Meijer sells goods for everyone: men, women, children, the elderly. Everyone can find what they need at Meijer. Meijer is the true definition of a one-stop shop for a family. This being said though, Meijer, to make their store as effective as possible, sets up their aisles with products that are deemed by society to be for different genders in the same section or general area. Meijer displays these products in ways that appeal to the gender with which these products they are targeting. By separating aisles in this way, Meijer completely alienates half the population to many of these aisles. Also, in the way these aisles are displayed, Meijer seems to be making presumptions and fulfilling stereotypes concerning gender roles.
The first aisle that really stands out as targeting a certain gender at Meijer is the makeup aisle. Predominantly in our society, women wear makeup more than men, and Meijer uses this to help sell these products. Colors that are associated more with femininity, such as pinks, purples, and light reds are displayed against darker backgrounds to make the colors more accented. The aisle smells like makeup, which is usually correlated towards women. By displaying the aisle in this way, Meijer (or whoever is in charge of aisle organization and decoration), is assuming that these colors and scents appeal to the majority of women. This is a stereotype, as many women prefer other colors over pink and purple, or don’t care for these colors at all. Also, as Jeanne Maglaty stated in her article “When Did Girls Start Wearing Pink?,” “Today’s color dictate wasn’t established until the 1940s, as a result of Americans’ preferences as interpreted by manufacturers and retailers” (Maglaty). These colors easily could’ve been blue and green, but for some reason our culture has told us that pink and purple are the colors for women. These factors also make many men feel uncomfortable, as if this aisle is not meant for them. Meijer could potentially be losing business in this area from men who wish to buy makeup, whether it be as a gift for someone in their life or for their own personal use.
The next area of Meijer that stands out as an attempt to appeal to a certain gender over another is the hardware, car parts, home improvement, etc. aisles. These aisles are meant to call to men more than women. Through observation, I noticed that many of the more popular products in these aisles were higher up on the shelves, where it would be easy for men, who are generally taller than women, to reach, but more difficult for the shorter women to get to. This same problem applies to the disable as well. Because the more popular and useful products are closer to the tops of shelves, many of the disabled citizens in our communities wouldn’t be able to reach them. This is the exact opposite of other sections, like the produce section or the grocery section for example, where many of the more popular products are lower to the ground, where it is easier for shorter people to see them and reach them. While observing the hardware section, I noticed many women walk through these aisles and find what they needed, only to have to ask a male employee of Meijer to take something off the shelves for them. This can alienate many women and the disabled who need to shop in this section, who may not be able to see, let alone reach, the product they need on the shelves. While walking through this area, I couldn’t help but notice how Meijer assumes that most of the shoppers in this section will be non-disabled males. This once again reinforces age-old gender roles; women aren’t meant to do blue-collar work around the house or on the car, this work is meant for men. Also, this makes the assumption that the disabled are not performing the type of manual labor that will require them to shop in this section.
On the flip side of this, the way Meijer arranged their grocery aisles, where the most popular and highly selected products are nearer to the bottom, reinforces the view that women are doing most of the shopping for groceries and other household items, once again supporting the stereotype that women are the homemakers, the grocery shoppers, and the people who carry on the day to day operations of the home. This relates to the idea that women are not the breadwinners in a household, they are just meant to keep the home in order, and this idea is terribly wrong. This goes along with the same sentiments as Simone de Beauvoir, who in her book The Second Sex, argues against female dependency, stating “Now, woman has always been man’s dependent, if not his slave; the two sexes have never shared the world in equality. And even today woman is heavily handicapped, though her situation is beginning to change” (Beauvoir, xxvi). In today’s age, nearly 70 years after this book was written, there are many men who are the ones doing the grocery shopping, and there are many women who shop for hardware and car parts. Keeping this in mind, we can see that traditional gender roles crossing more and more and slowly becoming obsolete, woman’s situation has continued to improve. Meijer should update their store layouts to better accommodate towards this lack of antiquated gender roles that are emerging more and more in our society.
Meijer has set itself up to appeal to both men and women. You can see this all throughout the store, in many different aisles. This being said, Meijer has outdated views of gender roles that stand to be corrected. Meijer’s makeup aisle is made to stand out to women, but in doing this, they are alienating the less “girly” population that is stereotyped Also, they are alienating the male population and making them feel uncomfortable in this aisle (trust me, I’ve had first-hand experience). At the same time, the hardware, car parts, and home improvement aisles are arranged to be more advantageous towards men, though more and more women are taking on roles around the house as the handyman (or handywoman). Meijer needs to update its views on gender, possibly by making it’s aisles more accessible to all people. Because as it stands now, they are losing out on potential business from half our population in some of their most popular aisles.
Discussion Questions
- What other areas of Meijer, or other stores similar to it, do you see them attempting to appeal to a certain gender, and how do you think this impacts their business?
- Why do you believe stores such as Meijer continue to view the world of gender in an antiquated fashion? Do you think they’re behind the times or do you believe these views continue to help them with profits?
Works Cited
Maglaty, Jeanne. “When Did Girls Start Wearing Pink?” Smithsonian.com, Smithsonian Institution, 7 Apr. 2011, http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/when-did-girls-start-wearing-pink-1370097/?page=2.
Beauvoir, Simone de. The Second Sex. Vintage Classic, 2015.
Challenging Bodies 
To answer your second question, I do believe that Meijer continues to see the world in a limited view on gender. I don’t, however, believe that it is hurting their business. I also think it would be extremely hard to set the store up any different ways. I don’t think the issue is where it is located in the store but rather maybe the labels that are on the products. I think you want all the makeup in one section and the car parts in another. It would seem strange if they were mixed together. Meijer wants to keep an organized store and an organized store happens to fit the gender stereotypes.
LikeLike
I think another section of the store that likely appeals to one gender over another is the different sections in the toy aisles at the store. Just a quick walk down the toy section of the store shows whole aisles that are plastered in pink, then other ones that are entirely blue and green. Toys are some of the most heavily gendered items in our modern culture, and that is incredibly visible just from looking. Pretty pink dolls are very clearly kept separate from the superhero action figures. This is another way that Meijer separates its products based on the gender it is attempting to appeal to.
LikeLike
I agree with Sarah above that for organizational purposes some of the separation makes sense. However, I don’t think that the makeup aisle needs to be pinks and purples or that the hardware section needs to be “manly”. Women who want to purchase makeup are going to go that aisle regardless of colors and men who need hardware are going to go to that section regardless so why not make the space more neutral? It seems to me that in this way Meijer is a little behind on the times. I don’t think such clear distinctions in aisles helps their business and in the same way I don’t think that neutralizing the aisles would hurt their business.
LikeLike
To address your second question, the purpose of a business like Meijer is to make profit. So I think that if rearranging the store would help with higher profits, they would have already figured this out and made the changes. I also don’t think that the majority of society really minds the gender separations and stereotypes that are used in terms of color etc. Most stores like Meijer all use the same promotional materials, and customers are used to divided locations for various items. If anything, it helps the customer find what they are looking for more quickly since certain colors and themes represent certain products.
LikeLike
I find the way that that large superstores, such as Meijer, set up their store very fascinating due to the fact that everything in the store has been set up in a certain location and in a certain spot on the shelves for very specific reasons. Although I am not disabled, I can imagine that going to a store that set up with more able-bodied people in mind could be very frustrating. And although I understand that there are certain organizational purposes for the way Meijer sets up it’s product, I feel like it is not necessary to reinforce these locations in the store with the stereotypical, gender dividing things such as colors and posters on the wall. I think it is hard to find the line between what is smart for business and what is not inclusive and accessible.
LikeLike
I think it is interesting that Meijer, other stores similar to it, continue to put big signs on the ceiling with “Mens” and “Women’s” labeled on them. If these stores were attempting to be more gender neutral or less divided, the first thing they should do would be to take down these signs. They are implying that the clothes and items in the specific areas are dedicated to the gender labeled above, and that goes against any claim of disregarding gender labeling.
LikeLike
To address your first question I think many stores use this tactic of appealing to genders in different areas in order to sell products better. The post above speaks of how the Out-Post does this, and they are very effective sellers! Also in Meijer I believe that the hunting and outdoor section try to appeal to men because men are generally seen in the outdoors hunting and fishing. I believe when companies do this it is simply a selling technique and one that is very effect in raising profits! Also there is no discrimination between men and women. They are trying to sell to both genders, so there are plenty of areas dedicated to both!
LikeLike
This is a really interesting perspective on Meijer and I think it is really relevant to the gender norms today. However, I do think those who decided the set up of the store did so very strategically. Since there are certain aisles that appeal to men or women, Meijer is making a profit on all of those aisles. In relation disability, though, Meijer could definitely be more accommodating. There is a stereotype that says that people with disabilities are not going to do the grocery shopping alone or at all, so the products are not set up in a way that is accessible to them. This could be reconfigured to be more accommodating.
LikeLike
Going off your first question, I think that Target has a definite targeted gender, women. Target is mainly supplied with household objects, interior decorations, groceries, make-up, clothes and so many more items. Really, the only section of outdoor equipment is located in the back corner of the store. When you see people talking about Target and how much they love it, a lot of the time, they’re women. This then reinforces the ideas of a stereotypical women who’s a stay-at-home mom and takes care of the house and the kids.
LikeLike
I feel this is just a way to organize stores in a obvious and standard way. There may be gender differences or assumptions that we don’t need to be making, but to mix up a store just doesn’t make complete sense. I don’t always like the separateness of young boys and girls toys because it makes it very painfully obvious what girls and boys are supposed to like. I personally don’t feel that that is necessary and just adds to the idea that boys have to like trucks and tools and girls have baby dolls and dress up. If anything, these should be more mixed together and not encourage unfair gender stereotypes so young.
LikeLike
Companies base their products by how much product they make. Therefore, it makes sense that they separate men and women’s products in order to get rid of confusion. If the genders would be mixed, people would most likely get confused and get discouraged to shop there, and therefore look for alternatives. Meijer does a good job at emphasizing the men and women clothing, which gets my attention when I go into the store. That encourages people to shop in those sections and therefore buy something off of it.
LikeLike
Another place that gender is divided is the baby’s section. Many stores separate the clothes for boys in blues and sports wear from that of girls. Also when it comes to baby furniture or toys there are always two different versions of the toy. One made to specifically be for boys and another for girls even though they are the exact same toy. Some animals are separated too, I always see boys clothes have dinosaurs on them and none of the girls clothes have dinosaurs.
LikeLike
I think that when comparing all grocery/family stores, Meijer does a pretty good job of staying gender neutral. I do agree that there are aspect like the makeup and hardware aisle that are gendered. I find it very odd that in more “masculine” sections of stores that they tend to put products up higher of the shelves. As a relativley short female, this is very inconvienient. When I go shopping, I want to get my products and leave without having to ask for help, especially from a taller, male employee.
LikeLike
To answer your first question, I believe that many stores separate their men and women sections in order to make it easier on their customers to know where everything is located at. It’s mostly how most stores are organized. The men’s department in one section and the women’s department in another section. Like in the women’s section most makeup products and clothing will be found pretty near with each other. I don’t consider this to be seen as a negative way at all because it’s just how businesses are run to make is easier to find products. I don’t think stores such as Meijer do this in order to make one gender appeal more than another. It might feel like the women’s department stands out more because of the bright colors and the excessive amount of make up products that are sold for women.
LikeLike
I think these big companies will continue going where the money is. If majority of the world is heterosexual then they are mainly going to appeal to that market. The same goes for people who are LGBT. Some other areas that I see appeal to heterosexual people would be area, such as recreational equipment. I remember as a child there being brighter pink tricycles and bikes that tended to favor the girls, while the boys were expected to use the equipment with Ninja Turtles, Spider Man, etc.
LikeLike