Maybe its the whole Occupy Movement, my college lifestyle or the rise in peanut butter prices but today I was in the mood for a good protest. Usually I like to stand up for something rather than against something but this afternoon, Barnes and Noble forced me to revolt.
I usually go downtown early on Tuesdays to avoid traffic and then do some homework at the bookstore. Today I was feeling a bit sick and uninterested in homework so I wandered over to the magazine section. I was looking for the business section but the labels read: weddings, cooking, fitness, computers, women's interest and men's interest. And just when I was about to leave, I noticed my favorite
Inc. magazine (magazine on growing businesses) under the title- Men's Interest.
WHAT?!? That must be a mistake? Nope, all business magazines were under Men's Interest. I stood there a moment and might have even gasped out loud. I couldn't help myself so I asked the woman next to me if she found that offensive.
She responded by saying, "Well, more men probably do read it than women." Now, she was an older woman with a strong southern accent reading a cooking magazine but still....how can you think thats ok!?!
I figured I just needed a larger sample and luckily the lady next to her jumped in and said, "Maybe men just need to be told what they should be interested in."
Then the guy next to her jumped in and said, "I am reading about Travel and that wasn't in my section... does that mean I shouldn't be interested?"
What a strange dialog!
I of course couldn't stop there. I went to Customer Service (after all I am a frequent customer and it is their job to ensure customer satisfaction, right?!) to make them aware of their categorizing "mistake". The woman at the desk (without looking at me) said, "yes, we have heard that complaint before and its really the label for the top shelf not that shelf." I told her either way it looked misleading and that if others have complained then maybe they should think about changing it. She replied annoyed again by saying, "I will tell management." I responded "and so will I."
Everyday we have to pick and chose what we stand for and what we won't stand for. In general, I believe we can be more effective by promoting rather than protesting and leading by example is the best way to start a movement. However...today I felt like standing up against a sexist (maybe!?!) unintentional but nevertheless mislabeled magazine rack. Yes, I do recognize it is a small and somewhat petty cause but I mean hey...
If you don't stand up for something, you end up standing for nothing...
Check out your local book store and see how they are doing on categorizing. And...in my opinion just label by topic not by who you think should be interested. That's for me to decide!
