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Bored Panda

Adelė Davidonytė

People Are Sharing Examples Of Pointless Gendering, And Here Are The 53 Most Infuriating Ones (New Pics)

United States

The world of gendered products has gone completely bananas. Once, it was just “his” and “hers” towels at a hotel, but today, the market is flooded with items that make no sense at all.

You can find baby bottles where the pink version costs nearly $20 more than the blue, and buy pink earplugs to “sleep pretty,” or blue ones for “extreme protection.”

They didn’t even spare macarons and divided them by gender — apparently, you should only eat dark blue ones if you’re a man.

Bored Panda has rounded up some of these and more ridiculous products marketed towards men and women that defy all common sense.

#1 Difference Between Marketing For Men And Women

#2 A Sad Microcosm Of What Our Society Says Being A Girl vs. Being A Boy Means. With Three Girls To Raise, This Breaks My Heart

I'll fight like hell for my girls not to exist in this reality.

If you think gendered razors and sparkly pink hammers are a modern joke, you’re not wrong, because it hasn’t always been like this.

Way back before factories, YouTube ads, and mass marketing, people didn’t really sort everything into “for him” and “for her.” Most stuff, be it clothes or toys, was basically gender‑neutral.

It wasn’t until the late 19th and early 20th centuries that things began to change. Once manufacturers and department stores started making a ton of products for the growing middle class, they needed ways to sell more stuff.

One easy trick was to divide customers into categories, and gender was the obvious first choice. That meant creating versions of products that were labeled for men or women, even if they were basically the same thing underneath.

A classic example of this shift is how colors became gender signals.

Today, pink is associated with girls and blue with boys because of some weird logic, but it’s mostly a 20th‑century invention. In the early 1900s, there was no consistent rule about which color belonged to which gender.

#3 I Can't Hear You, My Ears Are Too Pretty

#4 Yes, The Two Genders. Muscle Man And Skinny Queen

In Victorian times, little boys actually used to wear dresses until they were around 6 or 7. After that, they’d switch to pants in a kind of coming-of-age tradition called “breeching.”

By the mid‑20th century, though, especially after World War II, the pink/blue code had solidified in Western culture, and companies heavily leaned into it for baby clothes, toys, and more.

Post‑war consumer culture really accelerated this. As suburbs grew and families bought more products, marketers saw opportunities everywhere.

Toys especially became a battleground — trucks and action figures were pushed at boys with “masculine” colors and themes, while dolls and craft kits in pastel sets were targeted at girls.

#5 The Women’s Bottles Have Childproof Caps, Whereas The Men’s Bottles Don’t

#6 Apparently, Men Don’t Deserve Bright Colored Macaroons

#7 The Difference In Length For Baby Boy Short vs. Baby Girl Short Both Size 1

Coming back to the present, you’ll find at least one (if not more) gendered product in the aisles of your neighborhood grocery store.

Beauty products, tools, personal care items, and even snacks have gendered labels and packaging.

Traditional ideas of femininity and masculinity are heavily used in advertising because marketing companies have figured out that it helps them sell more products and make more money.

This kind of gendered labeling isn’t just silly or superficial; it has a real impact on our wallets, too.

#8 Price Difference Between Boy And Girl

#9 Bibles

#10 This Is Straight Up Sexist

In the US, where women make about 82 cents for every dollar a man earns, it’s kind of maddening that we also end up paying more for stuff like clothes, toiletries, and even hygiene and health products.

This is what experts call gender-based pricing, or the infamous “pink tax.” And no, it’s not a real tax.

It’s just a sneaky extra charge slapped on things marketed to women, even when the product is basically the same as the men’s version.

For example, shampoo, deodorant, and even pens — the pink version costs more for the same function and the same quality.

It’s kind of cute that companies think charging women more for the same stuff won’t burn a hole in their already nonexistent pockets.

#11 Yes, We Surely Need Different Snacks

#12 Found This At A Walmart, Because Girls Need Special Basketballs

#13 Ah, Yes, Men's Tea

And it’s not just about consumer products. Services like haircuts, dry cleaning, or even car maintenance can come with a gendered price tag.

An analysis in New York City found that women are being charged 7% more than men on average for a wide range of similar products.

Though the study focused on New York specifically, the products encompassed more than 90 brands. Some are even global, such as H&M, Neutrogena, and Gillette, both in-store and online.

#14 These Are Exactly The Same

Only the packaging is different. Of course, men need to know about protein content, whereas women (or, should I say, ladies) only care about kilojoules.

#15 I Didn’t Know This Product Could Be Gendered

#16 As We All Know, Women Are Cursed With High-Heeled Barbie Feet

A study also found that a lot of pricey products don’t actually work any better — women are often paying extra for fancy-sounding ingredients that barely make up 1% of the product.

“These ingredients yield no significant benefit to the consumer, but legally enable a brand to advertise the use of that ingredient and the potential benefits it could confer,” the study states. “Examples include natural extracts and botanical ingredients, which are frequently used in women’s products.”

It’s also one of the reasons why makeup is so expensive.

So not only are women paying more for basic items, they’re doing it while earning less. Basically, a double punch to the wallet, all because someone decided your razors needed to be pink.

#17 Oh No, Work Socks (For Women) Are Out Of Stock

#18 Men's vs. Women's Toilet At My New Work Office

There was an argument that a guy used the ladies' toilet and got yelled at, and it was noted that men aren't allowed to use it.

P.S.: I'm the new supervisor/team leader (the management is the lady who made the no-men rule). It's a very small company with 10 people.

#19 Women’s Pockets Can Fit Less Than Half Of A Switch Lite, Whereas Men’s Pockets Can Fit A Whole Switch

It’s not only women who get caught up in pointless gendering; men feel it too.

Brands still build entire campaigns around ideas of toughness and strength to appeal to male buyers, even when the product itself isn’t any different.

For example, companies label items like toothpaste or grooming products as “for men” with dark, rugged packaging and macho branding to signal that using them will make you more “alpha.”

Researchers also found that when a brand is seen as “masculine” and suddenly introduces a version that feels feminine, some guys will avoid it. That’s because they don’t want anything that threatens their sense of masculinity.

This phenomenon has been termed “gender contamination.”

“Gender contamination occurs when one gender is using a brand as a symbol of their masculinity or femininity, and the incursion of the other gender into the brand threatens that,” says Harvard Business School Senior Lecturer Jill J. Avery.

#20 Same Multivitamin Product At Publix $1 Higher When Labeled For Women

#21 Women's Work Gloves Are More Expensive Than The Men's, Despite Being Identical In Every Way Except Being Smaller And Requiring Less Material

Amid all these gendered products, the ironic part is that we have forgotten that not all humans fit into just two clear boxes.

Research shows that a growing number of people don’t want their identity decided for them by a label or a color code on a package.

In a world where gender identity is increasingly understood as fluid, this kind of binary branding feels old‑fashioned. It is also a missed opportunity by marketing companies to include a much wider range of customers.

But some brands are starting to get the memo and are actually ditching gendered categories entirely.

Skincare labels like Non Gender Specific and Panacea sell unisex products based on what the skin actually needs.

In fashion, names like Telfar, Collusion (backed by ASOS), and One DNA design clothes without gender labels, letting people pick what fits and feels right.

#22 The Girls V. Boys Trophy Size For My Daughter's T-Ball Team

#23 Men And Women Have Opposite Scaling For What Alcohol Means At Medieval Times

Honestly, the biggest weapon we have against all these ridiculous gendered products is awareness and talking about them. Once you start paying attention, you notice it everywhere.

Whether it’s body wash, deodorant, shampoo, or razors, more often than not, the “men’s” or unisex version costs less and works just as well. Sometimes it even works better.

Another way to push back is to support brands that don’t play the pink‑tax game.

Social media has become a huge platform for this conversation, too. People regularly share screenshots of price differences and tag brands to call attention to the pink tax. And public pressure often works.

So, if you spot a silly gendered gimmick, don’t just scroll past it… take a screenshot, post it, tag the brand, and tell your friends and family.

#24 The Size Difference Between My Burrito vs. My Boyfriend's (Exact Same Order)

#25 The Two Genders, Lady And The

#26 These Two Are Exactly The Same, Yet One Costs More Than The Other

#27 Found This Today. Price Is Wonky, Too

#28 Ah, Yes, The Two Genders, Little And Good

#29 They Are Literally The Same Product? I Was At Gu The Other Day And Saw These Racks Of Socks

#30 The Pocket Size In Female vs. Male Levi’s Jeans

I‘ve just bought the „male“ model, which fits perfectly. Why do jeans manufacturers think that women don’t deserve large pockets?

#31 I Bought A Pair Of Doc Martens At Their Retail Store While On Vacation And I Just Noticed That One Is Men's And One Is Women's. I Can't Unsee It Now

All I do is stare at my mismatched toes.

#32 These "Same Fair Price" Razors At Target. The Men's Design Is $1 Cheaper Than The Corresponding Women's Design

#33 "Man" And "Lady" Protein Shakes

#34 Women's 30F Sleeping Bag Is Rated Down To 20F And Weighs More

Men's 30F is rated to 30F presumably because men sleep hotter (I know I do). Zippers can always face each other or face opposite directions.

#35 Pink Tax Strikes Again. Same Product, But One Pink

#36 Just What I Needed, Gendered Dog Beer

#37 Garbage Can

#38 The Different Fonts, Handles, Colors - Everything About This Is Just

#39 Opposite Of A Pink Tax? A Blue Tax? We Looked As Hard As We Could, And We Saw Nothing Different Except The Colors Of The Wheels And The Models Using Them

#40 Two Identical Products At Target. The More Expensive Version Was In The Men's Shoe Department As Compared To The Women’s Shoe Department

I expected the opposite because of the pink tax.

#41 Male Brazilian. The Fact That It Is A Spin On "Brazilian" And It Specifies Male On Top Of That Is Funny

#42 Origami Paper

#43 Manicure Set For Women vs. Manicure Set For Men. Because They Obviously Need Different Sets To Cut Their Nails

#44 Did Jesus Promise Different Things For Women And Men Or Something?

#45 The Same Baby Is On Both Of These Congratulatory Cards

#46 Get Out Of My Head, You Filthy Lemon Just Trying To Shop

#47 Gendered Parking Discs

The writing on the blue disc says "time of arrival" and the writing on the pink one says "I'm shopping for a sec".

The regular parking discs here are blue, so a pink one "for women" is kinda useless. And implying that women are "always shopping" is sexist as hell.

At least they both cost the same.