This photo was taken earlier this month by a mother from Ohio named Abi Bechtel. It's since been retweeted thousands of times.
Don't do this, @Target
"It stood out to me as a good example of the way our culture tends to view boys and men as the default, normal option and girls and women as the specialized exception," Betchdel told CNN.
Bechtel isn't the first person to point out the distinction.
Hey @Target - why are we separating girls and boys "building sets"? Let's stop the stereotyping, shall we?
#ragebarf MT @kramtrak: Look, everyone! @Target has GIRLS building sets AND regular-people building sets!
Many parents have complained online about Target's gender-designated toy aisles as well.
@Target Do 'Girls Building Sets' come with a glass ceiling? @HuffPostWomen @smrtgrls
"I didn’t expect the huge response that one tweet would prompt. The response has been mostly positive," Bechtel told BuzzFeed. "It’s sparked some good conversation about how girls and women are still sometimes pigeonholed into certain roles."
Aisle E11 in Hackensack NJ today: "Girls' Building Sets" and regular "Building Sets." Really, @Target???
@Target As a father of two young girls, I just wanted to ask: what are “girls” building sets?
"After I sent the tweet last Monday, Target tweeted a response to me that they would forward my concern to the appropriate department for review," Bechtel said. BuzzFeed has reached out to Target for comment.
This seriously angers me. GIRLS DONT NEED SPECIAL BUILDING SETS @Target
A Target spokesperson told BuzzFeed that the aisles' distinction is about prioritizing the way families find things while shopping.
"Recently we conducted a test where we removed any reference to gender in the toy aisles in a number of our stores," the spokesperson said. "In those stores, our guest research showed us that guests preferred having a variety of indicators that can help inform and guide their shopping trip. "