The Story
Scented Underwear
There is such thing as scented underwear. As a woman and as a consumer, I am saddened, but not surprised, that such a product exists. I don’t know any self-respecting woman who would elect to wear perfumed underwear, but perhaps I am projecting my fear of UTIs and yeast infections on the rest of the female population. In any case, the only reason I can come up with for wearing scented underwear would be to eliminate any so-called feminine odor, though I have never encountered a situation in which I have been offended by such a “problem.” But our society insists that women should always be well groomed, so Melon, the company that produces the scented underwear, is simply helping women perform their role in society.
Scented underwear is just one of thousands of products that are derived from and perpetuate patriarchal gender stereotypes. Despite the fact that men have an often offending ‘masculine odor,’ there are no products intended to mask it. Women, on the other hand, are barraged by products like scented tampons and underwear in order to smell less like a woman - in other words, to become a more tolerable member of society.
The influence of our consumer society starts early, with advertisements and the competition for the “coolest” toys conditioning children to participate in capitalism. The truly disconcerting part of children’s consumerism is the division between girls’ toys and boys’ toys. At Target.com, not only are there separate sections for girls’ and boys’ toys, but the overwhelming majority of girls’ toys are pink and reinforce stereotypical maternal instincts while the boys’ section includes toys that promote science and even violence. Children are socialized at such an early age not just to consume, but also to consume what is considered appropriate for their gender.
Advertising takes advantage of gender roles by targeting women for products that are considered feminine, even if they are used by both women and men. Commercials for household appliances like ovens and refrigerators often feature women because the kitchen is seen as a woman’s domain, while men are often seen in advertising for computers and other office wares because they are seen as the breadwinners. The consequence of stereotyped advertising is that it perpetuates and reinforces the gender roles, making it hard for the distinction between masculine and feminine to break down.
So many ludicrous products have been invented simply to maintain gender roles in society. The “Miss Army Knife,” for example, is a pink pocketknife with some of the usual things you would find in a pocketknife, but it also includes a needle and thread and “a secret component to put an emergency bottle of perfume.” Seriously. Was it really necessary to create a feminine pocketknife when any pocketknife would serve a woman just as well as a man? So many other products have been unnecessarily feminized, from tools to appliances to cars, even though that often only means making the product pink and adding a compartment for makeup.
It is hard to imagine our culture without consumerism. That said, corporations do not have to make products that perpetuate gender stereotypes, nor do they have to market them with sexist advertisements. However, the advertisements must be compelling (and the gender roles firmly ingrained), because as my roommate so eloquently put it, “people are actually buying this s***,” even though the pink sparkly version often costs more, even though the commercials touting the quality of the product are often sexist. It is time for women to take responsibility for their consumerism and for corporations to start respecting the women to whom they cater.
Emilie Rafal is a staff columnist for The DSJ. His views do not necessarily represent those of the entire staff.