I had to come out of hiding to comment on the latest news to come out of Target (because they are such a news making organization!).
I know I am late to the commenting on this… but the more I read about it and hear about it the more frustrated I become and the more I laugh out loud about the conservative views on this.
I’m sure you have all read that Target is doing away with gendering toys. No more “girls toys” and “boys toys” - it will just be toys (after all, can’t a woman or man play with them?). I think this is great for them to do. Mostly because I feel it will be easier to find things in different colors. I also think that it isn’t really a big deal!
If you think about it, honostly, when was the last time that you actually looked to see if something said “boy” or “girl” on it? When I visit the toy section (which I do quite often with nieces and a nephew) I look in each aisle. I don’t look at the signs. If I’m looking for a Barbie I look for the overwhelming pink that Mattel packages their dolls in. If I want a Hot Wheel I look for the blue. Lately I’ve been looking for Minecraft toys for both my niece and nephew (those are usually green, by the way).
Here’s the thing… those pinks and blues and greens? Those won’t change! Those companies aren’t changing their packaging (and it’s unlikely that they ever will) so you can still visually find what you are looking for. In fact, it will be easier to find things.
For example, a few years ago I was looking for Legos for a present. I had to go down multiple aisles to locate them. Why? Because the Legos were not all side by side but they had blue ones in one aisle and pink/red ones in another. Why the hell were the Legos not next to each other? Problem solved, according to Target that is how they will be placed now.
I watched Fox & Friends’ report on this and I was cracking up. They made it seem that they have no mind of their own and they needed Target to tell them “Republican: THIS IS A BOY TOY!”. They couldn’t make that decision on their own. For one, I have enough brain cells to make the decision as to which toy to buy for a specific person on my own.
Although I don’t have any of my kids yet, the plan is to start trying next year. I hope that anyone who decides to buy toys or other gifts that may be considered “boy” or “girl” make the decision to get my daughter blue things and my son pink or red things. I don’t think it is necessary to start telling kids blue is for boys and pink is for girls.
That said, I believe that children will intrinsically be attracted to certain things (for example, I prefer blue over pink - most of my clothing vary in the blue color spectrum), but they can make that decision when they are older and have an opinion. If I want to buy a baby doll for my 2 year old son, why the hell shouldn’t I and why should Target (or any other person or company) tell me that, no - that is a girls’ toy?
I know this was a bit jumbled, but I had it rolling around my mind and I wanted to express it.
