To think being a woman costs more?

His will last 10 years, ours wouldn’t.

But even a fairly fuss free woman needs:
Day to day bras
A sports bra
Probably some kind of multiway bra to wear with vest tops, racerbacks, strapless etc - if only to get married in!
Normal pants
Either seam free or thong to wear under leggings/tight clothing
Tights
Socks

Men - a 10 pack of boxers

Interestingly I think women's bog standard pants are much cheaper than men's. Less material/complicated design?

At least DH recently bought a pack of M&S not particularly exciting trunks for £28 for 5, whereas (I've just checked) you can get an M&S multipack of women's knickers for £8 for 5.

There is definitely an issue with ‘pink tax’. ‘Women’s products are generally more expensive than men’s. And before anyone suggests just use men’s, I do not want to smell like Lynx Africa etc.
Look how long it took to get VAT removed from period products! And we still have to buy those for a significant part of life.
Women do get promoted more if they are groomed and professional in a way that does not apply to men. How many senior women do you see who look like they have just crawled out of a cave!?!
Women generally are in caregiver roles, often making sacrifices to their earning potential/pension contributions.

In short, yes, it is more expensive to be a woman.

But if a man has straggling, unkempt facial hair, he's most likely going to look like he is either completely destitute, has issues with addiction or mental health, or has some sort of condition that means he is incapable of basic selfcare.

Or, he's just grown a beard? Does having a beard mean got addictions or mental health issues?!

As I said replies will be from posters who never go anywhere much or out after dark. Or don"t even wear bloody bras!

Rapes and assaults can happen in London too. I take the Tube in London as does DD, but when it stops at midnight, we may take Ubers. DH can walk.

The competitive, "I cut my own hair, havr never had a manicure, buy 1 bra every 10 years and have a moon cup i got given as an 18th birthday present from my.mum" comments on here are infuriating. Its like the competitive under eating threads or the fabled 5 meal MN chicken....

Op you are right. Your examples might not be ideal but we do have additional needs. Some are biological (breasts, period products), some are societal (make up, hair care etc), but that doesn't mean they aren't real, and some are something else but I dont know what to call it (things we do to stay safer). And then there's the "pink tax" for identical products targeted at women vs men.

I am sure we would all like to ditch these societal expectations but it is what it is. And to pretend they dont exist makes it that much harder to actually change anything.

Plus there are other aspects. I use skin care. It definitely makes a difference to my skin (notwithstanding the shouts of "it's all a scam"). But whether because of nature or nurture, i use SOME products because I just like them eg I have lots of cheap and cheerful cleansers that work perfectly well. But I also have some that are expensive that I buy because the scent and feel of them pleases me. Dh genuinely doesn't give a rats ass if the shampoo or moisteriser smells nice. Is that learned behaviour or genetic? I have no idea. It is real though.

wouldn’t like it if their partner suddenly stopped wearing make up, stopped shaving / waxing and allowed their grey to grow out.

Perpetuating that women are there for mens benefit. I do not give one jot if my partner doesnt like it if I dont wear make up, or shave or whatever. Because I'm a person, I do what I do for my benefit not his. I dont exist for his enjoyment, I dont depend on his validation, i'm not a doll, not a possession. If a partner does moan at the lack of this stuff; its a red flag for me and shouldn't be acceptable - just as it isnt acceptable for a woman to demand a man does/doesn't shave type thing. Body autonomy.

Although if they want a man to pay for it then thats a different story; more the fool them.

Agree with the sanitary tax. Ridiculous!

On a tangent, I used to be a punk/grungy and tbh, my clothes are still a little towards that look years later, skinnies, big boots etc. When I was at uni, I had a desk job in a bank processing centre, not customer faced. They actually called a meeting about my appearance (even though I'd made a huge effort to look smart and toned everything down!) and I was told off in front of management. I handed in my notice then and there and on my last day, I wore a floor length tie dye dress and my dyed red hair in bunchies. Management looked like they were chewing a wasp when they saw me.

It's insane that we have to be held to account over our clothes and can be held back because of them. If clean, tidy and can do the flipping job well, that's what it's important!

No you need underwear, lingerie isn't the same thing. It is a type of underwear but not the type you have to have for work, well unless you have a very particular line of work.

Well I would certainly need lingerie at work or I would be out of a job! No one wants to see my saggy titties scraping the floor! I didn’t mention a bikini wax though, I’ve never had one. It was hair and nails etc I was referring to. I’m not saying it’s okay or the right attitude just that it is the attitude in a lot of workplaces and in society. We’re not enemies here. We’re in the same side in that it’s not right.

The grey hair you’re thinking of is the one that people pay a lot of money blending as it grows out etc and needs toning. I don’t think it’s about fashion really, I didn’t say that there’s anything wrong with any of the things that I listed. Just that I think women are judged for them personally and professionally.

Just buy the mens ones then. Just why would you pay more for pink?

Bras unfortunately are expensive

Yes of course I do. But they’re fairly standard and not “fun money” I don’t think.

Oh, you changed it - spoilsport 😜

Lol yeah thought I'd got back and edited that in time but had to stop laughing first 😂

Bras and basic knockers - this has to be the most appropriately placed typo ever 😂😂😂

Actually Amazon's own razors are pretty good and not expensive.

I stuck with M&S for bras and basic knickers. Can't be done with little bits of lace costing a fortune

It doesn’t cost more. Women choose to spend more on those things. And all men I know take a taxi home in the evening if the distance is far enough.

You do realise those are all options not mandatory