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The purpose of this paper is to investigate the gendered double standards of exploiting physical appearance in Finland. Drawing from literature on physical appearance as a form of capital, four hypotheses on role of gender in endorsing double standards are put forth, and then empirically tested. The focus is on whether women or men are more disapproving of women exploiting their appearance. The paper also explores whether self-perceived attractiveness has an influence on the gendered endorsement of double standards.

The study utilises unique survey data with a split-ballot design to study gendered double standards at a societal level by means of ordered logistic regression. The data are nationally representative of 15-74-year-old Finns (n=1,600).

The main finding is that women are more prone to endorse the double standards against each other. It is particularly women who do not perceive themselves as attractive who are likely to hold double standards. Experienced unattractiveness is associated with disapproving attitudes towards the exploitation of physical appearance-related assets for both women and men. Men are overall more approving compared to women, and do not generally hold double standards.

Research on double standards in different spheres of life in a relatively gender equal country like Finland gives an intriguing example of gendered social inequality. The information provided by this paper deepens our understanding of gendered social stratification related to physical appearance.

The paper aims to examine changes concerning spending on personal care products and services, and socio‐demographic variations between households.

The data were derived from the Finnish Household Budget Survey from 1998 (n=4,359), 2001 (n=5,495) and 2006 (n=4,007) provided by Statistics Finland. The main analysis of personal care consumption was conducted by examining the purchasing costs of personal care products and appliances, and the amount of spending on personal care services. The differences in expenditure patterns are analysed according to the respondents' gender and age, level of education and income, and type of household.

The results indicate that household spending on personal care products and services has generally increased. However, the share of total consumption has not changed dramatically. The gender of the highest earner of the household along with household income is the key predictor of this type of consumption expenditure across all household types. The effects of these two variables have become stronger.

The data do not make it possible to differentiate between individual level and household level spending decisions across all household types.

Contrary to common belief, gender differences concerning personal care consumption have not diminished.

This study examines actual changes in personal care consumption according to socio‐demographic variables.