The other day I was talking to a good friend of mine about a strange product she saw in a store. What was this strange product, you might ask? Well, they were “man-sized” tissues. Yup. I have no idea what that is supposed to mean, but apparently, it’s a thing that Kleenex sells. So this got me thinking-- I know many of the products pushed on people are "classically" gendered (makeup, perfume, clothes, etc.), but just how many things could we find within an hour that were needlessly created to be sold to a specific gender? (Keep in mind, this doesn’t even take into account non-binary erasure or the fact that basically everything is hetero- and cis-normative).
We began this adventure in a store called Dealz that sells (almost) everything for 1.50 euro. The first thing we see? You guessed it.
Man-Sized Tissues
Now, I’m not completely sure what makes these tissues any different from normal, apparently “too feminine” tissues, but it is ridiculous. And the fact that they had to have “masculine” designs on the box is just weird. They’re tissues. If the design of the box is going to hurt your masculinity, then my friend, you have larger issues to deal with.
Razors
Then there were these. Honestly, does making them pink somehow give women more razorness? Will these razors not work for men? Do they somehow know a person’s gender? (Oh, wait, you’re just looking at their genitals, aren’t you? Rude.) And it should be noted that the “men’s razors” were just called razors. Weird.
Body Wash
This particular bottle just confuses me. “Attract for her.” What are you saying? Is it to make women smell more attractive, or is it supposed to make “her” find the wearer more attractive? Is it like some sort of weird 1.50 euro pheromone soap? I just don’t get it. It didn’t seem to even smell that pungent to me, so that’s even more confusing.
Energizing Body Wash
This one I can’t even take seriously. Because, like, seriously? Not only is it a 2-in-1 shower and shampoo (which I assume means body wash and shampoo), but it is also specifically for men. That's probably because it’s ginseng and cracked pepper, which is strange because I didn’t realize these things cared about gender. What does a ladies' version of this smell like? Probably citrus or something less “masculine.” (Of course, the brand being Imperial Leather just drives the “manly-man” point home, doesn’t it.)
After this, we ventured to Boots, a store that sells basically a bit of everything, and some of these discoveries were just hilarious.
Hair Dye
This one just confused me. I understand that maybe men don’t have hair as long as women's, so they don’t want an entire box of hair dye, but is their hair really so different that hair dye “for men” is needed? I also understand the little beard brush, but those are just like hair color brushes anyway, so… what’s the deal?
Hair Brushes
Yet another confusing one, but it also just made me question the fundamental knowledge I have about men. First of all, “grooming” sounds too much like dog fur managing. Second, the “men’s” that is “perfect for grooming men's hair” has the exact same bristles as the women’s. The only difference? They don’t get a handle for their brush. Which made me wonder, do companies not think men can use handles? If so, that’s just rude. Also, the fact that it was less than half the price as the “ladies'” counterpart really made me question the importance and quality of that handle.
All The Soap
This one I understand a bit more. By no means do I agree with it, but I understand that men want to smell like men. Okay, but do they really? Is that the thing that classifies a man as a man? I don’t think so. A masculine smell does not a man make. I love the smell of teakwood. Why can’t I smell like teakwood? Apparently it’s a masculine scent, but maybe I want to smell like a freshly made deck, or “extra fresh.” Also, who names these things? “Apollo,” “excite,” “sport blast”… what even does that mean? I do not think that “sport blast” should smell nice. The first scent I think of when I think of sports is sweat. And that ain’t a nice smell.
Okay friends, you’ve been on this journey with me so far, but I have saved my personal favorite for last. This item really has me thinking all sorts of things. I’m talking about these.
Candles
Or, as my friend so lovingly called these particular candles, "mandles" because they are very blatantly (and oddly) targeted to men.
Now you might be thinking, “Yeah, they’re candles, so what?” Well, my issue is not with the fact that they want less feminized candles, because these look dope. Black candles are super cool. My problem is more with the scents they presume people (men) will want. Yankee Candle has a large array of different scents, so they definitely have something for everyone, but these scents are just... weird.
Not only that, but they didn’t even smell nice or like anything. Barbershop was some strange woody/metallic smell, but it wasn’t a strong scent by any means. Aftershave was also underwhelming in the fact that it didn’t really smell like much. Slightly minty, maybe a bit clean, but that’s about it. Then there’s Hot Toweltm, which, for some reason, is trademarked. It literally just smelled like their fresh laundry candle. Now, I don’t know why they couldn’t just call this fresh laundry-- oh wait, yes I do. That’s too feminine. Only women wash clothes, obviously. Men just reap the benefits of the clean Hot Toweltm. Give me a break. Why don’t men get a much larger range of scents to choose from? I honestly don’t get it.
So, there you have it–a small, and by no means a definitive list of unnecessarily gendered products (but let’s be real, most products are unnecessarily gendered).
