On Aug. 7, Target released a statement on their corporate website informing customers that they would no longer be segregating their products by gender.
The statement explained that in order to help their customers navigate their stores they “use signs and displays specially designed to help guests get through the store efficiently.”
However, the store’s organization has troubled guests in the past, and Target claimed to have received various complaints about gender-segregated signs. The statement said that they believe there are times when the gendered signs make sense, such as in clothing, where there is a definite sizing difference, but have also come to understand that there are certainly times when gender segregation is unnecessary.
Departments such as Toys, Home, or Entertainment don’t need to be separated into “Girls” and “Boys,” and Target plans to make a change.
“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. For example, in the kids’ Bedding area, signs will no longer feature suggestions for boys or girls, just kids. In the Toys aisles, we’ll also remove reference to gender, including the use of pink, blue, yellow or green paper on the back walls of our shelves. You’ll see these changes start to happen over the next few months.”
The closing of the statement thanked shoppers for challenging the corporation “to get better at what [they] do and take the shopping trip to new levels,” but the true challenge came in the aftermath of the announcement.
Outrage commenced as if no longer separating the “boy” and “girl” Legos was the end of the world.
Angry customers took to Facebook, vocalizing their disapproval in posts on Target's wall.
Some claimed that they’d no longer shop at the store, insisting that Walmart was now superior.
Others were so baffled they resorted to dramatizing the future.
One woman seems to think the Bible says that letting boys play with Barbie Dolls will make them weak, and that by no longer using gendered signs the plague will come upon us all.
A handful of people seemed to assume that Target is “catering to the minority” and doesn’t realize their customers are not the Kardashians.
Even the Donald Trump supporters were out in full force, bashing the world for this apparently disastrous thing called being "politically correct."
Some poor souls simply didn't understand what is going on.
They aren't getting rid of anything; they are simply going to remove the sign that says "GIRLS BEDDING."
But the profound minds of the 21st century weren’t silent in expressing their opinions either. As the close minded "my boys can't play with dolls and my girls will never watch Star Wars" crowd emerged in discontent, so did the supporters of Target's decision.
Among the countless words of disapproval, the voices of the future could be found.
While the store may have lost a handful of their close-minded customers, they gained a whole lot of respect from everyone else.
Meanwhile, this woman shuts down the displeased costumers with one simple message.