Gender has been a hotly debated topic for some time now. For some people this is great, in-depth discussions about the injustices and societal imbalances caused by outdated gender norms are long overdue. For others it is unnecessary, virtue-signaling nonsense that gets in the way of more pressing issues. If you have any doubts about gender, just look inside your pants and carry on with your life.
Of course this is overly simplistic. But no matter where you stand on the myriad opinions and debates swirling around on the subject of gender, you can have a laugh at this list compiled by Bored Panda. Because companies and their marketing departments have been manipulating us for years, playing on our insecurities and ill-conceived notions of gender stereotypes to make a quick buck, we compiled a list of the most transparent, ridiculous examples for your viewing pleasure.
From man-pickles, to examples of identical products, except for one being pink and more expensive just… because, this list will leave you wondering why all this is necessary in this day and age. Scroll down to check it out for yourself, and let us know what you think in the comments!
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Knitting Is Only Manly If It's Done On Horseback. What?
He really needs a mountain lion draped over the back of the horse. I hope he is knitting a rifle cozy for his shotgun.
My Superhero Loving 7-Year-Old Daughter Not Impressed When She Spotted This Sign In Tesco Today
Books In Harrods Children's Section
I Forgot That Men And Women Didn't Have The Same Kind Of Teeth
When Your Masculinity Is Too Fragile But You Want A Bath Bomb
Can’t Believe That I Could Hold This Chip Bag With My Little Woman Hands
Ah, The Classic Gender Binary: Men And Shoes
Are You A Boy Or An Apricot
Ok.... men don't like to shop. They don't want to smell 5million shampoo bottles, before they decide to go with the first one, like most of us girls do. They want to go into the store, grab a shampoo, any shampoo, and get the eff out. So actually this just shows you how easy men are (no offense gentlemen :) )And if we think about it... is it really fair that only women are pictured on anti wrinkle cream? What if a man wants to be wrinkle free? And what if a man wants to smell like strawberry shortcake? How fair is it to them that they only have one tiny section at Walgreens?
Bronut - Because Snacks Are Such A Girly Thing Usually
Producers must rely a lot on some consumers' stupidity. Can't see any other explanation
Whoever Approved This Needs To Sit Down And Look At Their Life Choices
Gift Guide For Who Exactly?
Is Your Gender Girly Girl Or North American
What?
As seen at NYU Bookstore
Alright, We Really Need To Draw The Line At Gendering Poop
Man Size Kleenex For My Male Tears
This Week In Unnecessarily Gendered Products
Tiny And Breakable, Like Men's Ego
Because Women Can't Handle A Full Box Of 100?
Good Thing There Are Man Candles. I Couldn't Illuminate My House Without Crushing My Fragile Masculinity Otherwise
I Have Absolutely No Idea What This Means
Today In The Unnecessarily Gendered Products: The Earth
My son likes pink. My fave milkshake is strawberry! But alas I can't afford boobs
I Tried Women's Earplugs From Walgreens, But I Could Still Hear My Own Sobbing. One Star
Today In "Infuriatingly Gendered"
O Rly?
Really? Gendered Coat Hangers? Totally Unnecessary
Even On The Pink Plane The Pilot Was A Boy
Finally
Q-Tips (Not A Gendered Product At All) Made To Look Masculine & Even Calls It A Tool To Make It Not Feminine
They're Exactly The Same
Gendered sleeping bags often have several small differences. Some features of high quility womens specifc sleeping bags are; being slightly shorter (extra space=lost heat), being slightly wider in the hip and having extra insulation at the foot (women's circulation isn't as good in their extremiticies). Admittedly sometimes they are just gendered for mechandizing reaons by being made smaller and changing the color, it's called "pinking and shrinking."
I Guess Gendered Batteries Are A Thing Now?
Is It Safe To Feed This To My Male Dog?
These Gendered Pickles Though
As a girl, your pickled have to taste lieblich (lovely) and as a boy it has to taste "kräftig" (strong), gosh, so wrong in so many ways.
Dude Wipes For Dudes
Mom, Why Does It Say For Girls?
I know. When I was little, I wanted a red bike. (I am a tomboy) They did not have red bikes for girls so my mom bought me a boys bike in red. The bike was the same style, the only difference was color. About a week later, my mom is approached by one of our neighbors. "Why is your girl riding a boy's bike?" My mom did not know what to say.
I Heard If You Use The "Wrong One" Your Body Switches Sex Of Its Own Accord
Make Sure You Don't Accidentally Have A Woman-Birthday
Pointlessly Gendered Products Are Never Even Semi Decent Quality
This is so wrong. If a man wants a pink hammer, a man should get a pink hammer!
Man, Do You Need To Get That Excess Pet Hair And Fluff Off You? Then You Need The Man's Lint Roller. The Only Difference? The Color Of The First Sheet To Stop It Sticking
Little Girl's Beautician Outfit, Little Boy's Doctor's Outfit
My 5-Year-Old Boy Really Wants A Secret Diary But All Of Them Are Pink And Full Of Princesses And Puppies. Letting Boys And Girls Down Again. Why Can’t It Just Be A Diary?
Is it really that hard? So buy a paper notebook, for boy or girl, some pen and if you wont it to be secret, teach him about ciphers and codes, therefore more fun.
No Pink Champions Allowed
Wine In A Can, For Men
If you are ashamed to drink wine openly, do not drink it at all, you are not worth it. There is nothing girly or feminine in drinking wine. You can still get hammered by drinking it. And drinking wine from a can? Prepare yourself to be purged.
Girly Tape
Girl Wipes And Boy Wipes With Bonus Pointless Gendering - Same Baby In Both Pics
I doubt these are gendered, it is much more likely they're actually different. My local shop has blue unscented wipes that can be used on newborns and pink scented wipes that cannot be used on newborns. It is a way to tell the difference between two different types at a glance.
Tweeze Like A Man
Because my plain, metal tweezers are way too feminine. *rolls eyes*
Gender-Specific Eggs For Children
I was wondering: are these real eggs from chickens, or Kinder Surprise type eggs with toys aimed at boys or girls? I checked and Prior is a Norwegian poultry company and this gendered campaign was to encourage children to eat more eggs... http://www.medicaldaily.com/packaging-eggs-boys-and-girls-norwegian-egg-company-markets-gender-specific-products-children-256390
Men Can Get In Cast Iron Cooking Too!
Hope The Manly, Cheaper Red Ones Will Fit My Little Lady Ears
Nope, Not Prophylactics, But Gendered Chewing Gum. Sent By My Friend In Turkey
Let's talk about the name combined with the gendering. First sensations? Didn't know gum (or mints) could be that pleasurable.
Man Yoghurt
I remember they were good, better than regular ones and bigger and I used to buy them before I eliminated lactose from my diet. Still hasn't grown a beard though so I think they are not working too well ;)
Careful Now. Don't Want To Hurt Your Delicate Lady-Teeth On This Manly Brush
Nail Clippers For Men
I Thought Stocks & Bonds Were Unisex. I've Been Doing It Wrong All This Time
This is a "girl power!" type post, to try and get more women into taking risks in investments.
Did Someone Say "Pointlessly Gendered"?
When I learned to play guitar I did not have butterflies flying around me. Must have done it wrong.
If Your ABC's Weren't Gendered, You Learned Them Wrong
I'm Trail Mixed Up About What The Difference Is
This actually makes sense. Men and women have small differences in dietary needs and often eat more carbs and calories. Our bodies are different.
Beautifully Smooth Pen For Her
Literally Can't Find A Gender-Neutral B-Day Card
Thank Goodness Coles Stock Pink Ladies Work Gloves! Imagine What Would Happen If Ladies Had To Wear Blue Like Men
I've Been Trying To Cut With A Man Knife
Girls Refuse To Be Safe Unless Glitter Is Involved
Maybe I'm missing something but where on this display does it say any of this is for girls? It just says "super sparkly". I know guys who would buy this stuff for themselves, lol.
Because Manly Men Deserve Clean Hands Too
Boys Get Monsters And Girls Get Flowers. They're The Same Damn Beads
'Ladies Only' Credit Card. I Don't Get It, But It Does Come In Rose Gold
Hero Laundry Detergent At Target. Built For Men
What Could Possibly Be In One Of Those That Couldn't Be Played With By Any Child?
So somebody gave me a “boy” one once and I got an awesome little basketball game. I bought another one, that just so happened to be “for girls” and I got a fj&$#ng Barbie necklace!
My Sponge Didn't Feel Motherly Enough
Can't Have A Woman Testing And Approving My Dip!
Origami Needs A Gender
Your Anti-Chafing Stuff Needs To Be Gendered Why?
Thanks, Lipton. I Didn’t Know I Needed Gender Specific Tea In A Pink Wrapper!
Cause Apparently You Gotta Start When They're Young
Gendered Sprinkles, From A Supermarket In New Zealand
Not very consistent with their gender labels..the "boy" colors appeal more to me personally
Another Submission For "Infuriatingly Gendered"
Some of the example really are utterly stupid, but are we now going to pretend that there are no differences between sexes?
Starting The Gendered Socialization Early Is Clever - It Makes Future Relationships Easier And Gender Inequality More Palatable
As before, this isn't labelled for a gender, its a colour choice. My boys would be happy with a pink cleaning set, they love helping around the house with that stuff.
I’m In Bolivia At The Moment, Where They Sell Water Geared Specifically Towards Women - It’s Not Flavoured Or Altered In Any Way, Just Plain Old Water In A Pink Bottle
its one of those products that makes the package pink when doing a breast cancer promotion (they donate part of the profits). Its really common here in south america
Muesli (Granola) Bar For The Ladies
These Coca-Cola Products Seem Oddly Gendered
this one is kinda dubious. coke zero and coke light are almost the same product. However, market research does show that coke zero is usually bought more by men, whereas coke light bought more by women, so the logical marketing assumption would be, market it towards your demographic. The regular coke, however... thats kinda cringy (though you can see friend at the bottom, and technically, a woman can be a grillmaster, but we all know that its totally there to appeal to men)
Manwasher
A Real Man's Dish Soap
I Wonder If The Demons It Summons Are Also Pink
I Always Thought The Holy Word Of God Needed To Be More Pink And Frilly
No Strawberry For Men!
Sudoku Is Just Too Manly
I've seen similar. There is one for men and one for women, and they are identical. Marketing, yay!
Today In "Unnecessarily Gendered Items"
Not Only Are These Unnecessarily Gendered, The Pink One Costs More
The more expensive one is more expensive because it comes with extra drill bits while the other doesn't! Dear god!
At CVS, I Didn’t See Any Women’s Handkerchiefs
Gendered Baby Rattles
What really irks me is that girls' products are always "sweet" and "pretty" whereas boys' are always "busy" and "smart." Basically, girls have to be passive ornaments and boys are meant to be proactive and ambitious. Disgusting! It makes me so MAD!!!
Wait, Girls Can Use Tools Also?
It looks like it has a breast cancer ribbon on the corner. Maybe they donate part of the profit to the cause, which would be nice.
"Train Driver" And "Cupcake" Child Harnesses
This makes me so mad. Why are girls supposed to be smiley and happy all the time. One day I was at the mall and someone went up to me and said "Hey I think you should smile". I was not in the mood to smile.
Today In Unnecessarily Gendered
This Hotel Has Different Toothbrushes For Different Genders
It does not say that one is for women and one for men, one for queens and the other one for everyone else that is not a queen.
I Don't Even Know What To Say
Finally! I Don't Want Girly Dry Clothes
There's No Man Option, Presumably So Women Won't Get Confused Pre-Snax
So Masculine That They're The Reason You Can't Bring Any On Airplanes Anymore
Are We Still Doing The Unnecessarily Gendered Thing? Because My Sister Sent Me This Ridiculousness
Men's And Ladies' Hip Flasks. I'm Sure You Can All Figure Out Which One Is Pink And Sparkly And More Expensive Without Even Looking
in this case price gap seems fair as there seems to be another layer of ugliness added to the regular flask, so it costs extra. It's still ugly as hell and no one in their right mind would buy it but this seems at least slightly justified ;)
I Spent Years Lusting After My Boyfriend's Manly Endives Before Diva Finally Made These Ones I Can Eat
Come on, here the packaging just matches the colour of the veggies... What's the fuss about?
Doctor Playset. The Exact Same Toys In 2 Colours. They Needed To Point Out Pink/Purple Is For Girls And Yellow/Red/Blue Is For Boys
Pointlessly Gendered Wrist Support
Why Does The Duct Tape With The Ladies On It Cost Less? Who Knows!
Driving School Only For Women
There are gyms for women only here, and train wagons just for women and you can call a cab specifying that you want a woman driving. It's not that women need a special driving school, it's for women who prefer to go to a place where they'll only be around other women.
Best Foods For Men
Found Today While Shopping. Men=Unisex And Women=Petite
This Seems Fair And Legitimate
If your boy prefers the pink blocks then by all means buy them for him and vice versa.
Whats Going To Happen To Me Because I Bought The Regular Protein And Not The Women's Protein?
Because God Forbid You Dented Your Masculinity By Buying Women’s Shampoo
It's A Drum Kit. Is This Really Necessary?
It's interesting that the one with the boy picture also has a smaller picture of a girl, but not vice versa.
In A Female Voice: "Oh My God! I've Been Waiting For Them To Make Keyboards For Women! Now I Can Finally Type!"
This Week On Unnecessarily Gendered Items Found In York: Bookmarks
Separate Classes Are Necessary Because We Are So Delicate
I can tell you that I prefer women's only nights at the gun range. No men to "show me how it's done" or other stupid nonsense. And there are some women intimidated by men just being there. So, in this instance, I completely understand the difference. Now....we just need to make sure that the classes both cost the exact same.
It's Just Glue
Disagree with this, its a colour choice. Not a gender choice, you can say its all subliminal but in the end its up to your own mind. If they had a brown colour version would that be racist?
Pointlessly Gendered Toothbrushes
Any product for women : flowers and everything pink and sunshine mixed with pearls and a flowery smell Anything for men: depths of the ocean, the mountains, rocks and everything in the darkness ... Except that both work exactly the same way .
Men, especially children are also often depicted as "smart" and "genius", while women are visualised as "beautiful" and having other objectifying qualities. Just look at the #3 - boy/girl book post. This teaches something to our kids when they are growing up that, you might not want for your kids..
Load More Replies...The biggest problem is why gender ANY of these products in the first place? Okay so you are making some of them "male orientated" but is that just as bad as not making them "female orientated" You could say it is the only way to get man to buy them which is just as sad as labelling them that in the first place.
I work in a restaurant where we offer kids meals. It comes with a small toy. When trying to buy toys for the kids meals i had the hardest times trying to find gender neutral toys... with gender neutral packaging that didnt say boys or girls.... harmfull is a big word but it is dumb that girls arent supposed to play with toy cars unless theyre pink....
Load More Replies...This is stupid. I don't know why it has to be labeled as "his" and "hers" but to be fair, A LOT of girls are into pink things. That's not to say that guys aren't. I don't see why it matters. As a young girl I was always attracted to pink sparkly things. No, that doesn't mean that all girls are. But who cares? Why does this matter so much to people. Aren't there other things going on in the world that are a bit more important than gender specific a*s wipes?
Im raised quite gender neutral and was neither a tomboy nor girly girl. But when people gave me barbie dolls for my birtday i wasnt highly offended or anything. Some people in these comments are a bit fragile. Gender rolls dont necessarily damage people. BUT what the heck is toothpaste for men...............
Load More Replies...Any product for women : flowers and everything pink and sunshine mixed with pearls and a flowery smell Anything for men: depths of the ocean, the mountains, rocks and everything in the darkness ... Except that both work exactly the same way .
Men, especially children are also often depicted as "smart" and "genius", while women are visualised as "beautiful" and having other objectifying qualities. Just look at the #3 - boy/girl book post. This teaches something to our kids when they are growing up that, you might not want for your kids..
Load More Replies...The biggest problem is why gender ANY of these products in the first place? Okay so you are making some of them "male orientated" but is that just as bad as not making them "female orientated" You could say it is the only way to get man to buy them which is just as sad as labelling them that in the first place.
I work in a restaurant where we offer kids meals. It comes with a small toy. When trying to buy toys for the kids meals i had the hardest times trying to find gender neutral toys... with gender neutral packaging that didnt say boys or girls.... harmfull is a big word but it is dumb that girls arent supposed to play with toy cars unless theyre pink....
Load More Replies...This is stupid. I don't know why it has to be labeled as "his" and "hers" but to be fair, A LOT of girls are into pink things. That's not to say that guys aren't. I don't see why it matters. As a young girl I was always attracted to pink sparkly things. No, that doesn't mean that all girls are. But who cares? Why does this matter so much to people. Aren't there other things going on in the world that are a bit more important than gender specific a*s wipes?
Im raised quite gender neutral and was neither a tomboy nor girly girl. But when people gave me barbie dolls for my birtday i wasnt highly offended or anything. Some people in these comments are a bit fragile. Gender rolls dont necessarily damage people. BUT what the heck is toothpaste for men...............
Load More Replies...