The popular retailer Target announced Monday that the company is ditching boys’ and girls’ labels on toys after the store says customers were raising concerns about “unnecessary” gender-based signs.
In a statement on their website, executives said “Over the past year, guests have raised important questions about a handful of signs in our stores that offer suggestions based on gender. We heard you, 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.”
Gender-based signs will stay for clothing items, but in the toy, home, and entertainment departments, Target says suggesting products by gender is “unnecessary.”
The company said it will also remove subtle references to gender by no longer including the use of pink or blue paper on the back walls of shelves.
Molly Snyder, a spokeswoman for Target, believes that the demands of consumers are constantly progressing. “We tried to look at what makes sense and what doesn’t,” Snyder said to NBC.
Some conservative commentators, however, say this is another example of politically correct culture gone too far.
“Liberals have been doing their darnedest to put pressure on retailers to start removing “gender specific labels” on toys, clothing, ect. in a bid to erase the differences between boys and girls,” said writer Michael Cantrell.
“This, of course, is impossible due to the fact the differences between boys and girls go deeper than our ‘plumbing,’ and is something that is ingrained in our very natures.”
“If liberals are all about acceptance and recognizing the natural beauty inherent in a human being,” he continued, “why in the crap are they trying so hard to erase the distinctions that make boys and girls uniquely different and special. Shouldn’t these differences be celebrated instead of shamed and destroyed?”
Changes will start to be seen in stores over the next few months and you can expect to see gender-neutral children’s sections at Alabama’s 22 Target locations soon.
