Global Courant 2023-05-24 03:24:11
NEW YORK (AP) — Target is removing certain items from its stores and making other changes to its LGBTQ merchandise nationwide ahead of Pride month after intense backlash from some customers, including violent confrontations with its employees.
“Since the introduction of this year’s collection, we have faced threats that affect our team members’ sense of safety and well-being at work,” Target said in a statement Tuesday. “Given these volatile circumstances, we are adjusting our plans, including removing items that were central to the most significant confrontational behavior.”
Target declined to say which items it was removing, but among those that received the most attention were “pleat-friendly” women’s bathing suits that allow trans women who haven’t had gender-affirming surgeries to hide their genitals. Design by Abrallinga London-based company that designs and sells LGBTQ clothing and accessories with occult and satanic themes has also drawn backlash.
Pride merchandise has been on sale since early May. Pride month is held in June.
Target confirmed it has moved its Pride merchandise from the front of stores to the back of some stores in the South after confrontations and backlash from shoppers in those areas.
Target’s Pride month collection has also been the subject of various misleading videos in recent weeks, with social media users falsely claiming that the retailer sells “crease-friendly” bathing suits designed for children or in children’s sizes.
The moves come as beer brand Bud Light continues to struggle with a backlash from customers angry at its attempt to do it broaden its customer base by teaming up with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney. Bud Light’s parent company said it did triple its marketing spending in the US this summer as it tries to recover sales it lost after the brand teamed up with the transgender influencer.
Target and other retailers, including Walmart and H&M, have been expanding their LGBTQ displays for about a decade to celebrate Pride month. This year, transgender issues — including gender-affirming health care and participation in sports — have been a divisive topic in the state legislature, and the backlash has turned hostile.
______
Follow Anne D’Innocenzio:
