Little Frankie can trick or treat as Tinker Bell.
Via The Daily Mail:
Disney has done away with gender-based labels on its Halloween costumes and is instead marketing its vast selection of looks as ‘kids’ – encouraging children to choose any trick-or-treating attire that appeals to them.
The change comes just a month after Target announced that it would no longer be using gender-specific signs in its children’s bedding and toy departments, acknowledging that both boys and girls can be interested in princesses and cars.
Like most major retailers, Disney has a history of marketing princess costumes to girls and superhero attire to boys, however, The Mary Sue reported that the brand has removed the gender-specific Halloween sections on its website, opting to group the ensembles as ‘Costumes for Kids’.
Last year, the site labeled ‘Costumes for Girls’ in pink and ‘Costumes for Boys’ in blue, and Disney has since gotten rid of the color distinctions, giving children a variety of costumes to choose from with out any gender-specific influencing.
It appears that the brand is truly embracing the spirit of Halloween, recognizing that kids should be whatever they want – regardless of their sex.
Whether a child wants to be Captain Hook or Tinker Bell, both outfits are now inclusively labeled. Disney has made the same changes to its Halloween accessories department, marketing tiaras and swords to both sexes.
And if users try to search for Halloween costumes under the drop-down menus for boys and girls, the customers are redirected to the gender-neutral Costumes for Kids section.
The Mary Sue also reported that Disney has started listing action figures from Star Wars and Marvel Comics in the girls section of the website as well as the boys.
‘I’m feeling all warm and fuzzy cause somewhere there are boys being told they can be princesses if they want to and that’s something I really wish I’d been told as a kid,’ one person commented on The Mary Sue’s website.
Meanwhile, one mother praised Disney for ending the gender divide frequently found in children’s toys and costumes.
‘My little girl is going to be so excited,’ she wrote. ‘She’s currently waffling between Black Widow and The Hulk, but just to be able to poke through and see those choices next to each other will mean a great deal to her.’