Emily H. sent in a great example of gendering kids’ products. She looked at kids’ luggage on the Target website and noticed a significant difference in the boys’ and girls’ version of one brand. The boys’ version, in the standard blue, is called “Embark Boy Pattern Pilot”:
The girls’ version is identical in size and construction. The girls’ versions are pink and purple, but that’s not the difference that drew Emily’s attention. Take a look:
Notice the name? Where the boys’ version is for pilots, the girls’ appears to be for the pilot’s assistant. Just a nice little example of the normalization of the idea that girls are supportive helpers to the boys who direct the show.
Comments 20
rachel s — August 2, 2011
this makes my head explode. nice detective work.
Andie — August 2, 2011
That's some pretty insidious gender-patterning.
Amy — August 2, 2011
I would have thought that Asst stands for "assorted", as in it comes in different colours. I once saw a handwritten sign for assorted liquorice in the supermarket that said "Ass. liquorice".
Maybe not?
Mucon — August 2, 2011
I don't know what the "Asst" is supposed to be, but "Pilot" appears to be the name of the type of bag. They have an adult version: http://www.target.com/Embark-Pilot-Case-Blue/dp/B000TXQFSY (which they apparently either make only one color of or trust you can decide to buy whichever color without being told it's specifically for your gender).
Anna Geletka — August 2, 2011
I'm willing to accept that "asst" means assorted or something equally innocuous. It's still ridiculous that the stupid suitcases have to be labeled for either a girl or a boy.
Anna Geletka — August 2, 2011
Also, can we talk about how the standard photo-less silhouette in this commenting scheme is clearly not gender-neutral (or racially-neutral, depending on how we interpret the hair)?
guest — August 2, 2011
"coming from a retail mgmt background, i can safely say the "ASST"
stands for "assorted," as in assorted colors - note how the boys' case
reads, "patterned," because it has the patterned pocket.... and the
girls' case has assorted colors. This is a standard retail abbreviation.
And a case of the blog poster jumping too quickly on her soapbox...
Although there are too many gender stereotypes everywhere, from mass
media to marketing, this was not one of them. However, the bigger
problem here is the perpetual "pinking" of anything & everything for
girls - i'm a girl, but i hate pink, and blue happens to be my favorite
color. So i would be mad at target for THAT assumption - that all girls
like pink."-Kristina Plavina
Boner Killer — August 2, 2011
Brutal.
EmH — August 2, 2011
I am the person who submitted this to SC. I did not even think about the fact that asst might mean assorted and I can accept that it very well might. However I think the colors do evoke a sense of gendered airline colors of yesteryear, which may have been the reason why I thought it meant "assistant". The blue is something that I would associate with pilots while the hideous purple reminds me of 50's-style air hostesses. I took another look shortly after I submitted it and did see the boy's equivalent (in blue, what a surprise) of the striped bag. However, I don''t see why they needed to put asst, when they put purple as well, as jo pointed out. I think its poorly worded and another boring example of typical gender assumptions about what colors boys and girls are supposed to like.
Kristen White — August 6, 2011
I contacted Target about this. The woman confirmed that it did mean "assorted," but said that she also agreed it looked it it meant "assistant" and that she had contacted the tech department to request that it be changed to avoid confusion.
I agree that the bigger issue is that children's items shouldn't be gendered in the first place, but I don't think that's something a middle manager can fix.
Guestie — July 18, 2012
But aren't you glad it's not a Stewardess backpack?
It looks nice. I like the deep violet with neon pink highlights. Sharp contrasts. I love white stripes, too.