Recently, Target has made the decision to remove all the LGBTQ+ Pride items from all of their stores across the U.S. The retail store has stated they had to make this decision due to harmful threats towards their employees.
The Reason For The Recall
“Given these volatile circumstances, we are making adjustments to our plans, including removing items that have been at the center of the most significant confrontational behavior,” stated Target. Before this happened, the store was undoubtedly committed to showing its support to the LGBTQ community. Even though Pride month takes place in June, they already had items for sale. Even though they felt they had a valid reason for this action, the community felt strongly otherwise. People are demanding to have all the items to be put back on their shelves.
“Target should put the products back on the shelves and ensure their Pride displays are visible on the floors, not pushed into the proverbial closet,” said Kelly Robinson, president of the Human Rights Campaign. The backlash the store is receiving is stressful since the company cannot cater to everyone’s needs in this situation.
The conservative community also began to get angry with the company’s new “tuck-friendly” bathing suits. These bathing suits are meant for trans women who have not done gender-reaffirming surgery, to be able to “tuck” their genitals to appear more feminine. These bathing suits are only available for adults, however, and not children. Despite the backlash from this, they have not recalled these items but they are under review.
LGBTQ+ Community Speaks Out
Target has been supporting the LGBTQ+ community forever and now the community is appalled about the actions the company is taking. “Pulling back is the worst thing that they could have done,” said Jake Bjorseth, owner of trndssttrs, an agency to help reach Gen Z customers. The community believes that, but by doing this, they are letting the “bully” win and giving them what they want. “Extremist groups want to divide us and ultimately don’t just want rainbow products to disappear, they want us to disappear,” stated Robinson.
The community is upset about this outburst and wishes for Target to have their backs. This puts the company in a very tough situation because if they bring back the merchandise, the LGBTQ Community will be happy, but they risk the threats increasing and turning into more than threats. But if they don’t bring it back, the threats will stop, but they would betray the LGBTQ community. A marketing Professor from the University of Pennsylvania, Americus Reed, agrees with Target’s decision and believes it to be the only right one. “The worst thing that could happen in a retail environment is to feel like you can’t go in there and feel safe — that’s on the employee side and the customer sides,” said Reed.
How Does This End?
As of right now, it seems like Target is not bringing back the recalled items. However, people still have hope the company will change its mind. The community is asking questions like, will this be a one-time thing? Or will Target never bring back LGBTQ+ pride items? Senior investigative reporter for the Southern Poverty Law Center, Michael Edison Hayden, believes that this is not okay. If the target does whatever the “bully” tells them to, they will only bring more threats. “As soon as you back down like this, you send a message that intimidation works, and that makes it much scarier than if you had never started to begin with,” said Hayden.
Written By Erika Cano
Sources:
NPR: Target removes some Pride Month products after threats against employees
ABC7 News: Target on the defensive after removing LGBTQ+-themed products from stores
The Washington Post: Target pulls some LGBT+ items days after CEO talks up inclusivity
