The marketplace should decide, except when it shouldn’t.
That seems to be the argument I get from the right (in the same way that “state’s rights should control except when they do things we disagree with”).
“Why should the signs in Lowe’s be in English and Spanish?” they yell. “Isn’t this America?” Well, yes, this is America, where the goal of business is to appeal to as many people as possible. Signs in Spanish help sell more goods. You know, capitalism at work and everything.
The latest ridiculous outrage is against Target, which suddenly said, “Hey! You know, if we don’t separate our kid’s toys by gender, we might sell a whole lot more.” Traditionalists on the right are now screaming about “political correctness” (which, by their definition, means “change I disagree with”) because the absolutely most horrible thing might happen with Target’s new policy: A girl that wants a boy toy won’t have to walk to a different aisle.
Overall, the more we break the stereotyping that goes along with raising kids, the better. Sure, more boys will still play with trucks and girls with dolls, but not always — and what’s wrong with boys playing with dolls (as the cartoon below says)? And why are “building toys” (such as legos) usually set aside just for boys? Last I checked, women drive cars, so why can’t girls play with toy cars?
Still, I don’t think Target’s point was to make a great social point or be politically correct. I think they were looking at the bottom line — what will make them more money? Selling toy cars to boys and girls just increases sales, no?
That damned free market!
