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Gender associations surrounding everyday objects often feel like they have always existed, but history shows that many of these connections were created over time. According to The Gender, marketing played a major role in shaping the idea that certain products belong to men or women. During the 20th century, companies used packaging, colors, advertising, and language to separate consumers into different groups.
Many products that were once used more broadly became linked to specific identities as brands discovered that gender-based marketing could create stronger recognition, encourage loyalty, and justify product variations. In many cases, these associations were not based on the item itself, but on the stories companies built around them.
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Edit: I have been educated by my Aussie friends that they’re worn by all down under, as slippers and such. I was speaking of their history here in the US, where they were mostly introduced by surfers on the west coast and now they are (almost) exclusively worn by women here.
#6
Sociology helps explain why these marketing messages became so powerful over time. Objects often gain gendered meanings because societies repeatedly connect them with certain roles, environments, and expectations. Items related to caregiving, appearance, and domestic responsibilities became associated with femininity because women were historically expected to occupy those spaces.
Meanwhile, products connected to work, competition, and public life became symbols of masculinity because men were traditionally given greater access to those areas. These associations became so familiar that they started to feel natural, even though they were shaped by cultural norms, economic systems, and changing social structures rather than any inherent connection between an object and a particular gender.
#7
#8
A woman could get arrested and jailed for wearing them under cross dressing laws in the UK. It was still illegal in parts of the US for a woman to wear them well into the mid 20th century, and I believe a student took her school to court because they expelled her for wearing trousers. According to them, the bible says that men shouldn’t wear women’s clothes and women shouldn’t wear men’s clothes, and trousers are men’s clothes (yet another thing Christians seem to be able to to overlook at their convenience, but that’s not a discussion for here).
Historically, women wore trousers, while men wore robes in many parts of the world, like Greece, Persia and Rome, and some parts of Europe. But definitely not in the US, France or England.
#9
But now is famous for its use as a s*x toy/industrial strength adult toy.
However, once people began using these products in everyday life, practicality often proved stronger than the labels attached to them. Simple Modern highlights that many products eventually crossed gender boundaries because consumers cared more about whether something solved a problem than whether it was originally marketed toward them.
A person might discover that an item designed for another gender works better for their needs, and that personal experience can gradually challenge the assumptions created by advertising. As more people adopt products for their usefulness rather than their intended audience, the original gender associations can start to feel outdated or unnecessary.
#10
They were made because most women didn't have pockets for pocket watches. Now I pretty much just see men wear them, though they've started to fall out of style.
Edit: Alright I've had about 500 people tell me wristwatches are soooo in right now. I get it.
#11
In the early renaissance, young, fashionable men just... stopped wearing their skirts/robes. The old, religious men were absolutely scandalized.
Sounds familiar, no?
Edit. Of course there's more to it than this, but this is the very simplified jist. :).
The reason these shifts continue is that ideas about gender itself are constantly changing. Psychology Today explains that gender roles evolve alongside broader social changes, including economic developments, technological advancements, workplace transformations, and cultural movements. As societies move through different stages, the expectations placed on men and women also change.
Today, celebrity influence, fashion cycles, and a greater emphasis on comfort and function continue to reshape how people view products and behaviors. What once seemed like a strict boundary between "for men" and "for women" can eventually become just another outdated assumption waiting to be rewritten.
#13
The original hippocratic oath had a section on "not cutting for stone" meaning they swore not to surgically remove the stones because of it. They later removed that section of the oath, otherwise a bunch of urologists would be out of a job.
#14
When lager was invented, it was pitched towards women - it was superior to beer in ways that it was thought women would like; it was filtered, purer in taste, easy on the palate, and designed to emerge from the bottle like champagne (pale, clear, bubbly, frothy).
Women didn't take to it, but it's now (mainly) drunk by men all over the world.
Just don't tell that gang of skinheads that they're drinking something that was originally a woman's drink.
#15
In the end, these examples are a reminder that the original purpose of an item doesn't always determine who will embrace it in the long run. As society changes, so do our habits, preferences, and ideas about who should use what. Sometimes practicality wins, sometimes fashion takes over, and sometimes people simply realize that a good idea is a good idea, regardless of who it was originally made for.
I'm not entirely sure that every switch happened for the same reason. Some products evolved alongside changing social norms, while others found a new audience almost by accident. Which example on this list surprised you the most? Or maybe you could also think of something that deserves to be on this list? We would love to hear from you!
#16
A woman was supposed to hold the door for a man so he could check for any dangers in the building (the thought was mainly for married couples, but it could be done to a total stranger as well). At some point it flipped and turned to just being a polite thing to do.
#17
No, seriously. Shoes with high heels were originally developed by Persian cavalry, as the heels helped their feet stay in the stirrups while they rode and fired arrows. In the West, women wore platform shoes to gain height. Catherine De Medici is the first European woman recorded to have worn heels, in the late 1500s, but heels wouldn't come into the general European fashion consciousness for another 200 or so years, and the trend of women wearing any kind of height-enhancing shoes died with her.
In the 1600s, when the Persian Shah sent an envoy of soldiers to Russia, Spain, and Germany to form diplomatic relations, aristocratic European men started emulating the Persian soldiers footwear. By the time of King Louis XIV's reign in the mid 1600s, high heels were very popular among the male aristocracy. As were stockings. In fact, Louis would only allow favored members of his court to wear heels, and especially to wear certain colored heels. A red heel on a shoe was a big deal, as it was a sign of power. You can look at old paintings of the era and actually see who held the King's favor by the kind of shoes they were wearing. Anyone else caught wearing such footwear could risk having their head chopped off. The irony of this would take a little over a century to play out.
In the mid-1700s, men wearing heels would start to fall out of fashion, as they began to become more feminized with the advent of women's shoes starting to grow heels of their own. The French Revolution is what really k****d the male high heeled shoe trend, as any man wearing one was part of the aristocracy, and likely to lose their head. Ultimately, if you wanted to avoid losing height from the top, you had to lose height from the bottom. Best not to dig your heels in on this fashion trend.
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