Notes

Almost immediately, an ethnographer at Target is met with gendered signs for various sections, of the store-especially with clothing, shoes, and even the bathrooms. Signs indicated items for women, men, girls, and boys. The signs don’t account for those who fall outside of gender binaries and don’t identify with either category. The bathrooms don’t have a section for all-genders that haven’t been accounted for in the typical men’s and women’s rooms. Even though this bathroom situation is based on government policies, it provides further evidence on how those who identify as gender-typical men and women are the privileged group in Target. Interestingly, the size and variety of women’s clothing sections show that much consideration is made for women at Target, they are a group that is more privileged in this setting than men. Clothing is overall separated by genders, as well as shoes. There’s a lack of gendered items intermingled, representing the idea that the genders typically have distinct characteristics; you would never see women’s dresses in the middle of men’s athleticwear. Perhaps this is due to ease and efficiency of shopping, or because Target promotes a separation of gendered articles of clothing.