A backlash against Target occurred in the lead up to Pride Month in 2023 after the American retailer released its Pride month merchandise, sparking attacks and threats from conservative, anti-LGBTQ groups. [1] [2]
In May 2024, Target announced that not all stores would carry its 2024 pride collection. [3] [4]
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In May 2023, Target received threats against employees in response to the stores' Pride Month merchandise. Several viral posts on social media claimed that "tuck-friendly" products were being sold to children; this claim was found to be false by the Associated Press. [5] Additionally, the musician Forgiato Blow released a song titled "Boycott Target". [6]
As a result of the outrage among anti-LGBTQ groups, Target decided to withdraw several pieces of merchandise from stores in southern states and from their website. [1] [7] [8] The company also decided to move its pride displays in some stores from entrance areas to the back. Target released a statement on May 24, 2023, in which it cited concern for the safety of its employees as justification for these changes. [9] [10]
Following Target's response, the company faced harsh criticism from GLAAD and several other LGBTQ+ advocacy groups, who requested that Target return all merchandise removed from its stores and website and to release a statement to reaffirm their commitment to the LGBTQ+ community. [1]
Several politicians, including California Governor Gavin Newsom, spoke out in support of the LGBTQ+ community and accused Target CEO Brian Cornell of "selling out the LGBTQ+ community to extremists". [11]
Kelley Robinson, President of the Human Rights Campaign, wrote that "the LGBTQ+ community has celebrated Pride with Target for the past decade. Target needs to stand with us and double-down on their commitment to us". [2]
Michael Edison Hayden, spokesperson for the Southern Poverty Law Center, told NPR that "Target's reversal would only serve to encourage more violent threats." [12]
Target did not release any further statements or support for the LGBTQ+ community following the backlash. [10] Within the week following the backlash, the stock price of Target had dropped by 15%. [13]
Other retailers, including Walmart, released statements that they would not change their Pride Month offerings in response to the backlash against Target. [14]
In an interview with Salon , senior director of programs and corporate advocacy of the Human Rights Campaign, Eric Bloem called out that "we're seeing a very coordinated planned attack on the LGBTQ+ community" and that the attacks against the LGBTQ+ community and companies that are supporting it are boosted by continued false claims being reported via media including Fox News. [15] Despite false claims, [5] hosts and guests have continued to spread misinformation about the Pride merchandise at Target in the week following the incident, according to Salon and Media Matters. [15] [16]
In late May 2023, several Target stores across the country were vandalized by far-right activists. [17] [18]
On June 10, 2023, several bomb threats were made against Target in multiple states by an individual who accused Target of having "betrayed the LGBT community", [19] causing several evacuations. Police did not find any suspicious or harmful items, but are working with the FBI to try to identify the senders. The police have not identified who was behind the threats. [20] [21]
On June 16, 2023, a coalition of 15 state Attorneys General led by Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison and co-signed by AGs from Arizona, California, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Maine, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington State, expressed their resolute and unequivocal support for the LGBTQIA+ community. They supported Target in reporting all threats and vandalism committed against their Pride displays to law enforcement. They also requested that Target return the removed merchandise back to stores. [18] [22]
On July 5, 2023, a coalition of 7 Republican state Attorneys General led by Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita, and joined by the attorneys general of Arksansas, Idaho, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, and South Carolina, sent a letter to Target warning that marketing of materials featured in the Pride campaigns to children could run afoul of their states' child protection and obscenity laws. [23]
On August 18, 2023, Target's chief growth officer Christina Hennington commented on the decline in sales during a conference call with analysts, stating that "The reaction is a signal for us to pause, adapt and learn so that our future approach to these moments balances celebration, inclusivity and broad-based appeal." The statement was made after Target revealed that its Q2 sales had declined by more than 5%. [24] Target's e-commerce sales fell more than 10% in the same quarter. [25]
Matt Walsh is an American right-wing political activist, author, podcaster, and columnist. He is the host of The Matt Walsh Show podcast and is a columnist for the American conservative website The Daily Wire. He has authored four books and starred in The Daily Wire online documentary film What Is a Woman?.
The rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Singapore have evolved over the decades. Same-sex sexual activity is legal for both males and females; for men it was officially legalised in 2022 after being de facto decriminalised since 2007, and for women it was always legal. Prior to 2022, same-sex sexual activity between males was de jure illegal under the British colonial-era Section 377A of the Penal Code. The law had been de facto unenforced for decades. In February 2022, the Court of Appeal in the Supreme Court reaffirmed that 377A cannot be used to prosecute men for having sex with other men, and that it is "unenforceable in its entirety". Transgender rights in the country are also progressive in the region, which included Singapore being the first country in Asia to legalise sex reassignment surgery in 1973.
The rainbow flag or pride flag is a symbol of LGBT pride and LGBT social movements. The colors reflect the diversity of the LGBT community and the spectrum of human sexuality and gender. Using a rainbow flag as a symbol of LGBT pride began in San Francisco, California, but eventually became common at LGBT rights events worldwide.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Qatar experience legal persecution. Sexual acts between males are illegal in Qatar, with punishment for both Muslims and non-Muslims of up to three years in prison. For Muslims duly convicted in the sharia courts, a judicial sentence of capital punishment for homosexuality is a possibility, though it has never been imposed. Abuse such as beatings and torture, and forced "conversion therapy" have also been used by police and other authorities. There is no explicit corresponding prohibition of consensual sex between women, although sharia disallows sexual activity outside of marriage.
LGBT pride is the promotion of the self-affirmation, dignity, equality, and increased visibility of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people as a social group. Pride, as opposed to shame and social stigma, is the predominant outlook that bolsters most LGBT rights movements. Pride has lent its name to LGBT-themed organizations, institutes, foundations, book titles, periodicals, a cable TV channel, and the Pride Library.
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Target Corporation is an American retail corporation that operates a chain of discount department stores and hypermarkets, headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is the seventh-largest retailer in the United States, and a component of the S&P 500 Index. The company is one of the largest American-owned private employers in the United States.
LGBT history in Turkey covers the development, contributions and struggles of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in the history of Turkey and their relation between Turkish politics from the abolition of the Caliphate to modern-day Turkey.
Pinkwashing, also known as rainbow-washing, is the strategy of deploying messages that are superficially sympathetic towards the LGBTQ community for ends having little or nothing to do with LGBTQ equality or inclusion, including LGBT marketing.
The Chennai Rainbow Pride March has been held by members of Tamil Nadu LGBTIQA+ communities every June since 2009. The pride march is organised under the banner Tamil Nadu Rainbow Coalition, which is a collective of LGBT individuals, supporters, and organizations working on human rights and healthcare for the LGBTQIA community. The Pride March occurs on the final Sunday of June every year. The Pride March is usually preceded by a month-long series of events organized by NGOs and organizations to inculcate awareness and support for the LGBTQ community, such as panel discussions, film screenings, and cultural performances. The Chennai Vaanavil Suyamariyadhai Perani a.k.a. Chennai Rainbow Self-Respect March is known for being inter-sectional in nature as it addresses issues with multiple axes such as caste, class, religion coupled with gender discrimination.
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Pride Month, sometimes specified as LGBT Pride Month, is a monthlong observance dedicated to the celebration of LGBT pride, commemorating the contributions of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) culture and community. Pride Month is observed in June in the United States, coinciding with the anniversary of the 1969 Stonewall riots, a series of gay liberation protests.
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