I was milling around Target last week, having already found the items that I needed but looking for items that I wanted (but didn't yet know that I wanted), when I wandered into the greeting cards area.
There was a special card section, announing "New! from Target." They were birthday cards, some for girls, some for boys. All the "For Girls" cards had My Little Ponies and rainbows on them. All the "For Boys" cards were Garbage Pail Kids' versions of balls (baseballs, footballs, soccerballs) with eyes popping out and green stuff oozing from their stitches.
What is wrong with this picture? I'd be fine if Target just displayed an array of birthday cards, without specifying if they were for boys or girls. But by labeling them, isn't Target just continuing the stereotype of boys and girls? Surely there are some girls that like gross balls, just like there are some boys that may love ponies and rainbows.
It's a little issue, I know. But my favorite mass merchant retailer rubbed me the wrong way. No more stereotypes, no more pigeonholes. Let's just offer the choices and let people make their own selection.
No comments:
Post a Comment