overly pungent. Can we get some lighter scents, please?
3. Coded words are everyone in gendered products, and they are hilarious.
Men fight dry skin, whereas women soothe their ailments and help heal babies. It's so blatant you can't help but laugh.
4. Gendered razors are a sham.
We both preferred men's razors, and they are cheaper. Honestly, if they just rounded the edges of the razor, they would have a nice gender-neutral razor for EVERYONE to enjoy.
5. Always compare prices!
Unless you are super obsessed with a particular scent, you should be comparing prices to get the best deal. Companies are making money on the fact that you are too lazy to compare and just will take the product assigned to your gender. Fight/soothe back. Do your research.
We also made our coworkers try these different gendered products, and they definitely agreed with us.
