Women are still not equal when it comes to buying necessities
Fallon-Renae Costa
Thankfully for civil rights laws, discrimination on the basis of race, gender and sexual orientation within the job and housing sector are illegal.
But why is it that the taxes on women’s sneakers are 2.5 percent higher than men’s? Why is a personal hygiene product, almost identical to that of a man’s, more costly when the only difference is the pretty colors?
It seems we all have let this obvious act of discrimination just slip right by.
My hair is the longest it’s been in two years and it still doesn’t reach my shoulders. Yet because I am a female, I pay about twice as much as a male for a trim? What amazes me is that the majority of salons in the US are owned and ran by women.
I keep picturing an even more discriminatory salon service menu reading the cost of haircuts: Hispanics, Caucasians, Asians, etc.
Is it just me or is the cost of living in this country for a female rather expensive in general? Not only is there pressure on women to look a certain way and stay up to date on the latest trends, but we are also expected to pay more for services and sale items than men do?
What appalls me even more is that women have developed a “bend over and take it” attitude.
In 1996, California found women paid about $1,350 annually more than men for things that are considered normal necessities. California then began implementing a law banning gender pricing on any similar services or products. This included “ladies nights” at bars too.
From health insurance to car costs, blatant discrimination is right in front of our faces. We could slap the next fellow lady in the face with the facts, but society has become so comfortable in their own ways that we wade in the issue.
Is this not something we as a country could say we have “been there done that?” How long will ladies allow the business society to make fools of us?
This issue sadly is no ones’ fault but our own. It all goes back to that economics class we’re all required to take, but our selective hearing tends to kick in during consumer surplus.
The market price for that deodorant, the razor you shaved with, and the repair on your car is well below the price you paid. Yet ladies willingly fork out the cash making us an easy target for the marketer. They of course notice that and take advantage.
We’ve earned our right to vote. We’ve proved our equality in the workplace. We’ve fought for equal pay.
Will we fight to keep that hard-earned money?
