I love Target just as much as every other white girl. Let’s ignore the fact that its clearance aisles decorate my bedroom, its sale rack populates my closet, and its prices make living on a budget not so unbearable – the combination of Starbucks and the Dollar Spot alone gets me every time. That’s my love language. All that aside, Target just moved up even higher on my list: it recently made the decision to take down unnecessary gender signage in their stores, specifically in their toy and child bedding sections. And it’s so great.

A few months ago, a picture of Target’s “building sets” and “girls’ building sets” went viral. And I rolled my eyes, was upset that we’re still buying into the separate-but-equal crap, but never thought things would change. Never thought a chain as big as Target would change. But, as sometimes is the case, I was proven wrong. Soon you’ll find a generic toy section at Target, as well as a generic children’s bedding section.

Why is this such a big deal? Why does this even matter? Now that little girl can get her dinosaur sheets, and that little boy won’t have to feel weird for wanting a bedspread with polka dots. The boy who wants a play kitchen set doesn’t have to venture down the pink, frilly aisle to find it; the girl who wants to pick out some toy cars doesn’t have to feel self conscious about choosing to walk the “boy section”. This gives our kids more freedom to be kids. It gives them ability to let their imaginations run wild, to play with the toys they want to play with, and to be more of themselves. It allows their toys to be a source of fun – not another gender stereotype forced on them at a young age.

You don’t have to be a feminist to see the gender stereotypes prevalent in society today (….although I believe we should all be feminists). I live in the generation of men who struggle to express their emotions, because they were constantly told to “man up”. I live among women who are co-dependent because we were raised to think we need a prince charming to save us and our voices aren’t worth raising (and, of course, these are generalizations – as there are women who struggle to express their emotions and men who are co-dependent). I grew up getting craft sets at my birthday parties, when my brother got lego sets – I learned to paint jewelry boxes, he learned build intricate models. I grew up wanting to join boy scouts because my brother got to carve things with knives, camp in a tent, and earn badges based on merit. I was severely disappointed in the “girl” version – baking, crafting, pretty badges given based on your time commitment. I grew up seeing the stark contrast between boys and girls.

And, let me be clear, I believe there are differences between males and females. I’m not denying that; I’m not trying to make any comment about transgender issues. I believe God made us different for a purpose and I believe that we all have different roles to play to further His kingdom on earth. However, I don’t believe that women are naturally more ______, while men are naturally more __________. Unless, of course, you wanted to fill in that blank with “women are naturally more badass because we leak blood once a month and yet don’t die” – that’s perfectly acceptable.

Girls are more nurturing? Or we were given dolls to play with – cultivating that human tendency to care for another at a young age. Boys are typically stronger? Maybe. Or were they allowed to run around, get dirty, and break a few bones – while girls are too fragile and had to sit inside? We’re finally seeing our first round of women engineers and scientists (finally!), in large part due to building sets being provided to both genders at a young age. If someone is more inclined to pink or blue, dress up or hot wheels, playing kitchen or playing cops and robbers – that’s what comes natural for them. Let’s not decide it for them based on their gender. Growing up is hard enough, let’s not fill their heads with “if I don’t fit perfectly into this box, something is wrong with me”. Or “well girls aren’t supposed to like this, so I can’t”, “boys aren’t good at this, but I am, so I should probably stop….”

I’m excited about this small step that Target took, this small move society is making. I’m excited to see what a new generation looks like, who grew up with the freedom to be themselves. Women who aren’t afraid to speak their mind. Men who grow up with aspirations to be stay-at-home dads. Doctors and lawyers and secretaries and nurses being filled equally by men and women. Advertisements trying to sell the “girl version” fail, commercials trying to convince their product makes one more macho and “manly” flop. Is this going to happen tomorrow because Target re-organized their toy section today? No. But we’re on the road. Maybe, just maybe, our next stop is a world where Bic’s recent “act like a lady, think like a man” ad would never make it out of the brainstorming session. At least we’re already in a world where the public outcry shut that one down (for the record, I’m doing just fine looking like a lady, acting like a lady, and thinking like a lady. But thanks for the suggestion, Bic).

And, because what is a current event without the church putting our feet in our mouths, Christians started disowning Target left and right (….or just really, really far right). Which was made even more humorous when a guy made a fake Target Facebook profile and starting replying to all the crazy comments on Target’s Facebook page. (PSA: there are 40+ screen shots of absolutely hilarious interactions, you’ve been warned).

I was kind of hoping un-informed, hateful, “Christian” reactions were outdated. It is halfway through 2015, after all. But we can’t get everything we wish for. Pastors were claiming Target was disowning genders all together, freaking out Target was bringing the onset of the end times. Which of course brought about all the boycotts of the store, rude comments, and questions about where the tampons will now be located. Yes, I’m still confused about that as well…

This breaks my heart, because the church should be applauding Target. The God I worship and the Jesus I know didn’t like putting people in boxes, He wasn’t a fan of living in stereotypes. In fact, I think He was very much against them – turning fishermen into disciples, eating with tax collectors, taking a murderer of Christians and making him a martyr for Christ. I think Jesus would be supporting Target – He would be dancing down their toy aisles, turning water into apple juice, passing out free toys to the little children.

Especially if you’re a woman in the church today – you should be applauding Target. Aren’t you tired of the pulpit being dominated by men? Aren’t you sick of the elders list only containing Mr’s? Aren’t we fed up with 100% of the congregation being preached at from a perspective only 50% know? (….actually, more like 40%, as women make up nearly 60% of the church today) When are we going to boycott the “girl version” of church we’ve been stuck in for so long? The pink, frilly aisle of ministry we’ve been allowed to walk down – church receptionists, Sunday morning greeters, and international mission trips. As women, we should be ecstatic. This is a new era for our kids to grow up in, a new future they can be a part of. They can really be anything they want to be. Because isn’t it time we move past “you can be a pastor one day!…. and you can be a pastor’s wife!”

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For the sake of this blog & to publicly display my love of Target, I took a selfie in public. I was so embarassed, I missed the T. Long live Targé!

Well done, Target. You hit the bull’s eye on this one.

2 thoughts on “Right On Target

  1. Yup. From a male’s point of view, I wish we’d made these changes in Australia decades ago. Would have been nice to grow up in a world – and a church – which didn’t want me so badly to try and kill a bear with my bare hands.
    That the fairer sex had it so much worse than any guy ever had is even more reason to have made these changes.
    Let’s hope churches decide there’s a reason to eradicate the frilly girly aisle and the manly man aisle, in favour of an aisle for God’s children (who also honour Him and His Scripture).

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