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L’antisexisme, un coup de pub à peu de frais pour des marques en mal de notoriété. La marque de lingerie Thirdlove a décroché de nombreux articles dans la presse en tapant sur une publicité d’un de ses concurrents directs, Calvin Klein.

L’antisexisme, un coup de pub à peu de frais pour des marques en mal de notoriété

Dont la campagne avait pourtant été saluée pour sa diversité. Déclarer la guerre aux publicités sexistes est un sport de combat devenu tendance chez les marques, et même institutionnel. Non contentes de produire des publicités qui ne transforment pas les femmes en objet, de plus en plus d’entreprises surfent sur la vague féministe qui a déferlé aux Etats-Unis (et dans une moindre mesure en France) ces dernières années. L’objectif inavoué est de récupérer toute cette nouvelle génération de jeunes femmes, prêtes à voter Hillary Clinton ou Bernie Sanders, séduites par un discours punchy et politique, pour les inviter… à consommer. The Fractal Nature of the Gender Binary: Or Blue vs. Turquoise. Flashback Friday.

The Fractal Nature of the Gender Binary: Or Blue vs. Turquoise

A reader named Judith B. wrote in confounded by the copy describing the watch pictured above. It began: Don’t be fooled by the girly blue and white face on this multifunction Pro Spirit® digital sports watch. It’s more than a match for any tough guy’s watch… “Girly blue and white?” I think I’ve got an answer for you, Judith. The gender binary — that is, the rule that everything (oh animals, jobs, food, kleenex, housework, sound, games, deordorant, love and sex, candy, vitamins, etc) gets split into male and female — is fractal. What does that mean for blue? Usually the use of a “girly blue” serves to balance masculinity and femininity. The hidden tax women pay on just about everything. Whether you're buying pink toys with your allowance as a kid or canes and compression socks in old age, it's cheaper to be a man and more expensive to be a woman.

The hidden tax women pay on just about everything

The New York City Department of Consumer Affairs studied nearly 800 products in 35 categories that people buy and use throughout their life — everything from onesies and baby shoes to razors and deodorant. Products marketed to women cost more than products marketed to men 42 percent of the time. And men's products cost more only 8 percent of the time. Over women's lifetimes, the report concludes, the differences can easily add up to thousands of dollars. And all of this is legal. The study found women's razors and razor cartridges cost 11 percent more than men's. But the worst offender was shampoo: men paid an average of $5.68 per bottle of shampoo, while women paid $8.39, a 48 percent difference. There is no reason for this — men's and women's shampoo uses the same ingredients. Clothing is more expensive across the board. How the beauty industry convinced women to shave their legs.

In 1920, when a young woman cut her leg shaving, it wasn't just an accident.

How the beauty industry convinced women to shave their legs

It was national news, because shaving your legs was just that unusual: Seattle Star/Library of Congress How did women shaving their armpits and legs go from a freak story in 1920 to the mainstream by 1950? The best research blames a sustained advertising campaign to change the way women groomed. In the 1900s, most women didn't care about armpit or leg hair Ullstein Bild/Getty Images As the 20th century began, women didn't care if they had leg or underarm hair, and it shows in the beauty guides, ads, and fashion of the time. Women did worry about hair other places. But new trends started to change everything within a few years. Advertisers target the armpit According to Hope, a shift began in 1915 when advertisers in Harper's Bazar started to target underarm hair (usually for various depilatory creams).

This 1922 ad from Harper's Bazaar is typical of the genre that emerged: Harper's Bazaar Keystone France/Getty Images. Why you should always buy the men’s version of almost anything. Soap tends to be pricier for women.

Why you should always buy the men’s version of almost anything

But why? (Photo courtesy of the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs) Radio Flyer sells a red scooter for boys and a pink scooter for girls. Both feature plastic handlebars, three wheels and a foot brake. Both weigh about five pounds. The only significant difference is the price, a new report reveals. The scooters' price gap isn't an anomaly. DCA Commissioner Julie Menin, who launched the investigation this summer, said the numbers show an insidious form of gender discrimination. “It’s a double whammy,” Menin said, “and it’s not just happening in New York. [What a creepy Bloomingdale’s ad tells us about America’s understanding of rape] A Target spokesperson said the company lowered the price of the pink scooter after the report was released Friday, calling the discrepancy a "system error. " [Bye, bye, bananas] Walgreens, for example, peddled a blue box of Schick Hydro 5 cartridges for $14.99.

[VIDEO: Are men better at assembling Ikea furniture?]