Half of the world’s population is women, and unless someone has a certain medical condition every woman has a period. A period roughly starts at 12 years old, and ends around age 55, which is over half of a person’s lifespan.

A box of tampons, which can cost between $5 to $12 is considered a luxury product, which is not fair to women.

According to the National Organization for Women, one woman spends roughly $18,000 throughout their lifetime on menstrual products. 

The “pink tax” is not only necessarily targeted towards period products, but women’s products in general. 

The color pink can be objectified as something specifically towards women, and society has simply accepted that the cost of these products are higher than products targeted towards men. 

Women are told that they need many different products to take care of their body, hair, face and so many other things. And of course, all of these things need different products that are not cheap.

Periods are not something that we ask to have, they are not chosen. So why should women have to have the financial responsibility of taking care of something that they didn’t even ask for?

Men are told that they can have a three in one product and be completely OK. But there tends to be a stigma around women who try to save money and buy similar products.

What about deodorant? A woman’s bottle of deodorant costs around $5 to $7, while men’s only cost around $4-$5. 

Ever since I was an upcoming teenager and started to have the talk with my parents, I knew that the treatment was unfair. 

It never occured to me how unfair it is until I started buying my own products.

While men are accepted when buying the simple shampoo, conditioner and body wash women are expected to buy special shampoos, conditioners, deep conditioners and ten step facial cleansing rituals. That stuff adds up. 

One of the main components of the pink tax is makeup. I know in today’s society that makeup can be used for anyone, and there is no specific gender that makeup is targeted for. 

But a lot of women, specifically teenagers, feel pressured to buy expensive makeup to feel pretty and fit in. 

There are so many more products targeted towards women that are, in my opinion, way overpriced, such as bras, women’s underwear, nail polish, face masks, facial cleanser and even clothing. 

The fact that society has pushed this on us for decades, and despite all the backlash and restraint, nothing has changed. 

I believe it is really sad to see something so unfair becoming normalized.