Over the course of this summer, we’ve seen a trainwreck when it comes to toy companies selling toys to girls, whether it’s Jurassic World
Obviously, there’s a long way to go here: as long as companies such as Hasbro continue to produce toys aimed squarely at one gender or the other, companies are going to have to put up with what they can sell. But, this is a good step in the right direction: eliminating dedicated sections - for most items - for toys, bedding and the like helps to remove gendered stigma when it comes to the toys that boys and girls want to play with.
The move is being phased in, according to a press release from Target: over the next couple of months, they’ll be implementing these changes:
Right now, our teams are working across the store to identify areas where we can phase out gender-based signage to help strike a better balance. For example, in the kids’ Bedding area, signs will no longer feature suggestions for boys or girls, just kids. In the Toys aisles, we’ll also remove reference to gender, including the use of pink, blue, yellow or green paper on the back walls of our shelves. You’ll see these changes start to happen over the next few months.
Now, hopefully this will continue, and toy manufacturers will take heed.
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