I scrolled to the end of a Fox News article and saw comments, such as “I will never step foot in a Target again”, “Children will be confused,” and “What’s next, bras in men and woman sizes?” These reactions were in response to Target announcing that it would be discontinuing gender-based signage in some departments. I was pleasantly surprised by the news, but obviously not everyone was as happy.  Now, there will be no more signs in the stores that say things such as “girls’ bedding” or “boys’ toys,” instead the signs will just read “kids’ bedding” or “kids’ toys.”  The only downside is that because Target does not manufacture all of their own products, there will still be individual packaging that contains pictures of only girls or boys.

Despite the ignorant remarks made in response to the article describing these changes, I think this is an extremely important development in helping to remove the gender stereotypes that are so common in our everyday life. When you think about it, there is no reason that girls can’t play with monster trucks or that boy can’t have pink sheets. Toys and bedding do not have a gender.

By giving boys only things like sports equipment, fake weapons, superheroes and violent video games, it gives them the idea that they must be aggressive and detached from their emotions. When girls are only given baby dolls, housekeeping sets and princess figures, they get the idea that girls should become housewives and exist only to have a child. By removing these labels from certain departments, Target has taken a huge step towards ensuring a world where everyone can be who they are without feeling restricted by gender roles.

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