Target's Gender Neutral Toy Aisles Ruining America! MERGED

[SpeakNow]

According to Young Conservative (youngcons.com/target-gets-rid-of-gender-labels-on-toys-sold-in-stores/) Target's plan to unroll gender neutral signs for the toy aisles is going to emasculate men.

"The reason our society is going to the dogs is because men no longer act like men. They aren’t allowed to be masculine because if they behave according to the nature they’re born with they’re tossed into the “rape culture†bin and shamed for being who they are."

[DowntownAbbey]

Or, y'know, it could empower kids to be who they are/want to be without being hampered by archaic, arbitrary, and even counterfactual gender roles...

[Geechee Girl]

It will be interesting to see if other retailers will follow suit.

[Anny Nym]

Gendered toy aisles are actually a very modern thing...

[ShepherdontheRock]

Actually, I think this is a pretty good marketing strategy on their part. Keep the LGBT lobby happy and make it more likely that kids of any gender will buy whatever toys they want. Can't have kids not wanting certain toys because they're for the "wrong" gender, now, can we?

[ADoyle90815]

Gendered toy aisles are actually a very modern thing...

Not just that, but the idea of pink for girls and blue for boys is a relatively modern concept, since for much of history, the opposite was the case. Blue was once considered calming and a girl's color, and pink was viewed as a shade of red, and a "strong" color for boys.

I also remember that Legos were originally gender neutral toys, and what they call "Classic" was what those things were originally. Another thing is that the bikes that were painted primary colors were seen as for any child regardless of gender, as the pink crap is a modern thing as well.

[iheartchacos]

When is this happening? I've been getting a stock pile ready for fostering and I am so disappointed in all the gendered products!

I haven't actually been to Target though. Next on my list!

[DGayle]

When I was a kid, boys had baby dolls and girls were in Lego marketing. Before that, everything was neutral too. It didn't make people gay or straight. Gendering toys was all marketing to get parents to buy 2 of things. Pastel Legos for girls, primaries for boys, where my brother and I shared the primaries since that's what there was.

[DGayle]

When is this happening? I've been getting a stock pile ready for fostering and I am so disappointed in all the gendered products!

I haven't actually been to Target though. Next on my list!

My local Targets have took down the boy/girl signs a while ago.

[DeFrauder]

Not just that, but the idea of pink for girls and blue for boys is a relatively modern concept, since for much of history, the opposite was the case. Blue was once considered calming and a girl's color, and pink was viewed as a shade of red, and a "strong" color for boys.

I also remember that Legos were originally gender neutral toys, and what they call "Classic" was what those things were originally. Another thing is that the bikes that were painted primary colors were seen as for any child regardless of gender, as the pink crap is a modern thing as well.

This is true. That is why Jesus wears a red robe and Mary wears a blue one. Don't tell the fundies, though because it will give them one more reason to hate on Catholics.

[FundieWatcher]

Man sets up a fake 'Target' page on Facebook. Fundies send him angry comments. He answers. Many LOLs

https://m.facebook.com/mike.melgaard/al ... _8_1&mdf=1

[HarryPotterFan]

Aw, silly people who think their gender identity will be threatened if stereotypes and unnecessary labeling of toys goes away. Also I don't get the first post. Getting rid of gender specific toy aisles is for adults who can't stand reality? But the poster is clearly an adult who can't stand reality, and this change isn't for her...

[polecat]

I'm going to be dating myself here ...

But I actually think that gendered toy aisles are a fairly new phenomenon. My memories of when I was a kid are that we had toy cars and Lincoln Logs and Tinker Toys and dolls and PlayDoh all in the same area separated not by sex but by type. We did not have a boys' toy aisle and a girls' toy aisle as such. I asked Mr. Polecat because it's always possible my memory is fuzzy being all Methuselah-like and all, but he said it was the same when he was a kid. Toys were grouped according to type of toy -- not gender.

[FundieWatcher]

My favorite is the people who think Target will no longer be having two bathrooms. And the people who throw random Bible verses at Target.

[formergothardite]

I'm going to be dating myself here ...

But I actually think that gendered toy aisles are a fairly new phenomenon. My memories of when I was a kid are that we had toy cars and Lincoln Logs and Tinker Toys and dolls and PlayDoh all in the same area separated not by sex but by type. We did not have a boys' toy aisle and a girls' toy aisle as such. I asked Mr. Polecat because it's always possible my memory is fuzzy being all Methuselah-like and all, but he said it was the same when he was a kid. Toys were grouped according to type of toy -- not gender.

I don't remember a boy and girl toy aisle either. The toys were less gendered too. There weren't boy Lincoln logs and girl Lincoln logs, there were just Lincoln logs. Now even Legos are marked as girl or boy, while the ones I had were just Legos.

[Maggie Mae]

I don't remember a boy and girl toy aisle either. The toys were less gendered too. There weren't boy Lincoln logs and girl Lincoln logs, there were just Lincoln logs. Now even Legos are marked as girl or boy, while the ones I had were just Legos.

And it seems like legos aren't just legos. They all come with themes and directions and are less creative and possibly more expensive.

I had a face book person freak out about the announcement...then they read the article.

[sparkles]

I grew up in the 50s and 60s and have absolutely no memory of specifically gendered toys. This simply wasn't an issue. Sure there were things like baby dolls and Barbies that were geared towards girls but we were free to play with GI Joe and other action figures too. I had a kitchen set but I also had skates, a bicycle, Legos, Lincoln Logs, a Mattel Vacu-Form, a tool set, a chemistry set, my fave Gilbert Erector set (similar to Meccano), and my dad and I used to build and race slot cars together. I did have Barbies and Madame Alexanders but just wasn't terribly interested in them. Someone I turned out fine.

When my daughter was little I was a big fan of Discovery Toys. Totally non-gendered, just lots of bright colors that appealed to everyone.

[FundieFarmer]

I don't really remember things being specifically gendered, but I also haven't checked out the toy aisles in about 20 years ;) I also had very specifically female toys like Barbies and doll houses, but I also had erector sets and legos. I actually enjoyed those more, and I think they fed my secret lifetime goal of becoming a contractor of sorts.

I think these fake help pages are hilarious. There have been a couple popping up lately, trolling the questions on popular pages like Target. This is the first that actually utilized the brand's own logo. Most of the others just stuck with a general smiling woman with "Customer Help" as their name, or something like that. I wonder if there's a legality issue here. The only thing is that they can be slightly detrimental and definitely damage customer relations, though that's certainly their goal. I know we would be freaking out a bit if this happened on our pages!

[salex]

And it seems like legos aren't just legos. They all come with themes and directions and are less creative and possibly more expensive.

I had a face book person freak out about the announcement...then they read the article.

You have facebook people who actually read the article? Amazing, since I often have to quote chunks of the article to hysterical fundies, and even then they prefer hysteria.

[slickcat79]

I don't really remember things being specifically gendered, but I also haven't checked out the toy aisles in about 20 years ;) I also had very specifically female toys like Barbies and doll houses, but I also had erector sets and legos. I actually enjoyed those more, and I think they fed my secret lifetime goal of becoming a contractor of sorts.

I think these fake help pages are hilarious. There have been a couple popping up lately, trolling the questions on popular pages like Target. This is the first that actually utilized the brand's own logo. Most of the others just stuck with a general smiling woman with "Customer Help" as their name, or something like that. I wonder if there's a legality issue here. The only thing is that they can be slightly detrimental and definitely damage customer relations, though that's certainly their goal. I know we would be freaking out a bit if this happened on our pages!

I'm not sure the symbol counts as the brand logo without the word Target on it? I mean, maybe it does, but a series of concentric circles is kind of hard to copyright. I'm sure his comments are being deleted, and the fake profile will probably be shut down before too long.

I just hope they don't shut down Customer Service/Hope That Helps. Their foreign language responses are the absolute best.

[PennySycamore]

There was a great Upworthy recently about the girl Legos. A young woman said that she'd never had a problem playing with the generic Legos and suggested what that Lego needed to do to make their toy appeal to more girls: put some female figurines in the sets. I think she actually took a male figurine, snapped the head off and replaced it with a ponytail head, but it's been a few months and I could be wrong. Anyway, her point was well-made. Girls don't need pink bricks.

Does anyone else remember when Lego bricks were red and white?

[DowntownAbbey]

Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers.

Okay, I'm not sure how we jump from "women are the weaker sex" to "boys don't play with Barbie dolls"...

However, the Lord your God would not listen to Balaam but turned the curse into a blessing for you, because the Lord your God loves you.

I don't even get this one.

Stacy:

[memabelle]

Gendering toys was all marketing to get parents to buy 2 of things. Pastel Legos for girls, primaries for boys, where my brother and I shared the primaries since that's what there was.

I agree with this. I have a 2 year old daughter and while I have succumbed to the cuteness of pink toys and clothes on some accounts, is it really necessary to have exclusively "girly" Legos in various shades of just pink? I have tried to buy her toys for the most part that are...I don't want to call them gender-neutral, they're vibrant bright primary colors that appeal to almost everybody on the off chance that our second child turned out to be a boy (which he is, currently 5 months pregnant with him). My little girl loves her baby dolls and strollers and tea sets. She also loves her trucks and Paw Patrol cartoon characters (apparently a "boys" cartoon since the clothes are almost exclusively in the boys' section). Having these toys separated into boys and girls sections never stopped her (or me) from gravitating toward either. Kids will play with what they want to play with, end of story. They don't care if it's a "girl" toy or a "boy" toy. And if grown-ups are having problems with buying toys for kids without a gender-specification, just bring the kid and let him or her choose...or buy a gift card as a gift and, again, let the kid choose. It's that simple. Jeez, all the real problems in the world and this is what American conservatives choose to be up in arms about? As far as I'm concerned, as long as the toy is safe, my daughter (and son) can play with whatever the heck makes them happy.

[Maggie Mae]

You have facebook people who actually read the article? Amazing, since I often have to quote chunks of the article to hysterical fundies, and even then they prefer hysteria.

One of my people posted the article, with a comment above that said something like "this is too far, kids can't all wear the same clothes. they have biological differences" or something like that. Then she came back in the comment section and was like "oh so i read the article and it's just toys and house wears, still who cares? smh people make too much noise about stupid stuff" (paraphrased, of course) And her friend who didn't read the article who had already commented about how stupid, then was like 'ugh girl now i gotta go read' .

I'm just sitting here like "how do I know these people again?"

[Aggie2145]

Aw, silly people who think their gender identity will be threatened if stereotypes and unnecessary labeling of toys goes away. Also I don't get the first post. Getting rid of gender specific toy aisles is for adults who can't stand reality? But the poster is clearly an adult who can't stand reality, and this change isn't for her...

Oh so it is only the toys that will be combined? I thought it was the clothes!

Clothes could pose a problem because girls and boys clothes sizes seven and above are generally a size apart. For example, I buy my niece boys athletic shorts (neon is easier to find in the boys section and they are generally an inch or two longer.) She is a size 7, but wears a boys size 8. I can see how combining the clothes would cause mass confusion in those sizes....but not in identifying "boys" v. "girls" appropriate clothing.

Also, at least in my target, the toys are grouped by "theme" and not necessarily gender. So the legos, cars, and dress up clothes each have their own aisle. Even if the end cap signs and backing paper change, I highly doubt the product placement will change.