Soaps, Razors, Shampoos, OH MY!

Over time, our gendered views have taken a predominant role over how our daily products look like.

Ivory soap first began selling in 1879 and was best known for their slogan "It floats." It was sold as a multi purpose, uni-sex soap. As long as it has been marketed it has always been seen as a "family" soap.

Although the packaging has changed throughout the years, the message is consistent. It is a non fussy soap.

No frilly smells = men can use the product

No musky smells = women can use it

Simple and pure = lets children use it

Plain Packaging = suggests unisex use

Inexpensive price = suggests useful for anyone (not a luxury)

"Not too much and not too little. Just the right amount of lather. Just a little scent. And there you go. Simply Ivory"

Just recently the company tried to revamp their advertising and make it appeal to a more technological generation, maybe perhaps a younger one that did not grow up with Ivory soap.

If you notice they are still trying to be non specific gender wise. They are still presented as "pure, clean & simple." The overall campaign is intended to promote the Ivory brand’s “value and simplicity,” Procter & Gamble said in a statement, while “focusing on giving busy moms and families a product that delivers what they are looking for.”

The reason for this new marketing could be the very fact that Ivory soap was not selling well. Kevin Hochman, marketing director of the Ivory brand team, said the biggest trend in recent years was “genderization” of the category, soaps specifically for men or women. Ivory has stood its ground and appealed to both women and men. There is no real data to prove how well being "ungendered" is going to sell.

Although the new campaign is trying to appeal to women, it is trying to appeal to "Mrs. Consumer." Meaning that it is trying to sell soap on the thought that women tend to do the shopping for things such as soap. Why would they buy this soap? Not because it is pink and smells like flowers but because it has the appeal of being " simple." Because it can be used by men and women, boys and girls. Again disassociating the soap with only one specific gender.

ON THE OTHER HAND

all of the other soaps on the market seem to have

a specific consumer in mind.

If your not sure wether or not your product is made for women or men. It would most likely say men on the packaging.

It will prove itself to be manly, and tough enough.

It will prove that men can still be a bit "dirty," and related to the outdoors.

always in a musky more masculine color

VS

WOMENS SOAP

Soaps for women tend to not identify themselves with naming the gender (like mens soap) instead as you will later notice, name the beautifying benefits of the soap.

Will try to prove its femininity with

delicate patterns, and pretty light colors.

"Moisturizing cream"

and sell itself as a "beauty" product for superficial reasons instead of just for cleansing it is also for beautifying.

It is so easy to pass up these small details and think that gender is "natural". When in reality social norms of gender are reinforced and proven time and time again. Something as necessary as hygine is also gendered and catered to the reflection of society's view of what being a female means and what being a man means. Think about it, there are many types of at home waxing kits (hair removal) for women but try finding one for men.This reflecting exactly what is considered feminin and what is masculine.

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Have you ever wondered what the difference between men's and women's razors is? The main difference is simply the way the products look. Products are distinguished as a female or male product by using appeals such as color, vocabulary, and slogans.

Feminine vs. Masculine
Women's razors are advertised based on the connection between shaving and femininity, showing women caressing their soft delicate skin, portraying that soft smooth skin is key to a woman's sexiness.

Men's razors are advertised based on the idea of masculinity and show a more powerful side of the man.

Color

Razors for men are made only in black, dark blue, and green colors (masculine colors).

Women's razors on the other hand are pink, purple, light blue, and pastel colors (feminine colors).

Requirements

Men's and women’s shaving needs differ. Shaving products have been designed differently for both men and women with different features that cater to their various requirements. Razors for women are designed to take care of their delicate skin around the shin bone of the leg, plus the area around the knee and the calf.

The handle of the razor for a woman is shaped with a curve, making it more comfortable to shave, and has a longer handle for a longer reach. The curves of the razor can also be seen to resemble a woman's body.

On the other hand, men's razors are designed to get the hair from the beard removed, and enable them to easily shave under and around the nose and lip without worrying about cuts or nicks. These razors are straight, not angled like the women's.

Product Name & Slogan

For men: show strength, power; qualities of a man

"Gillette. The best a man can get." -Gillette

For Women: shows the soft, sensitive side

"Reveal the goddess in you." -Gillette Venus

"Trust your intuition." -Schick Intuition

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Now for shampoos!!
 All shampoos do the basic job of cleaning one's hair and are not gendered to begin with. But, bring in our society's social norms and there you get to see shampoos being gendered first hand. While both men's and women's shampoos do the same things, it lacks gaining the attraction of the opposite sex.

For example women's shampoos are usually in pretty and bright colored bottles:

Herbal Essences shampoos are well known for being one of the most colorful shampoos on the shelves.

Garnier Fructis products are made in a bright

                          green color, attracting the eyes of women.

Even though some bottles are black, the colorful print on

the label genders them into the woman category.

Men's shampoos are more likely to be in a darker tone:

Men's shampoos are in dark colored because it is considered more masculine than the shampoos for women shown above.

Kids shampoos are also divided along the lines of gender!

BOYS:

When it comes to little kid's shampoos, they target their audience by what figures they choose to place on the front. In this case Spiderman and a fierce dinosaur are more likely to attract boys along with the darker colors of the bottles.

GIRLS:

On girl's shampoos the colors are more vibrant and cheerful which make them more appealing to the opposite sex. The figures on the bottles are also different. They place Dora and a Barbie look-alike instead of the scarier characters from above.

Another way shampoo is gendered is by what they portray. Men's shampoos usually show Masculinity by it's "tough" appeal and women's shampoos show Femininity by their "sweet" and "nature-y" appeal.


MEN:

Gendered items towards men tend to show their strong side and these shampoos portray masculinity by their HIGH ENDURANCE and EXTRA STRENGTH quotes on the front.

The first shampoo also has turf and "GAME DAY" depicting sports which is more targeted towards men.

WOMEN:

Women's shampoos have more of a sense of nature such as leaves and flowers all over their products. The bottles advertise unique smells for the shampoos. For instance, one shampoo says it smells like rosemary mint and the other says it smells like raw shea butter. A person would most likely not find these types of smells listed on the front of men's products because it would bring down it's "toughness" or masculinity.

Conclusion

Although we touched based on only a few basic hygiene products, we observed that this was the case for many other products as well. The fact that basic necessities such as razors, soap, and shampoos are gendered, represents the importance of norms society have set up for each sex. Everyday expectations that come with being either a female or a male are reinforced and stated as if we would be likely to forget.