As consumers, it's pretty obvious that all of us are subject to manipulation by the Madison Avenue types who create the advertising and other marketing ploys for the products we use every day. Those of us who crossdress may be especially susceptible to their machinations. Consider product gendering:
A soap company decides to come out with a new brand of deodorant, but they need to differentiate the product from all the other deodorants out there, else why would anybody buy it? What they do, is dress it up in a pretty, feminine looking package, and sell it as a women's deodorant. Instantly the product, whose chemical constituents may be identical to 20 others on the shelf, has been transformed into something that seems different. Instead of competing for a small sliver of the total market for all deodorants, the new product is well positioned to capture a much larger share of the women's deodorant market. The product, thus differentiated to sell to those people who, for whatever reason, feel they need a woman's product, may even command a higher price.
There are tons of products on the market that are designed and marketed to be sold to one sex or the other. This may be done directly (remember "the woman's gentle laxative"?) or it may just be implied (a hemorrhoid medicine in a pink box).
For whatever reason, most gendered products do seem to be aimed at women. Perhaps because it's an easier sell to cater to "the special needs of women," implying that women require something gentler, more delicate, or just...well, nicer than the vulgar, utilitarian things that men use.
That's not to say, however, that men are neglected. All you have to do is see a few beer commercials on TV to realize that they are almost all aimed at guys -- actually, at a certain type of young and unsophisticated guy. These would be the same kids who used to consider themselves (and perhaps still do) as "Marlboro Men." And men's toiletries do the same thing, kind of a mirror image of the women's stuff. In fact, what got me thinking about this subject was hearing a radio commercial for Consort hair spray that emphasized it was a MAN'S hair spray, and explicitly said that if a man used his wife's hair spray, he might feel a sudden urge to start wearing panty hose. That particular campaign seems so offensive to me, on so many different levels, that I'm sure it must be very effective.
But what about you? Do you buy gendered products just because they're marketed to women? I know I do, even though I know it's silly. Yep, I use the women's deodorant, women's razors, shampoo and soap that are aimed at women, and yes, that hemorrhoid cream in the pretty pink box -- even though none of them may be much different from cheaper non-gendered products that cost somewhat less. In fact, hearing that Consort commercial did make me want to rush out and replenish my supply of pantyhose. I'm such a pushover.
.......Tamara Segunda
, they are a bunch of smart buggers after all. 
I can remember a man hitting on me... telling me my hair smelled so good, and asking what shampoo I use. I couldn't remember because it was whatever was on sale! 
I used to subscribe to Consumer Reports, just to stay ahead of the game 
I believe that is where I learned of the afore-mentioned information. 
