Is it more expensive being a woman or a man?

[terry1156]

This is a light hearted and fun ongoing debate that my wife and I have. Is it more expensive to be a man or a woman? I'm curious to everyone's thoughts and reasoning why they would choose one or the other.

[sweeps]

Woman. Hair, makeup, clothes, jewelry. 'Nuff said.

[Broken Arrow]

I'm going to have to say woman.

Women have a lot of uh... maintenance fees that men don't normally have. You know, anything ranging from the superficial to the biological.

Men also have their own expenses, but uh, much of it is involved in trying to keep the woman happy.

*RUNS AND HIDES*

[cschin4]

Woman

Seems like the marketing people capitalize on this and charge more for gal related products, etc. Being a "girly girl" could be quite expensive. But, I am a TomBoy so it is hard for me to really say!

[JanH]

Since Hubby doesn't like to spend money....I'm higher maintenance. My haircuts are more expensive. I buy more clothes and shoes than he does. I also buy more toiletries. But, Hubby's toys and tools are more expensive than my hobbies....but he buys them less often. And often with birthday/Christmas money. I spoil the kids more. He buys more food out. I spend less on gas. We both splurge on books. This is an interesting question.....

[Caoineag]

Well generally, I would say that it is more expensive to be a women.

Women have more accessories such as belts, jewelry, makeups and shoes that are generally considered necessary to look well. (As I am a failure as a women I don't possess many of these but even I tend to be more expensive than my husband).

Every other expense can go either way depending on who enjoys what.

Now in actuality, I think men tend to spend more on their toys but I blame that perception on my parents. My mother spent almost nothing, my father bought large and expensive toys.

[ThriftoRama]

Woman. studies have repeatedly shown that women are charged more for similar services than men, i.e. getting a dress shirt dry cleaned-- much more expensive for a woman's shirt than a man's shirt, etc.

This is on top of everything else-- we pay more for health insurance and disability insurance b/c of the risk of pregnancy, etc.

Very frustrating.

[CouponAddict]

Woman - more expensive.

Lets see it starts at birth with all those cute little girl clothes, not much available for little boys.

Females-
UNDERGARMENTS- Bra's, underwear, nylons, socks, slips, cami's
SHOES 50? pairs-heals (short, medium & tall), flats, sandels, tennis shoes work boots, boots in brown, black & cream in each at least.

Males-
Underware- underwear, socks
Shoes 4pair (brown, black leather shoes, work boots, and tennis shoes)

[syracusa]

Fun thread.

If we are to talk strictly in terms of personal expenses (not who decides to spend more on kids, who's more generous, etc) definitely - woman.

Have you noticed how clothes for women are much lower quality at the same price with similar items for men? It is quite outrageous. Marketers know that - so given that on average women still make less money than men, here's to a system that perpetuates the "gold digger" instinct even in the most decent of women.
We need the men to sponsor us - or at least PARTIALLY sponsor us.

As a woman, I think it is hard to be completely disinterested in a prospective partner's money making potential (as I was when I married DH -due to coming from a "different planet", aka a former socialist nation that had just turned capitalist). EVERYTHING in a capitalist society is about money and when your money-making potential as a woman is certainly more limited than the man's, if only for your childbearing/small children years, if not for many other reasons...you kind of start to care about the man's wallet, if only a little bit.

So guys please stop judging women when they check out your present/future money making prospects. You are the ones who created and support this kind of world and not all of us want you to be decent earners so we can bathe in "unearned luxury".

I used to think very ill of "gold diggers" (which to me was ANY woman who would be as much as curious about how much money a prospective husband earns; I did not know exactly know much mine was making when I decided to marry him. His material situation looked OK to me from a distance, I just wanted to know how well-read and cultured he was ).

Now, after 10 years in a capitalist jungle, I think a little differently.

[Gruntina]

Men!

beers!

Expensive power tools and general tools, gaming equipimnets and games, men tend to have more expensive hobbies such as golf or cars. When single, they eat out all the time.

[Gruntina]

Oh need to add computer and softwares as well. They are not cheap.

[pearlieq]

My general opinion is that it costs more to be a woman, but ONLY due to biology.

In every other sense, I would say that each is as expensive as you make it.

I think basic clothing costs are about the same for men and women. A pair of pants, shirt, socks, shoes, and undergarments costs pretty much the same for a man and a woman. I guess a bra costs more than an undershirt, but to me the difference is negligible in the grand scheme of things.

I suppose men usually have to pay a bit more for food than women, but if an active young woman needs 2200 calories a day and an active young man needs 2600, I don't see the cost of 400 calories/day being very significant with how cheap food is in our society.

Basic grooming costs are the same as well. Regular soap, shampoo, and Q-Tips are genderless. A simple haircut costs the same for either gender (at least at the place I go).

Costs rocket for either gender when you start going beyond the basics. But that's all discretionary and not specifically tied to gender.

The only place where I really see a difference between men and women that isn't subject to discretion and personal preferences is biology.

Most women have to deal with a monthly cycle for 40 years, and that always costs something. Women have to deal with medical costs for the care and monitoring of their bits, which men don't really incur. Women have the babies, which costs a fortune in medical care and temporary inability to work.

[CouponAddict]

Originally Posted by Gruntina

Men!

beers!

Expensive power tools and general tools, gaming equipimnets and games, men tend to have more expensive hobbies such as golf or cars. When single, they eat out all the time.

But are the powertools a male thing or a household thing, (I mow the grass more often than my DH)? I said we had to upgrade to the self-propell.

and the Jewelry collection of some woman offsets the tool expense in my mind.

[syracusa]

Originally Posted by Gruntina

Men!

beers!

Expensive power tools and general tools, gaming equipimnets and games, men tend to have more expensive hobbies such as golf or cars. When single, they eat out all the time.

BS.
Games and hobbies are not necessities. Clothes, toiletries and looking socially acceptable according to gender roles border on absolute necessities.

Sure, I COULD conceivably turn butch and only need what men need on the clothing/personal grooming front. Somehow this is less of an option for me than it would be for my husband to give up expensive toys.

[syracusa]

Originally Posted by pearlieq

My general opinion is that it costs more to be a woman, but ONLY due to biology.

I think basic clothing costs are about the same for men and women. A pair of pants, shirt, socks, shoes, and undergarments costs pretty much the same for a man and a woman.

Not true. At the same price, quality differs dramatically.

[pearlieq]

Originally Posted by syracusa

Not true. At the same price, quality differs dramatically.

That really hasn't been my experience.

[Broken Arrow]

Originally Posted by syracusa

I used to think very ill of "gold diggers" (which to me was ANY woman who would be as much as curious about how much money a prospective husband earns; I did not know exactly know much mine was making when I decided to marry him. His material situation looked OK to me from a distance, I just wanted to know how well-read and cultured he was ).

Now, after 10 years in a capitalist jungle, I think a little differently.

Haha, I used to be like that too; very idealistic in that I used to have a disdain for anyone who emphasizes cash over character.

However, after having been through a marriage, I don't blame any woman who sizes up a man through his finances. I still disapprove of gold-diggers, and I still believe in character, but financial security is far too important for anyone to ignore....

[CouponAddict]

Originally Posted by pearlieq

Basic grooming costs are the same as well. Regular soap, shampoo, and Q-Tips are genderless. A simple haircut costs the same for either gender (at least at the place I go)

Where are you going?? I want to know, so I can go there, got to love a deal!!

Every haircutting place in my town has a childs, mens, and a higher woman's price.

[momof1in150]

Originally Posted by pearlieq

My general opinion is that it costs more to be a woman, but ONLY due to biology.

In every other sense, I would say that each is as expensive as you make it.

I think basic clothing costs are about the same for men and women. A pair of pants, shirt, socks, shoes, and undergarments costs pretty much the same for a man and a woman. I guess a bra costs more than an undershirt, but to me the difference is negligible in the grand scheme of things.

Then how come a 6-pack of Hanes for my DH cost $6 and one pair of underwear can cost me more then $6. Women's clothes are much more expensive and most of the time not as good of a quality. Men can get away with fewer clothes then women when working.

My DH does spend money on shoes but he only needs 2 pairs for work. He can wear them year round and most of the time they can be resoled and he gets a lot of years out of them. His average shoe cost is about $100 per pair. I have at least 8 pairs of shoes and they all are worn at different times of the year and they average $60-80 a pair.

DH's haircut costs $8.00 - mine cost $45. He does get his cut every 4 weeks but I get mine done every 8 weeks so mine is much more expensive.

The list could go on and on.

[Gruntina]

Originally Posted by syracusa

BS.
Games and hobbies are not necessities. Clothes, toiletries and looking socially acceptable according to gender roles border on absolute necessities.

Sure, I COULD conceivably turn butch and only need what men need on the clothing/personal grooming front. Somehow this is less of an option for me than it would be for my husband to give up expensive toys.

Sorry I did not realize this was limited to necessities. However jewelry, excessive clothing’s, fancy make-up and perfumes are not necessities. It if we’re there is cheap make-up and Jewelry does not make or break it.

Women are more willing to spend on clothes, jewelry, house interior decoration and stuff as it is more appealing for them. If they had a choice between sports, computer games and etc vs. nicer clothing’s, jewelry.. In most case women would choose the latter.

If you look in today's modern market, men dress snappier now; there is even a make-up line for men. I live in San Francisco and men are generally into fashion due to the heavy social advertisement here. Also in today's age a lot of women are having higher salary jobs where men feel the need to impress to get a date with one of these ladies. But I guess it depends on where you live and the type of job industry for men. Where I live , work is mostly corporations, engineers, newscaster, public relation jobs.