Target Says Goodbye To Gender-Specific Signage In Some Kids’ Aisles

Target is undergoing a bit of a makeover of its in-store experience — and its public image. The discount retailer announced on Friday that it will be shifting some of the signage in children's toy aisles to shy away from gender-specificity. Target will retain the use of gendered labels in the kid's clothing department, ostensibly for size and fit purposes, according to Fortune. "We never want guests or their families to feel frustrated or limited by the way things are presented," Target shared in a post on its corporate blog last week. "Over the past year, guests have raised important questions about a handful of signs in our stores that offer product suggestions based on gender." Those "important questions" referred to in the post are likely connected with a controversy raised earlier this summer about Target signage that delineated "building sets" and "girls' building sets." The company initially issued a statement to the Daily Dot saying that the gender-specific callouts were intended to help busy parents. But when Abi Bechtel, a blogger and mom of three, posted an image of the "building set" store aisle, social media communities jumped on the opportunity to lambast Target for institutional sexism.

Overall, we're going to call the planned changes a win. An email to the Fortune 500 company for further clarification on the intended rollout of these updates was not returned by the time of publication.