Why I hate lazy manufacturers

Working in a more traditionally male industry I am surrounded by products that are perhaps perceived as being more masculine. What irritates me is when manufacturers of traditionally male products decide they need to spread their market and start aiming their products at women as well but they don't do their research. Instead off they go and make a product which is slightly more flowery/fruity/curvy and to make sure that we women realise that this is for us they brand it pink or a pastel colour, because we all know women would be too stupid to realise they were supposed to buy something if it wasn't pink.

I don't even understand where this pink thing comes from. Sure most little girls go through a girl phase when they are about six, but here's a hint manufacturers, most of them grow out of it! Most little boys go through a dinosaur phase when they are little, why don't manufacturers put pictures of dinosaurs on the front of all products aimed at men?

Admittedly there are some grown women who love to wear lots of pink, however I know a woman who only wears red and black (and looks stunning in it) or women who wear lots of purple, or blue, or green.  You only have to look through the shops, or a fashion magazine to know that colours come and go in fashion, but there is always an abundance of choice. As for black, have none of these manufacturers heard of "the little black dress"?

On top of that I know very few women who want to only have things in pastel colours. They are pretty enough, but again we like a choice, we don't want to go to buy something and be confronted with pastel pink, pastel blue and pastel purple, because we're women and what more could we possibly ask for?

It makes me wonder sometimes if these items which are marketed at women, are marketed by people who haven't done any research into what women actually like. In their heads all women still want to be a fairy princess and dress like a Barbie doll.

So to all those manufacturers out there guilty of this, if you are trying to make a traditionally male product more appealing to women, real ale for instance or shaving products, then please don't put some fruit in it or put some glitter on it, package it up in pink and say its for women unless you are deliberately trying to patronise and irritate the very people you are aiming it at. At least have a quick flick through a few women’s magazines and find out what other colours are out there. It may surprise you to find out that women do love black, red, green, yellow, orange, turquoise....