It was interesting to note that this Equestria Daily post was at the top of their popular posts box for quite a while. I know we are in the middle of an August hiatus and there is a shortage of pony news, but it's still remarkable that something only indirectly linked to ponies attracts so much interest. I thought that it was just a small niche of liberal feminist bronies like me who followed this sort of thing.

The story: American retailer Target recently announced that would end the gender segregation of their toy aisles, and remove the “boys’ toys” and “girls’ toys” labels from their stores. Further, they made this announcement very public and were rewarded with plenty of viral posts and some hilarious comedy on social media.

What’s the problem? Gendered labels push children into stereotype roles. Children pick up these messages very quickly, and sadly, sometimes reject toys they love because boys don't want to be seen as girly, and girls fear being labelled as a boy. This is a movement which I have followed for some time (see my previous posts). My vested interest is in getting more girls into science. One reason women are under-represented on physics courses is that too many young girls pick up a false message that it is a boys’ subject because the science kits are in the boys’ aisle. But the other side to it is that too many boys feel they can’t play with dolls (or ponies) as these are girls’ toys. The campaign is simply to stop the marketing of toys as being ‘for boys’ or ‘for girls’ and let children play with whatever toys they like.

The movement has been gaining momentum for some years. With many memorable images spread by social media.

It was this unnecessary exercise in set theory applied to a Target aisle, highlighted by a mother in Ohio, which may be responsible for their policy change.

Europe took the lead, but America is catching up fast. And doing so with style. The reports of UK stores adopting similar policies were met with about the same level of excitement as when a local newspaper announces that a supermarket have changed the layout again (and nobody can find the eggs). British shoppers are rather restrained and boring. But in the US this has led to passionate debate. There was plenty of support, but who pays any attention to liberal feminists when the comments from outraged conservatives were far more amusing. And boy they made their feelings known. The thought of shopping without signs to help them navigate the complex labyrinth of the toy section was clearly unacceptable. They might accidentally buy a pony toy for a little boy without realizing it is for girls, and thus turn him into a transgender queer! The horror!

The ensuing drama has played out on social media. As irate customers bombarded Target with negative comments, they were met with comically sarcastic replies from a fake customer service account set up by a friendly troll. But I think the Michigan family behind this hilarious Facebook album get first prize.

What does this all this mean for bronies? It shows that we were ahead of the game, but it’s not something we can claim too much responsibility for. While I have always felt that feminists and bronies should be natural allies, it seems that most campaigners, if they've heard of bronies at all, just view us as mostly harmless.