Gender bias has infiltrated product marketing. Things like shaving cream, pens, and razors have tailored products for women and men, despite the fact that there aren't different needs for those products for the two genders. Products targeting women, in particular, come at a significant mark-up: According to Forbes, these products cost 7% more on average than products targeting men. Some refer to this as the "Pink Tax."
From the LGBTQ+ perspective, there is an additional layer of discontent with gender-biased marketing. These products often leave out any discussion of gender nonconformity; ignoring the existence of nonbinary, genderqueer, and otherwise gender-nonconforming individuals. The binary that one must either be a man or a woman is omnipresent in our society; pink razors are just another example.
But there are easy practices we can use as marketers to avoid gender-based marketing and move towards gender neutrality. By practicing gender neutrality, we make all consumers and audiences feel welcome.
