PARK: Pink tax must go
Column: The Queue
I love the color pink. My phone case is pink, my water bottle is pink, heck my pepper spray is pink. But as I get older, liking pink comes with a consequence, one that my younger self did not see before: the pink tax.
I hate seeing pink in the stores and on the shelves. Next to generic brand deodorants and lotions are brightly colored plastic ones doused in floral scents and a higher price. The “pink tax” is the gender-based pricing that markup products marketed toward women.
In July 2021, the New Jersey senate approved a bill to ban the pink tax. That was four months ago, why is this important now? Firstly, the ban is officially now in place, as it is passed the date of “the first day of the fourth month next following the enactment” as stated in the original bill.
There is also still this stigma around the gender pay gap, gender equality and women’s health. With the Supreme Court hearing the Texas abortion law arguments, the fight for women’s health and equality is stronger than ever.
The cost of condoms ranges, but in many cases they are relatively cheap. In fact, many health centers including those at Rutgers as well as in the halls of some dormitories even have them for free. The cost of female birth control without insurance can be up to more than $1,000.
An abortion is legal in New Jersey, but in neighboring Pennsylvania, an abortion is not legal passed the 24th week of pregnancy and there are many state restrictions that make access to an abortion difficult.
While New Jersey has responded relatively well with issues like the pink tax and abortion, that does not mean the residual pink tax does not exist. In fact, the Rite Aid on George Street in New Brunswick sells Gillette Sensor3 Sensitive Men’s Disposable Razors (4) for $5.99 while they also sell Gillette Venus Sensitive Women’s Disposable Razors (3) for $6.99.
And the pink tax does not stop in the bathroom. Girls’ toys and clothes are marked higher, even when the production cost of coloring something pink is the same as blue for the products marketed toward men. Women’s haircuts cost more than men’s, even if the woman has a short pixie cut and the man has a shoulder length mullet.
Economically, price discrimination can be, well, efficient. It allows firms to charge higher prices to different demographics of people, and those people who want the goods are usually willing to pay that price. A lot of economists see a benefit in the pink tax, but it seems like businesses are just trying to take the purchasing power away from women.
Companies like Billie, a razor subscription service, are consistently raising awareness about the pink tax. On their website they have “The Pink Tax Rebate” where with a simple referral link, you can get a coupon to use with your next purchase. Their motto? They are sorry that women have to pay more for simple necessities like razors.
The pink tax forces women, especially students and those on a low income to rethink their purchases. There are people who constantly fight the battle between clean hygiene and getting an education. Even in our University restrooms, menstrual products in dented metal boxes cost 25 cents. Men's reproductive health items are free in University buildings, women’s should be too.
As a college student, I find myself trimming my hair at home and grabbing the bleakly colored and unscented beauty products in order to save a few dimes and dollars. To me, the idea of going gender neutral is not the immediate solution. In fact, it feels like I am giving in. I am not inclined to buy the floral body wash because I am a woman, but rather because I like it and want it.
Women should have the choice to buy whatever products they want without having to pay a little extra for “girly” things. My lavender scented deodorant should not cost more than your boyfriend’s stick of Old Spice. But it does.
The color pink and women marketed products have got marketing corporations, businesses and my money in a chokehold. And as long as the pink tax still exists across the country, gender equality can and will never happen. New Jersey is just one of few states to take that first step.
We have acknowledged the pink tax. The government has acknowledged the pink tax. So let us make it known. We should not have to pay to love pink.
Annabel Park is a Rutgers Business School first-year majoring in marketing and minoring in journalism. Her column, "The Queue," runs on alternate Fridays.
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