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Phillip Pessar/Flickr/Creative Commons
Remember last year when Target rolled out its LGBT transgender line of merchandise? The company said it was "great for our brand?"
It turns out it wasn't so great.
After a backlash, their profits went down and so they are now making some changes, including limiting which stores carry LGBT and trans-themed products. The company completely ditched its LGBT items for children.
Target claims to still celebrate Pride month coming in June. As a company spokesman said in an email Friday,"Target is committed to supporting the LGBTQIA+ community during Pride Month and year-round. Most importantly, we want to create a welcoming and supportive environment for our LGBTQIA+ team members, which reflects our culture of care for the over 400,000 people who work at Target."
"We have long offered benefits and resources for the community, and we will have internal programs to celebrate Pride 2024," the spokesperson added.
Sure... But there's also an old saying: Actions speak louder than words.
Let's recall just how bad this boneheaded move was for Target. From NBC News, "Last year, Target was the focus of a social media-fueled boycott by some shoppers who disagreed with the retailer's decision to sell swimsuits for trans people, with many individuals falsely accusing the retailer of selling them to children. The retailer's Pride-themed clothing for children included apparel with supportive slogans such as 'Just be you' and 'Trans people will always exist!”
Target has spent the better part of a decade publicly supporting the LGBTQ movement following a controversy involving its CEO's donation in 2010 to a group that supported a gubernatorial candidate who opposed gay marriage, NBC News noted. "But last year's backlash resulted in the company pulling trans-oriented products from its shelves amid scenes of store employees being harassed by customers."
Uh... you think? Imagine being a parent just trying to shop at Target and that's what you come up on?
This is a free market decision by Target. This is a democratic one.
They hate losing money and customers vote with their dollars - and they simply weren't having it.
Anyone surprised by this just isn't living in the real world.
Bud Light learned quickly last year when its sales plummeted after transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney on beer cans and ads for the company. The firm responsible for that got booted quickly.
People just looking to relax with a cold one don't need someone else's politics or sexuality being stuck in their face.
Neither do people shopping at Target - something Target also had to learn the hard way.