Gender marketing has gradually become yesterday's news and was often criticized for its sexism due to an increased awareness of consumers refusing to be categorized.
While pink and blue products are the colors often associated with girls and boys respectively, a variety of manufacturers have begun to shun this outdated perception by embracing neutrality.
We still have a ways to go.
But did you realize that certain products that are specifically designed for use by one gender didn't always start that way?
For example, high heels were originally designed for men.
We have become socialized to only expect seeing female models – and the finest drag queens – high-stepping in their stilettos. However, its origins can be traced back to 15th century Persia when soldiers wore them to secure their footing in stirrups.
That and other interesting bit of trivia came to surface when Redditor hodgepodge282 asked:
"What's something that was designed for the use of one sex but is now predominantly used by the other?"
Old Spice
"Old Spice was launched by Shulton Inc. in 1937. William Lightfoot Schultz was inspired by his mother's potpourri and as a result, the first Old Spice product in 1937 was a woman's scent called Early American Old Spice. The product was received well, and therefore followed with Old Spice for men in 1938."
"I LOVE OLD SPICE (and I am female). My husband and i share deodorants. I'm hoping one day Old Spice will make a line for women (Sea Hag, Forest Witch, something tough and not floofy like Lavender Flower Blossom or something)"
"I didn't know Old Spice used to be for women. RECLAIM OLD SPICE."
Tissue
"I remember reading somewhere that Kleenex was made for ladies to remove their makeup, but their husbands were blowing their noses in them. And now we all blow our noses in them."
Marlboro
"Filtered cigarettes in general, but Marlboro made the biggest leap in terms of gendered marketing. Once that whole conspiracy theory came out that like cigarettes are idk bad for you or something and more people switched to filtered cigarettes (it's filtered, that means it's good for you!) was around the time the the salt of the earth classic American Marlboro Man came into existence, trying to distance the brand from its previously woman focused advertisements."
Stirrups
"Those leg stirrups they use at the gynocologist were invented for removing kidney bladder stones in men. They used to cut from below the testicles and cut right through the prostate. It had a very low survival rate and was not approved by the medical profession."
"The original hippocratic oath had a section on 'not cutting for stone' meaning they swore not to surgically remove the stones because of it. They later removed that section of the oath, otherwise a bunch of urologists would be out of a job."
Heels
"Heels if i remember correctly."
"That's correct; high heels were originally made for butchers to wear (who were mostly men) so that they could keep their feet clean of any blood from slaughtering animals."
"The Ford Mustang. It was supposed to be a car with a big trunk to you could fit all the groceries in it. There was even an ad or article stating that you can own a mustang that matches the color of your lipstick. Makes sense why a lot of old mustangs are red."
"Victoria's Secret was originally supposed to be a place for men to buy lingerie for their wives and not feel embarrassed, but now it's almost exclusively shopped at by women."
"Croptops. A football thing, initially."
"Like young Johnny Depp in Nightmare on Elms?"
"Skirts/dresses used to be for both men and women since they're much easier to make than pants. It didn't really switch from being for one gender to the other, one gender just stopped using them."
– ben_g0
Jane Rosenberg
Jane Rosenberg
@arianagrande/Instagram
@arianagrande/Instagram