The High Price of Being Female... literally!

I have a twin brother.

He pays $18 for a haircut.

I pay $37.

I don't even get anything special done: no highlighting cause dealing with roots just complicates life; no perm because my mom had one in the '80s and that was proof enough to know our hair simply frizzes into what resembles an afro and cannot hold a curl; my cut is nothing difficult - in fact, I currently get the Posh Spice slanted bob that everyone and their mother should know how to cut by now.

BUT, I know girls that do get the coloring and the perming and the complicated cuts. They pay upwards of $100 or $150 per visit to the hair salon!?!

What do you pay? My guess is that you pay too much, unless they're serving champagne, chocolates, and giving you a massage before you leave!

What does your brother, your boyfriend, father, guy friends, any boy you come across pay? Probably MUCH less.

Why is that?

And it is NOT just a hair care phenomenon. I pay more than my brother for chapstick, lotion, clothes... the list could go on and on.

I found a fantastic article detailing "Why it costs more to be a woman." It details everything from the hair and clothes but goes further into housing, insurance, etc.

It also gives great advice - to buy like a man. And, to stop playing their game of the girlified-overpriced products.

So do it.

It will pay off, I'm sure of it.

Perks of Having a Penis: The inequality of payment for the pills

Do you use birth control, specificlly the pill?

How much do you pay for it?

Does your insurance cover it?

I actually don't use it but I have a ton of friends who do. It costs them anywhere from 15 to 80 dollars - PER MONTH!?! That is outrageous.



They use it for a ton of reasons beyond simply preventing pregnancy. They use it to treat thier skin, control their cycle, reduce cramps, increase their iron, etc. The Center for Young Women's Health has a complete list medicinal uses of the pill. And, check this out.

Seems like insurance companies should cover it, right? Sadly, many do not.

That may make you mad, but I believethis should really make you MAD: many, if not most of insurance companies - that aren't paying for your birth control - cover Viagra which has no medicinal purpose other than treating erectile disfunction.

ABC did a story on it called "Erections get insurance; Why not the pill?" It says, "" When it comes to health insurance, men have been getting a better deal.' Studies have shown that women of reproductive age spend about two-thirds more than men on out-of-pocket health-care costs. Birth control and reproductive health-care services are believed to account for much of the difference."

Why is this!?! With all the controversy over health care lately, why don't we, as women, stand up and DEMAND this coverage?

The article goes on to explain that "Women's activists say they cannot understand why, given what they see as the 'cost-effectiveness' of birth control, employers and insurers wouldn't jump to cover it. They point to studies that found for every $1 of public funds invested in family planning, $4 to $14 of public funds is saved in pregnancy and health care-related costs. 'Insurance companies have got to realize there's no financial disincentive,' Feldt said. '[Covering contraception] saves so much on the other end. Over the long term, contraception coverage seems to save money.'"


South Carolina doesn't require that the insurance company help or fully cover the pill for women.

Find out if your state does and if they don't call your insurance provider or your local representative and let them know they SHOULD...