The power of doctrinaire feminism! In response to a single complaint–yes, just one!–Target has decided to stop separating by gender boys' and girls' toys, bedding, and entertainment items:
Two months ago, an Ohio mom’s tweet went viral when she called out Target for separating “building sets” and “girls’ building sets.” Now, the retailer is fixing the problem: for building sets and all toys, plus bedding, home decor, entertainment and more.
“We never want guests or their families to feel frustrated or limited by the way things are presented,” Target’s press release said. “Over the past year, guests have raised important questions about a handful of signs in our stores that offer product suggestions based on gender. In some cases, like apparel, where there are fit and sizing differences, it makes sense. In others, it may not.”
The toy section will get the biggest makeover. Along with grouping all toys together, the aisles will no longer have colored backdrops to indicate gender, such as pink and yellow for girls or blue and green for boys.
Gee, that sounds convenient for moms and fun for kids! Want to buy a tiny tea set at Target for 6-year-old Emily? Search through aisle after aisle, and maybe you'll find it next to the Avengers action figures. Retail hint: Kids actually like gender-designated shelves. A boy who wants a building set doesn't want to waste his time with shelves full of dolls. It's a time-honored way to move merchandise: Stock lots of similar items together, and the effect will often be so seductive that customers will be hard-pressed to resist the temptation to buy at least one. And jumbling up the princess-patterned sheets and the Batman-patterned sheets in the children's bedding department is a sure reciple for Soviet-level unattractive shelves.
Yeah, yeah, some kids resist gender stereotypes, but it's really not that hard to head over to the "Boys" department for the towels printed with footballs that your little tomboy may yearn for–honest!. And if 5-year Nate insists he's really "Natalia" wants a glittery tiara for his birthday, isn't that the whole point of having a "Girls'" section in a store in the first place?
So–sigh! Customer convenience takes a back seat to ideology one more time.
The Washington Post also reports:
Last week, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers faced an onslaught of Internet hate for a “women’s movement” campaign to engage female fans with game-day recipes, a Pinterest board of crafts and football manicures, and videos that explain complicated football insights like the job of the running back — to “run the ball and score touchdowns.”
No, even grown women can't have gender-stereotyped fun anymore. Sisterhood may not be powerful, but doctrinaire feminism sure is.
Last week, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers faced an onslaught of Internet hate for a “women’s movement” campaign to engage female fans with game-day recipes, a Pinterest board of crafts and football manicures, and videos that explain complicated football insights like the job of the running back — to “run the ball and score touchdowns.”