For the Diary of Systematic Injustices showcase, I decided to focus on one of the topics that felt most prevalent to myself and that I could relate to as a woman in the United States.
A few weeks ago, I had gone to Kroger with one of my best friends because she needed to purchase Plan B, an Emergency Contraception Pill. As we were at the store, I couldn’t help but notice the price of it, $49.99 and that’s before tax. At the time I was thinking “Oh wow that’s really expensive” but that was really the extent of my thought process on the price at the time. But as I look now, I come to the realization that this high pricing could do much worse than make a dent in your bank account. There are women that are in desperate need of these services cannot always obtain them due to the high pricing. There are people that are in much lower socioeconomic classes and it is simply unfair that they will have to be faced with a higher chance at perhaps an unwanted pregnancy due to the inability to purchase these ECP’s.
This is just yet another example of the Systematic Injustices that are seen every single day. Doing further research, I found that there are more available ECP’s online that can be found at lower prices. This being said, why is it that the in-store prices are much higher? Although the prices online are lower, this again calls for inequality in the ability to receive them because what if someone doesn’t have the necessary credentials to purchase online? What if this person does not have an address to ship it? There are numerous amounts of factors that go into the accessibility of ECP’s and there are major issues with the equal opportunity of getting these.
Other countries around the world offer universal health care. This includes Australia, Austria, Scotland, Italy, Germany, Belgium, and more. Within this health care they have a lot more accessibility to these types of services regarding women’s health; this including birth control. The United States on the other hand does not provide universal health care and this calls for mass more amounts of Systematic Injustices with women across the country.
On top of this, with regards to price alone on women’s products there is also a phenomenon regarding a conspiracy on the. “Pink Tax”. The Pink Tax refers to the extra amount of money that women pay for specific products or services. This is typically in regard to feminine hygiene items, women’s clothing, women’s razors, and women’s body wash. While this tax does not apply all of the time, typically the color is what makes it have a higher price. Statistically speaking, women pay more than men 42% of the time.
Within our class itself, I found that this systematic injustice relates greatly to the theory of the Other by Simon de Beauvoir. It is in the excerpt from The Second Sex introduction where De Beauvoir refers this theory of the other in relation to gender. This goes right along with the injustice with women in the United States I am speaking on as the more that we delve into the systematic issues against women, it almost makes men seems superior in a way. Men do not succumb to the “Pink Tax”, men do not have to worry about the high pricing on birth control, ECPs, or other feminine products. All of this leads to women feeling almost as if they are always the “Other” even in an economy setting.
These high prices, extra taxing, and overall unequal ability to obtain certain services as a woman all make a major systematic injustice. Attention needs to be brought to these issues as within the United States, awareness to these issues could eventually have potential to fix the wrongs in this system.
This photograph shows the differences of pricing via the Pink Tax on different products.
https://rewirenewsgroup.com/article/2014/05/01/inequality-misinformation-generic-emergency-contraception-still-inaccessible-many/
This is another article explaining the inaccessibility of ECPs.
I had always believed that it was unfair how women had to pay for certain products, but I was unaware of how unjust the pricing was. I am stuck on the fact that “women pay more than men 42% of the time”. This just completely baffles me. This is a serious problem that needs attention. I also see this problem in buying menstrual care. Every month women are forced to spend money on products like tampons and pads, which are necessities to women that men will never have to spend money on. This is an extra cost that can be difficult for women. Pricing can be considered unjust. Women deserve to be treated equal to men. They should not have to spend more than men on everyday items. Thank you so much for bringing light to this issue.
I grew up in the 70s & 80s and it was much more difficult back then. Many men thought of themselves as superior. I do not see it that way as much. I am in a different generation as most of my peers. However, I can still see women as the other. It just does not seem as strong. More men are accepting of women in most work fields.
Women in lower economic status might be able to get help through Planned Parenthood or other local organizations. Possible even help through Human Services. It depends on the situation. There is usually a way around to get help with conceptions.
I have not heard of the pink tax though. That is not right. I can see women still as the other in this situation as well. Good job on your showcase.
Being a women I have recognize these inequalities in our healthcare. You did a great job explaining all the different examples. Without insurance such things like birth control can be very pricey to pay for each month. I’ve been with friends when they’ve went to pick up their birth control for the first time and not realizing the is cost over $100 without insurance. I’m fortunate enough that mine is free due to my father’s insurance. I know there are other ways to be able to get free birth control through certain programs such as planned parenthood health centers but not everyone gets that opportunity. With feminine products they are not cheap. I think it’s kind of ridiculous that they are set at these prices when we don’t have a choice, we need these products each month. Especially to taxes just because it’s a woman’s product shows how unfair it is.
I’m glad you wrote on this topic because I feel it’s something that is really overlooked when people talk about injustices in America, mostly because there are so many to cover and it’s difficult to remember all of them. It’s not quite the same situation, but it reminds me of Polly in The Leavers when she attempts to get an abortion in Fuzhou, but can’t because it is not available for her due to her marital status. Polly is forced to wait until she gets to America and by that point it’s too late. I’m sure Polly doesn’t regret having Deming in the end, but she definitely is a woman with a free spirit and it’s hard to have a free spirit with a child.