Pink Toll
How do you make capitalism work? Target the most vulnerable section and make them believe that it's worth the price. Welcome to a world from the perspective of women and their suffering due to the bombardment of useless products, capitalizing the same insecurities that the system engrains.
PINK TOLL
The capitalist system and its patriarchal tools places a lot of pressure on women to put an emphasis on how they look, making their choice to overconsume or not a false one. The media promotes ideas that encourage overindulgence in beauty products, fashion, and diet-related commodities. This adds an unbearable burden onto women's lives, making them feel less secure and contributing to the perpetuation of excessive expectations.
In addition, the cycle that prevents women from achieving economic independence is reinforced since industries that benefit from overconsumption frequently target female consumers. The subsequent fixation on material possessions and the need for approval from others exacerbate existing mental health issues and fuel the overconsumption further, creating a cycle with no escape.
Advertisements' fixation on a false perception of perfection has created a constant sense of inadequacy among women. They feel even more pressured to spend time and money trying to match unattainable standards due to the commercialization of beauty goods, fashion, and weight-loss items. The marketing machine reinforces old conventions and gender roles, so the stifling effect goes beyond surface expectations.
As marketing shapes our views of success and pleasure, women face a labyrinth of expectations that affects everything from our self-perception to the decisions we make about our careers and our bodies. Internalized beliefs that meeting these criteria is the sole way to gain acceptance and value oneself cause the suffocating. To make matters worse, there's a financial cost associated with trying to stay up with marketing trends. The cycle perpetuates itself as women struggle with the emotional burden of constantly feeling inadequate.
