Kevin Rose Quarterly Subscription Box Review #KEV02

I don’t believe that any subscription box owes anyone anything beyond what they promise to subscribers. A Kevin Rose box doesn’t have to meet some kind of equal opportunity quota. But it does describe itself as a box of “technology.” Socks, soap, and facial wipes – all created for or generally marketed toward men – are not “technology” nor are they anything related to that label. It is men’s lifestyle. Nothing more, nothing less. And therein lies the difference.

Nevermind. You were replying to the other commenters! 🙂

Liz never said the box was geared towards men and not women. She said that she personally wasn’t the demographic. She wanted more tech related items, and has a different taste. Not all men would like this box either if the products weren’t geared towards their demographic.

Me too.

This is an issue that is not easily understood or resolved by many people involved in marketing to STEM types. Even with lifestyle subs such as Birchbox, the “mens” version offers little bits of technology, enough so that I get both a women’s and a men’s box each month. It’s disheartening. The women’s box “Plus” add-ons are always a beauty product – a piece of jewelry, a notebook printed with flowers and birds, a pink water bottle, cute gym socks. Men get their choice of high tech chargers, leather cord wraps, etc.

Even the “geek” type boxes tend to skew male, although overall they fare better as they are mostly centered on fans of various comic, sci-fi and fantasy franchises. I also sub to a board game box, and the last two months have included card games with highly sexualized female characters in skimpy outfits.

I would subscribe to a high tech box that didn’t skew male in a red hot second.

I think I will write an article about this entire subject now that I’m thinking about it.

I’m a woman in tech too, and also 5’2″ (okay 5’1.5″) so men’s socks was a little perplexing. I’d expect that in the GQ box, but I agree that this box seems too much like a men’s box. He indicates in his video that it’s targeted toward men… might have been nice to know that in advance. I don’t fault him for selecting the box items from things he likes and uses, but a little more unisex foresight would have been great here. I loved the first box and was hoping for a similar level of neutrality… and more gadgets.

You also just pinpointed my issue with this box. I wasn’t happy with it but loved the first box. I also like the Quad copter, but had just received one in the Lewis Hilsenteger so I wasn’t that excited with that but it made sense for a techie and I certainly loved in a month ago in the LEW box, though I have to compare the too so I may end up loving this version better. However the face wipes and socks were clearly male oriented. He made sure to take into account not everyone was an iPhone user but not that they might be female? Sigh. Annoying but not exactly unexpected sadly.

WOW. What an awesome comment. You tell it like it is, girl! The box is not for me so I didn’t really think about it (I just thought, “this must be what techie people like”) so thank you for opening my eyes!!!!

Shout out from a fellow tech girl!

“I am 5′ 2″ on my tallest days!” = Hilarious 🙂

^^ this, exactly what Bird said.

I am a female working in the technology field. I’d be interested in the quadcopter, the matcha, and the beer scented soap, but the clearly men’s socks and face wipes would be of no use to me. Luckily, they are both low-end items in this box. I like socks – I just need women’s socks in order for them to fit me properly.

I’m also not sure how the Godfather print (both its subject matter and how the art was produced) fits into the rest of this box. I looked on the artist’s site, but I still don’t see a connection. I also tried to view the curator’s video, but it took too long to load on my phone.

You just pinpointed exactly what is wrong with this box. Thank you! Not all techies are men!!

The first box was pretty dang cool. All I like here is the mini-drone.