Equality bull’s-eye
Target’s critics hit the mark: Retailer will reorganize toy aisles
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.
Although the company’s announcement makes no mention of the tweeted photo that gained so much attention, one line shows that they’ve been paying attention to the heightened awareness of gender issues: “We know that shopping preferences and needs change,” it said.
In other words, people care about gender more than ever.
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 mani-
“We never want guests or their families to feel frustrated or limited by the way things are presented” Target press release
cures, and videos that explain complicated football insights like the job of the running back — to “run the ball and score touchdowns.”
It was pretty much the opposite of the femalefocused campaigns that have had success lately: Pantene’s “Not Sorry,” Always’ “Like a Girl” and Under Armour’s “I Will What I Want.” All of these show women and girls confronting female stereotypes.
Here’s where we would usually include a quote from a marketing expert on how all of this adds up to a changing tide in the retail mindset. But a 2011 video of a little girl name Riley ranting about the pinkness of the store aisle is just as informative:
“Why do all the girls have to buy princesses?” she says, slamming down the hand that’s not holding a Scooby Doo Fred doll. “Some girls like superheroes; some girls like princesses. Some boys like superheroes; some boys like princesses!”