If you follow me on Twitter (@ParentingGeekly), you may have seen this tweet this evening.
Hey @Target *Why* are these @Marvel @Starwars How to Train Your Dragon and @Minecraft toys specifically for Boys? pic.twitter.com/FYbecADOYX
— Parenting Geekly (@ParentingGeekly) November 6, 2014
This is the second time we’ve seen that same sign at Target. Here it is from April, when a store manager told me “the signs just come that way from corporate”.
@Target calls superhero & Minecraft toys “Boy’s Toys”. Guess I’ll buy them for my girl somewhere else pic.twitter.com/HqCc0LrC1J
— Parenting Geekly (@ParentingGeekly) April 18, 2014
Some may think this is an overly sensitive complaint, that it’s just a sign at a store. But Kitty decided that she didn’t want those DC Super Friends Little People (she was in the market for some new bath toys) because they were “for boys”. C’mon Target! It’s already hard enough when most of the super hero clothes are in the boy’s clothing section, and when the kids at school tease her about her “boy’s” backpack. Can’t we just leave the action figures out of it? Why couldn’t that sign just have left the word “Boys'” off? They’re just toys. There is no reason to tie anyone’s gender identity into them, they are just TOYS.
This is a HUGE pet peeve of mine. As a geeky mom of a baby girl, I’m sure this is going to be an issue for us in the future. I hope by the time she can read, toy stores and sections will have done away with those stupid signs. Toys and books are just toys and books! They don’t have a gender!
@Sarah It’s a huge pet peeve of mine, too. My little geek girl wore her Starlord coat to school today, topped with a Superman Umbrella, but when she saw them marked “Boys'” she got so self conscious. Target lost a sale from her in April and from me last night when I put down the Marvel set because I was offended.