Gender Neutral Toys & Why They, Surprisingly, Have Nothing To Do With You

Gender Neutral Toys & Why They, Surprisingly, Have Nothing To Do With You

August Napolitano, A&E Editor

This past week, our beloved retail giant, Target, announced that it would be phasing out its use of gender-specific signs, specifically in cases of children’s toys and bedding. What this means, in layman’s terms, is that if you go to buy your kid a birthday present, the toy monster trucks will no longer be separate from the Barbie dolls, and vice versa. No more “toys for boys” or “toys for girls”. Rather, toys for all children.

This is a great thing.

Now, like with all changes, Target’s adoption of gender neutrality has been met with its rather outspoken critics. Parents claim they will no longer shop at Target based on the decision, citing it as “confusing” and catering to a slight minority of the American population. These people have opted to shop at other retail chains such as Wal-Mart, who currently still uses the gendered system. But what will happen if the day comes that Wal-Mart and the ilk makes the switch? Will these frustrated customers keep hopping from store to store to find temporary comfort in the familiar? Or will they just have to learn to accept the changing times?

Who knows, really. But the obvious truth is that now, more than ever before in history, the “one or another” approach to gender is being fought against with a passion, and it’s working. Take the recent transition of Caitlyn Jenner into account, or that of Laverne Cox (and while we’re on the subject of Orange is the New Black stars, how about the gender-fluid Ruby Rose?) Even the Cartoon Network show, Steven Universe, features strong main characters that are truly genderless but use she/her pronouns. Are the viewers confused? No! In fact, Steven Universe is met with wide acclaim, especially noted for its nature to break from the status quo in terms of gender roles and representation.

The truth is, despite the fact that representation has seen a huge spike in recent years, this is not a new phenomenon fabricated by modern media. Caitlyn Jenner has spoken out saying that she has always felt like a woman, same with Laverne Cox. It’s just that society is progressing and shedding light on long standing social issues. But struggles with gender roles is not something that only happens in Hollywood.

In the early 2000s, for example, all I wanted for my birthday was an Easy Bake Oven. I would see the commercials over and over and they just really made me want to bake a cake. My dad refused to buy me one, his reason being that it was a girl toy and he didn’t want me to turn out girly. He was legitimately concerned about my wish,, and I couldn’t understand it. Eventually, my parents compromised and got me some strange boyish version of the oven, that was made to be just plain gross. The icing resembled green slime, the cakes would have gummy worms squirming out of it, you know, boy stuff. I used it, yeah, and it made pretty decent cakes. But I didn’t understand why it was such a big deal that I had to prove my expected masculinity by making slimy cake. It was the same deal with the design of my childhood bedroom. I had an area rug shaped like a soccer ball and train sets and just a lot of things about SPORTS. I never liked sports. Ever. I preferred to read a book, or listen to music, or write weird comics about my life. But for the sake of “making sense” to my family, besides, perhaps, my mother, I had to live with it, or at least say nothing at all.

I didn’t think much of it then, but now as I approach adulthood and begin determine my societal role,  I definitely do. I understand that I’m far from alone in not agreeing with gender expectations. By Target taking this step forward and putting an end to gendered aisles, it is giving new generations the ability to experiment beyond their societal molds and determine what makes them happy. Sure, Hasbro can still market the Easy Bake Oven as a toy for girls. But Target is going to market it as a toy, period. So maybe, if down the road one of our Bobcat’s children have an odd interest in the outdated 20th century toys like the Easy Bake, their parents might just not think twice about buying it for them, because in the end, that kid will be happy.

Plus, let’s be 100% honest with ourselves. The “boys will be boys, girls will be girls” mindset has been proven problematic time and time again. Not to mention that it is just that, a mindset that has been created over time, with no actual sound reasoning behind it. This is a classic example of the nature vs. nurture argument, one in which nature always wins. A more appropriate saying would be “humans will be whatever they want.” The most basic responsibility of a parent is to make sure their offspring leads a life in which they are healthy and confident with themselves. If you want to raise your child a certain way, Target isn’t going to stop you. But that doesn’t guarantee your child won’t disagree.