It was a Monday night. I’d had a long day, and my hair was greasy. Shampoo was the last item on my list and after spending thirty minutes in the $1 or $3 section, I was finally making my way to the healthcare aisle to wrap up. I made my way past the deodorant and razors, and I spotted my brand of shampoo -- Head & Shoulders. I veered down the aisle, bent down and put it in my basket and started back on my merry way. But then I looked up and saw a sign that surprised me:
“Men’s Hair Care.”
I turned and looked at my boyfriend, who saw the sign and shrugged. But I was taken aback. I almost always use Head & Shoulders, and I was completely unaware that it was a product intended for males. Intrigued, we set out to find the "Women’s Hair Care" to see if Head & Shoulders appeared in both aisles.
After several minutes of searching, we found “Women’s Hair Care” which was 20 times more extensive than the puny men’s section, and included all kinds of organic 8-vitamin shampoos I’d never even heard of. But beyond all that was my beloved Head & Shoulders, reassuring me in its gender neutral place. I looked to the heavens, sighing my relief, when I noticed another sign:
“Men's Hair.”
Really, Target? Really? I’ve googled it, and Google has confirmed that Head & Shoulders is 100 percent gender neutral (but so is all shampoo, am I right?). There's no need to set aside a special row of shelving within the women’s hair care to falsely tell people that Head & Shoulders is only for men. It's not.
But the icing on the cake was this: above the women’s hair care aisle there was a larger sign, which said:
To confirm my suspicions, I went back to the men’s hair care.
Aside from the fact that apparently only men can use Head & Shoulders, it also became clear that when men cleanse themselves, it’s considered a matter of “healthcare”. At Target, “healthcare” means personal hygiene -- toothbrushes, deodorant and tampons -- things most people consider necessities. The “beauty” section, however, has products like mascara, nail polish and vibrating face cleansers -- and women’s shampoo. Is Target implying that for women, it’s a luxury to clean our hair, but for men, it’s a basic health need? When I left the store, that’s the impression that I had.
By the time I got back to campus my voice was hoarse from ranting and I found myself Googling “Why is Target so sexist?” Shockingly, a number of articles came up about a controversial issue last summer when a Star Wars shirt that was placed in the “boys humor” section, along with another issue about a women's T-shirt that boldly states "trophy". While shampoo and boy’s t-shirts may not seem like a big deal, the implications may be huge.
So Target, it looks like this is strike three.
My advice is to get rid of your subtle sexism and join us in the 21st century.
