"For Men" products

[Zyrael 1,471]

Not sure if this is a thing in other countries, but in the US, you'll often see many products (specifically things like shampoo and deodorant) labeled "FOR MEN". Usually in the color black with bold letters. In fact, I just saw an ad from Dove advertising such a product with a man saying,

"I'd say it's pretty masculine"                                                                

Although, products labeled, "FOR WOMEN" with flowers and pink labels are noticeably rarer. 

 

What do you think about this tendency? 

Edited March 27, 2017 by Zyrael

[Kyoshi Frost Wolf 40,284]

I guess the weird implication is that men might need more body cleaning products than women. Of course, the 'for women' packaging is simply part of this society's idiotic association of colors with genders. Hate that stuff. 

[Nerdy Luigi 2,064]

I find the whole "for men/women" thing offensive. It's extremely genderist. It directly offends me specifically as well, being that I would say I am, for sure, not masculine and biologically 100% male...

Plus, I don't like the way a lot of the masculine deodorants smell, to be honest. At least I wouldn't like it on myself.

Edited March 28, 2017 by Nerdy Luigi

[Soul Flare 403]

5 minutes ago, Zyrael said:

Not sure if this is a thing in other countries, but in the US, you'll often see many products (specifically things like shampoo and deodorant) labeled "FOR MEN". Usually in the color black with bold letters. In fact, I just saw an ad from Dove advertising such a product with a man saying,

"I'd say it's pretty masculine"                                                                

Although, products labeled, "FOR WOMEN" with flowers and pink labels are noticeably rarer. 

 

What do you think about this tendency? 

This is because those products often have a 'strong' scent that would definitely not fit on anyone who's trying to be neutral or feminine and are therefore masculine (If you ever smelled a 'for men' shampoo or cologne, you know what I'm talking about. It's kind of reminiscent of sweat, except it doesn't stink). There's most definitely products that are specifically aimed at women (or people trying to be feminine) as well, but there seems to be so many different ones that they can't really put a generic "FOR WOMEN" label on it and use it as their selling point.

[Princess_Bellalatanya 1,052]

I use axe body spray and deodorant,i think they are masculine products

[Rick Sanchez 75]

yeah it's actually genuinely annoying too, i buy guys shirts constantly and people are like "why?" cause it looks cool, dumbo.

[BlueStreak98 828]

2 hours ago, Dio said:

yeah it's actually genuinely annoying too, i buy guys shirts constantly and people are like "why?" cause it looks cool, dumbo.

In the increasingly numerous shopping trips I've taken with my girlfriend, I find myself astounded at the terrible quality of a lot of the womens' clothes. Mind you, they make guys' clothes cheaper than they used to as well, but some of these are silly. What good is a sweater that you can literally see straight through? Men's clothing will at least sort of keep you warm.

[Envy 5,998]

When I worked at my overnight stocking job, I worked in the laundry detergent section and I still remember the night that we got the Bounce "For Men" fabric softener sheets. I almost gagged. I can not stand the smell of men's fragrances. But beyond that I was like "Why, just why?". Do men need laundry products that are labeled for them so they won't feel emasculated while doing laundry? I do not understand.

Edited March 28, 2017 by Envy

[Dreambiscuit 8,024]

I guess the idea of a product that has a fragrance might make some guys feel t's some kind of perfume or feminine in nature, so the advertising is meant to reassure them this stuff is sufficiently manly. Nice smell applies to everyone, but Men's fragrances have a slightly bolder scent and I think it's helpful to let them know that when they're browsing for such a thing at the store.

I wouldn't say products for women with flowers and such are exactly rare to find. But a decline in such labeling might be attributed to some misguided effort to convince people that being feminine is somehow a bad thing. These days it wouldn't surprise me.

In my opinion, things should be targeted to both sexes according to who they are and what they like. If a man wants something in the women's section, or a lady wants something in the men's section, at least they'll know where to go look for what they want without confusing the matter by making everything unisex. 

[Yakamaru 3,074]

Men and women are different. Everything from hygiene needed, to genetics, to physical appearence. Our needs and basic needs are different, so it's very common to advertise towards certain aspects of men/women.

"For men" just means it's advertised and created for men. This can be everything from its contents to smell.

As for seeing this tendency: It's normal to have products aimed at either of the two genders. Same with age, more niche groups, etc. Over here in Norway at least, no one cares. Pick whatever you like. Hell, I'm a guy and I love Herbal Essences and L'oreal shampoo. Last one gives my hair a real fluffy look, and makes it really soft.

Edited March 28, 2017 by Autism is Cute AF

[Invincible 2,090]

It doesn't bother me either way. Not like using a product not labeled for men will make me explode. And women buy products targeted for men all the time (shaving cream for instance). I think it's just a marketing strategy

[Anneal 2,194]

There's actually a reason for it, and it isn't because society is being "sexist". The composition of men's and women's shampoo are a bit different, not just in fragrance. Men generally have much shorter hair than women but produce much more oils in their hair. It's not that evident for the average joe, though, since they would use any shampoo anyway, but more for the athletes where they might need products like that after they hit the gym.  That's why most men's shampoo commercials pander to the more atheletic men who are watching, and there's not many "women's shampoo" because it is completely unnecessary to say that.

Edited March 28, 2017 by Anneal

[TBD 17,228]

I usually buy loreal or Dove products, only because they work best for me. I tried one for “men only” once. But man it's sucks. So I guess whatever works best for you.

[PrinceJayne 32]

Won't lie, was pretty nervous to see responses on this thread, but luckily civilized-- phew!

Some things I've seen labelled as "FOR WOMEN/MEN" can be.. pretty ridiculous when you actually read the ingredients for some products. Some products have the exact same things, just slightly/barely adjusted, and/or just marketed as male/female to increase sales. Obviously there's more complex things on the basis of biology (e.i. Women's basketballs are designed to be a tad bit shorter and slimmer to fit more smaller hands, whereas for men's basketballs they're wider/bigger to fit accordingly to average male biology), but there's this obnoxious need to gender things in which it just doesn't match. Reminds me of somewhere in other countries they had "Girl" and "Boy" kinder eggs. KINDER EGGS. CANDY. Imagine giving a girl a pink dang candy egg just because it says it's for girls? Are parents really that ignorant to enforce that on their children? Geez man that's jacked up...

Another thing which bothers me is how female products are generally sold more expensive and less well-manufactured to male products. Luckily I'm butch so I'm careless about gendered products and stick with men's usually since they're of better quality + fits its price, but I feel sooo bad for people who purchase feminine products to find (for example) razors cut/wound you more with female products when a good amount of male razors shave just fine for the same amount of money.

There's also this inane thing where more harsh and disgusting products are marketed for men. I mean stuff that's pretty dang smelly where as they sell feminine products all rosy and flowery! So sunshiney!... Wonder if anyone has ever tested what women and men smell like for not even using deodorant in at least two days. TMI-ish, but I'm so cautious about my 'pits because they can get pretty rank (think that's how you spell it?...). I shave anyway for the sake of making things simpler by not attracting more odor (which also brings to the next question-- are men just more naturally prone to bad body odor, or on average men don't shave therefore trapping worse smell?), but still not exactly clean-smelling. I take clinical/extra strength deodorant. I've been doing better though without strong deodorant, but I just wish people would stop underestimating what the female body is capable of-- good or bad, or taking extreme assumptions of individuals body's capabilities as whole. (Don't mind generalization, until it's unrealistic and extreme and does more harm than good!)

Gah, sorry for this being lengthy lol! Just bothers me also and I wish things provided more and well-fit science behind it without marketing scheme plus general sexism/genderism involved. Oh and dude-wipes. Anybody know what that shenanigans is about? Is it another marketing scheme or is there actual and helpful science behind it?

[Jeric 46,834]

My wife hated women's razors. She bought the same brand I did, and would say that they are better built and shave better. Also they were occasionally cheaper. Not sure how accurate the shaving thing was ... but apparently there is one example of someone breaking the "For Men" rule. 

[JonasDarkmane 19,777]

It is called marketing. You advertise your product towards a specific group and there is nothing wrong with that. Their business. 

 

You can see an example of how much more is advertised towards younger people rather than older. Back in the 50s or 60s (oh gosh, it has been long since I read about US history) when young people started getting an income, they became potential buyers. So products that would also have been sold to someone who was older, was specifically advertised towards the younger generation. 

 

You find a group and you advertise your product in a  way that tells them they need it. In this case males and females. 

 

It is not a big deal, offensive or sexist at all. Want to buy a rose and flower imaged shampoo bottle? Do so, I personally think they smell better. 

The sellers aint gonna ask since you are the one giving them money for using their products. If you are into either feminine or masculine, you pick what you want. 

 

I actually had to do an assignment on stuff like this in sociology over a year ago. Had to visit stores and inspect how products are marketed by sex/gender. People worked in pairs and I ended up with a girl from "Samtökin 78" (the Icelandic LGBTQ+ and feminist (I think) activist group). I think it can be guessed that neither one of us viewed this from the same lens. Was interesting. 

[Jeric 46,834]

12 minutes ago, JonasDarkmane said:

(oh gosh, it has been long since I read about US history)

Cliffs notes: Lavo came over and tried to beat up on Spoon. Spoon got help from Feld0 (who is French in this story), and made Lavo go away. Spoon then invented baseball, Star Wars, and Matrix. Teddy Roosevelt got shot once trying to steal his pie. He lived tho. The end. 

<this would be where I would normally put a line break to signify I am changing from a joke to sprsrsbsns>

17 minutes ago, JonasDarkmane said:

You find a group and you advertise your product in a  way that tells them they need it. In this case males and females. 

I agree. The increase over the decades of adult women with their own incomes has led to a sharper increase in some gender specific items. Scented perfumes go back longer but have some curious history. Old Spice ... was marketed for ladies first. It wasn't quite as popular as they hoped so they tweaked it a little and marketed Old Spice "For Men". So literally Old Spice "For Men" was the company trying to distinguish the scents for the consumers, so they didn't get confused and it hurt sales. 

[ChocolateCrane 155]

I usually buy products like shampoo or conditioner, or even razers "For women" despite being a man. I prefer stuff that is "softer" or more gentle to the skin, instead of the "harshness" associated with men's products. At the end of the day, it's all a bunch of nonsense. Even with perfumes and colognes (why can't a man smell like a peach if he wants? >:O)

[Alphys Hedge 671]

I hate "For Men" products because of the smell they have.

I don't wan to smell like a macho muscular lady's man, I want to smell like a coconut, dammit

"Women's" products seem to work better for me anyway.