The Pink Tax

Benjamin Atkinson, Reporter|February 23, 2022

Most of the children’s bikes at Walmart are clear examples of pink tax. The bike on the left is $98 and the bike on the right is $124.

A price exaggeration has been noticed in the economy where pink or women’s items like pink “girls” toys or clothes are more expensive than blue “boys” toys and other clothes. This is common on many types of products.

One of the most common areas of pink tax is in clothing. The sweatshirt on the left was in the men’s section and is significantly cheaper than the sweatshirts in the women’s section. (Gretchen Prifogle)

“Honestly, I don’t really know. I just feel like it has something to do with women and that women don’t get treated as fairly. It likely has something to do with equality,” freshman Jerika Razer said.

This pink tax is not specifically made for items that are pink. It is about how women’s items may cost more than a similar men’s item, such as the two of the same razors with one being more expensive when it is advertised as being for women with glitter and large amounts of “feminine” colors on the packaging. This may seem outrageous to some due to the idea that the same item is more expensive when made for women. The tax costs the average woman $1,300 annually and an estimated $16,000 each decade.

The Berries shirt on the left was in the men’s section and is only $18. The shirts on the right were in the women’s section and were $20. (Gretchen Prifogle)

“I don’t really like it because I’m poor, and I would prefer to have an easier way of getting the color pink because I like pink,” Rojas said.

The pink tax is something that will end up affecting most people, but sometimes it will feel like it is targeting someone in particular. This could be a family member, a friend, or the person they relate to. Common women’s items like clothes and health products have no real reason to be as expensive as they are, putting aside the company’s want for extra profit.

These cars for children were significantly different in price for essentially the same thing. The Frozen car on the right is $49 more than the car on the left. (Gretchen Prifogle)

“It affects my mom for as long as I can remember. She complained about how expensive basic things like razors and pads were,” junior Jaden Chin Hong said.

As a society filled with women and people who like bright-colored items, there have been movements that hope to eliminate the tax. People have begun following Twitter trends such as #axpinktax and have been buying men’s less expensive items instead. Whether this will have an impact on the tax is unknown.

“If I’m being completely honest, I don’t think it’ll be abolished. Our society is so closed-minded, and the main priority is exploitation. Until there are major changes in the way we operate as a whole, there will probably be no change,” Chin-Hong said.