This is a somewhat random post, I know. But, this is something that bothers me a little, and I thought I would talk about it!
RAZORS! Why are they gendered?!
There are a couple legitimate reasons, which DO make sense to me...
1) men's razors are typically for their faces so yes, they need to be gentle, sharp, and precise
2) on second thought, that's the only reason I can think of.
Razors are always coloured in a way which the makers' believe specific genders would ideally prefer. For instance, typically female razors are coloured pink, purple, light blue, or red. In contrast, male razors are usually coloured either a simple black, grey, or silver, dark blue, or dark green. We're all taught from a very young age what these particular colours mean, and I find it interesting that they incorporate it into toilettry tools such as razors, which are only meant to do one thing - remove hair cleanly, leaving skin soft and smooth. That's the jist of it, is it not?
Another feature of razors I've noticed, is that for SOME odd reason, men's razors are more durable and strong than women's razors. A Gillette Fusion razor can endure more impact and roughage than a Venus for women.
And, that ALSO brings me to my next point... "Strong enough for a man, but made for a woman." What is that supposed to mean? This is a slogan for shaving products. If this is "strong enough for a man", then why can't a man use it? Oh yeah- because it's "made for a woman", because it is coloured purple. For this reason, often times companies will over-price women's razors, because they are certain we'll buy them because of their aesthetic appearance. I don't know about you, but all I want is smooth legs, and I don't really care how I get there. (If it's a black razor or a hot pink one).
That being said, I own a Gillett Fusion! I've been given razors as presents throughout the years, and ... *surprise surprise*! Always gendered. My first razor was purple and baby blue, and the second one I got was a Venus. I found the blades got duller quicker than any razor I'd ever had before, and for some stinkin' reason, I could NEVER get a smooth shave.
I got frustrated at this. Should it really be so hard? So, I went to Shoppers Drug Mart and asked someone to help me find the best MEN'S razor they had. This woman who worked there even said that all men's razors do a MUCH, MUCH better job than any women's razor on the market, and all women will get a much better 'bang for their buck' if they just 'swallow their feminine pride', and buy a nice, plain, 'heavy-duty', 'strong enough for a man', navy blue razor.
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Razors are such a personal item and so few people ever see it (really only yourself and housemates would ever see it) that it is almost surprising that people still gravitate towards a particular razor based off of its colour. It just goes to show how deeply the the gendered colours are embedded into our minds. you are also absolutely right that the mens razors are much more durable and precise than womens razors. At one point i was given a free Gilette razor, used that on one of my legs and my intution razor on the other and there was a HUGE difference.
ReplyDeleteI think another question to address is why do women need to shave anyways? Personally, i like my legs to be smooth, but is it just another outcome from the male gaze? What is it about being completely hairless that is so attractive to men and women alike? I am under the impression (correct me if im wrong!)that this goes back to the Ancient Egyptians (although im sure it was a popular thing to do in other areas of the world at the same time). Those who were priests/priestesses had all of their body hair removed, which brings us back to the hierarchy towards God, if you were shaved, you were a holier person.
I just came across a ver intresting article about the purposes of hair removal from the Ancient Egyptians. Take a look at it, i think alot of what is said is still held true today. Of course its a website for women, with a pink background and topics about cosmetics, surgeries and nutrition... anways, here is the article link http://www.thebeautybiz.com/67/article/history/beauty-through-ages-egypt#articleContinued
- Splinter2
It is funny that there is an association between cleanliness, purity and hairlessness. Is it because children, the innocent ones, are hairless? It is a common belief in many cultures that body hair is "unclean." The article that you posted about hair removal and Ancient Egyptians is interesting in that both men and women are said to have preferred minimal body hair. I don't think that this is as true today, but I suppose men have their own hair insecurities (hairy chests and backs). It is very interesting, the gendering of razors. Although I do completely agree that razors are gendered I think the vast variety available is a marketing ploy used to ensure continual consumption. Functionality and durablity are no good for consummerism. New colours are just more interesting. Although the marketing is also very gendered (Men's razor ads equate the razors with sports cars, and have well know althetes shaving vs. women's razors being advertised with scantily clad, beautiful women, frolicking around on a tropical beach).
ReplyDeleteHere is a short article on the history of hair removal, but it is not very detailed:
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/the-facinating-history-of-hair-removal.html
Here is a very indepth look at the history of American Women and Hair Removal:
http://www.barnard.edu/history/sample%20thesis/Kirsten%20Hansen%20thesis%20pdf.pdf
Kirsten Hansen's paper makes reference to many other authors that have written about this very topic.
It is so true that men's razors work better...Very interesting post!
Shadows Dreaming
So commenting on the ealier post that was talking about "Why do we shave?"
ReplyDeleteI think it is a very westernized approach to what is thought of as sexually appealing. And on that women shave because "Typically" the social norm of feminity is that women are "supposed" to have soft hairless skin. But with that if men who shave their backs or whatever body part (?) does that in some way feminize them?
One actress who is going against the social mainstream norm of being hairless is Mo'Nique. She is one of the stars from the new movie "Precious" and has recently been the topic of gossip becuase of her choice to not shave. There are photos of her legs in which the photo was from a red carpet event. I feel that it is great that she is stepping aginst the mainstream idealized physical norms of hollywood and society in a whole.
~Freddie Mercury~
The part about this debate that intrigues me most is the cost. If we want to discuss gendered isles of a store (I'm thinking about the Gurls Toys'r'us post), let's look at the typical drug store. Walking down the isle that has creams, lotions, bubble bath, you name it, there is about 6 times the real estate dedicated to products clearly for women, versus the one shelf that has "suave and manly" products for male shaving needs. This doesn't even touch on the issue of health regarding these products. If you know what to look for on ingredient labels, you will notice that products for women (which there are more of) and men are full of chemicals and synthetics that are not good for our skin, they just make it reach a point where it needs MORE product. So, if there are more products for women, and all of these products require further products to fix the damage of the first one (e.g. soap = dryness, so cream = moisture, then moisture = clogging, so clogging is remedied by spot treatment..etc.) how are women ever expected to escape the cycle of beauty products? They aren't.
ReplyDeleteWhy are women "expected" to use so many different products to "make" themselves beautiful? And on that note, why are we so quick to jump on those expectations? Does anyone else remember the first time they shaved? I do. I was quite young, probably "tween" age, if you will, and while having a bath I decided it would be a good idea to shave all the hair off my legs (and maybe arms?). When I got out of the tub and my mother noticed, she was more or less sad for me. "Why did you do that? Don't start shaving now you don't need to!" All I thought was, geez mom, why can't you understand that the pretty girls in school will like me better if I am as pretty and hairless as them? (delusionallll!!!). I agree with the comment made earlier about hairlessness insinuating "innocence" or maybe even perfection. How we got to this point is rather sad.
Back to the colour/gender delima of these infamous tools, I'd like to note that the same mother who told me to stop shaving was the one who used (and continues to use) men's razors AND men's deodorant. Again, as a child, "mom, why are you using mens products?"..."Well, they just work better!". Moms are always right.
anddd forgot to sign.
ReplyDeleteTVfree.
I often wondered about the gendering of razors myself. I just assumed that shaving legs required a different type of razor than shaving faces. It never occured to me that it was not the case.
ReplyDeleteAs for me, I own a razor mach 3. Why? Cause once they sent me one in the mail. It worked, I used it. So I bought more. I have no idea how well any other razors might work.
But everyone here made really good points. I'll recommend to my female friends to try using some "male" razors. We'll see what they think of that!
--The N3rd
I think this question can go further: Why gendered deodorant? Why gendered shaving cream? Why gendered facial scrub?
ReplyDeleteOne thing that it made me think of is how my partner and I share moisturizer, facial products and shaving cream even though we are of the opposite gender. (Actually I should be specific, we use MY products). Regardless, at the end of the day, there is nothing about these products that are essentially male or female. They're just constructed that way.
Overall, I'm pessimistic. I think that this is just a capitalist ploy to make people buy more crap. Regardless, I think there are lots of little ways that people resist these constructions.
Woo, go resistance!
Macho Muffin
Haha, totally know where you are coming from, me and my partner also share these products and more often than enough they are MINE. "Stong enough for a man, but made for a woman" I think was also used in a women's deoderant commercial. WoW another thing that is gendered completley- man scents and womenly scents, I've also noticed how there is a 'sensitive skin' deoderant for women but is there one for men also? Or do men not have sensitive skin??? :)
ReplyDeleteVitamin C