We’ve done it. We, as a society, have achieved gender equality.
Women’s March? Not necessary.
Feminism? Not anymore.
Finally…Indra Nooyi, CEO of PepsiCo, has answered the prayers of all females with an offer of Lady Doritos: a Female Friendly Chip. A Dorito chip, that in Nooyi’s words, will be “less messy, less crunchy and purse friendly.”
Lady Doritos is a noble undertaking for a brand that has remained largely unchanged since its creation. Nooyi herself hails from India and also attended college there. She moved to the United States in 1998, where she earned her second Master’s Degree at Yale and later joined PepsiCo in 1994 as Chief Strategist.
She now stands as an incredibly powerful woman and controls the second largest junk food company in the world.
In all seriousness, Lady Doritos have sparked a backlash comparable to the introduction of female BIC Pens in 2012, a similar campaign that tried to capitalize on the idea of creating a more feminine product. As a young girl, I remember the “BIC Pens for Her.” They were pink, sparkly, and came in a case that was etched with flowers.
They worked the same as normal pens. Young me didn’t understand what made them special, or different. What obligated me to buy them?
The Lady Doritos do not have a release date at this time, and honestly, with the backlash from consumers, they might never see the light of day. Twitter users have left scathing comments with the hashtag #ladydoritos. Comments included, “Finally, my prayers have been answered” and “I’m a female, and have single-handedly demolished a bag of Nacho Doritos” and my personal favorite, “Never has a damn chip offended me.”
Gendered items, from toys to food, have, and probably always will, exist. The “Pink Tax” pertains to the typically 1 to 2 extra dollars a woman will pay for female geared or needed items. Why should a pink razor cost more than a blue one? They accomplish the same goal, yet one will run a few dollars more.
Indra Nooyi’s intentions may be well-meaning. It feels as if she genuinely wanted to propose an alternative for females, but it appears she’s offering a solution to a problem that didn’t really exist, or women didn’t even know they had.
Now that the serious issue of how a woman enjoys a corn chip has been addressed, we can focus on less important issues, such as equal pay and sexism.
