Lady Doritos

Doritos Picture from Google

Doritos, the nacho cheese flavored tortillas, are eaten across the United States by men, women, and children of all ages. However, Indra Nooyi, CEO of PepsiCo,  had very interesting comments distinguishing between the way men and women eat these cheesy chips. On the Freakonomics Radio show, Nooyi said that,

     "...young guys eat the chips, they love their Doritos, and they lick their fingers with great glee, and when they reach the bottom of the bag they pour the little-broken pieces into their mouths, because they don’t want to lose that taste of the flavor, and the broken chips in the bottom. Women would love to do the same, but they don’t. They don’t like to crunch too loudly in public. And they don’t lick their fingers generously and they don’t like to pour the little-broken pieces and the flavor into their mouth."

Gender Stereotypes are a huge issue in marketing and the media and are only emphasized in Nooyi's remarks. She went on to describe PepsiCo's plan to develop Doritos that are "low-crunch, [have] the full taste profile, [and doesn't] have so much of the flavor stick on the fingers." She even explained that the packaging could be changed so it could fit in a purse, because women "love to carry snacks in their purses." The marketing industry uses common misconceptions about women to market their products. Nooyi's generalized remarks do not reflect how all women eat chips. I myself chow down Doritos and the little-broken pieces are probably my favorite part of the process.  Women and men alike have shown backlash all over social media about these "Lady Doritos", curious about the fact that women can't even snack without being judged based on their gender. The funniest response to Doritos would have to be from Jessica Valenti, American blogger, and feminist writer, in which she tweeted that "the only good thing about the new quiet “Lady Doritos” is now they can’t hear us coming."

Bic Pens: For Her Picture from Google

Buzzfeed posted an article that discusses 21 different items that are unnecessarily separated by gender. One of the items on the list was Bic Pens: For Her. The difference between regular Bic pens and the "lady pens" is that the lady pens are pink and purple, smaller, and bedazzled. The catch? They are 70% more expensive than the basically identical Bic black pens. This pay gap is not uncommon in the difference between feminine and masculine products. Feminine hygiene requires a lot more time, effort, and money generally. In a study from the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs, it is shown that women pay more than men for various items 42% of the time. Some examples of these products are jeans, shampoo, and razors. These products are not that much different than men's but it is more expensive due to the "Pink Tax". The "Pink Tax" "refers to the extra amount women are charged for certain products or services" Women make less money than men, however, the manufacturers force the female consumers to pay more for necessary items. If a person were to look at these facts in the situation of "Lady Doritos", will these Doritos be more expensive because there were alterations made to "benefit" the woman?

In terms of gender stereotypes, there are products made specifically for men that seem silly when thinking about them. For example, the Kleenex company created "man-sized tissues." The tissues are larger than the normal sized ones and come in darker packaging. Women usually get angry at the fact that basic products made specifically for women are more expensive and pointless. I pondered whether or not men felt the same way or if they liked having products that were separate from women. So, I surveyed some of my male friends from high school. Overall, they thought it was stupid to have "man-sized" tissues because they have no greater advantage than the regular tissue. They felt like it was the media's way of getting the consumer's attention and tricking them into spending more money. Also, they said that it places men into the stereotype of being big and muscular, therefore their tissues need to be bigger than women's. Like women, men are also being generalized and it is upsetting.

Kleenex Tissue picture from Google.

The backlash against the "Lady Dorito" has brought about different questions in our society that need to be addressed. In the midst of the women's rights and equality movement happening right now, women and men alike need to decide how they want the future to look. Should we live in a world that places men and women into these different categories or should we try to make everything neutral and raise the next generation equal? In the end, the Lady Dorito does not look like its going to be made anytime soon. PepsiCo released a statement stating that "We already have Doritos for women — they’re called Doritos, and they’re loved by millions." This occurrence has made me and others think about how the media and manufacturing companies' manipulation of the consumer are affecting the prices we pay for equal goods. I'm going to go think about this while I go crunch (very loudly) on some Doritos.