Body care amongst men and women has been portrayed quite differently in the context of body care products. For decades, the beauty industry has been at the forefront of conversations around gendered products. Body washes are among the most preferred, often featuring scents like lavender and shea butter, which are often associated with femininity.
That said, a growing effort has been underway to push aside the gendered labeling within the beauty industry, promoting more inclusive products for everyone. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for collaborations. Take the recent collaboration with DC Comics and popular men’s body care brand Old Spice.
The recent collaboration released body wash and deodorant featuring DC’s most iconic superheroes, Superman and Batman. The collaboration was quick to bring in interest from customers online with its intriguing packaging and advertisements, but not everyone has been happy.
While nothing is stopping female customers from buying Old Spice products for personal use, the marketing still promotes itself strictly for male customers. This is likely due to the ongoing perception of nerdy interests like comic books and video games primarily being for men, despite there already being a lengthy history of female fans in support of those industries.
If DC were to announce collaboration with a more feminine-centric body care product brand, it likely wouldn’t draw in the same interests as the superheroes on the products were ones like Wonder Woman or Supergirl. Rather, future collaborations would do well with offering more options that could interest a wide range of customers, no matter their gender.
