Being quite petite I can appreciate women specific gear, as much of the unisex stuff is just too big for me. Not that I think it has to be made for *women*, but certainly made for small folks, the major proportion of which probably are women.
Being cute, or pink or girlie I think is just a gimmick if that's all they've done. The item has to have been redesigned for a real reason. If it was offered I wouldn't buy a "women specific" water bottle for example - what would be the point.
The design of the bike is a different matter. I'm a roadie so some of this stuff may not apply - but I have short reach levers, narrow handlebars and shorter cranks, all of which make my bike more comfortable for me to ride, faster and safer and are generally only available on bikes designed for women! The overall design of my bike takes into account that women generally have shorter torsos and arms, thus need a shorter top tube - its the shortest I could find and I'm still getting a shorter stem. For me I think it really has more to do with being small - if I were bigger it probably would not matter to me at all if the equipment was unisex or not - I actally prefer less girly looking gear - but I need to buy stuff that fits.