United States: a company withdrew a line of LGBTIQ+ items from sale due to violent reactions from its customers | A few days away from Pride Month

2023-05-25 05:18:15

American department store firm Target announced on Wednesday that will remove from its shelves the collection of clothing and accessories Take Pride, that celebrate the community LGBTIQ+, after the threats received by some of its employees.

The business group based in Minneapolis, in the northern United States, recently launched a line of articles for the Pride month in Junewhen events are usually held in honor of the homosexual community, in commemoration of the Stonewall riot in New Yorkwhere thousands confronted the police rebelling against a political system that harassed and discriminated against them.

Among these references is, for example, a cup with the mention Gender Fluidwhich non-binary people sometimes use to define themselves, or children’s t-shirts with the slogan Well Proud, a mixture of Spanish and English that plays with the term “proud“.

“Target has offered a set of products dedicated to celebrating Pride month for more than a decade,” recalls the company in a statement.

But “since the start of this year’s collection, we have been informed about threats that had an impact on the safety and well-being of our collaborators“he adds.

“Given the volatile context, we will proceed to changesparticularly the withdrawal of articles related to the most aggressive behaviors,” they argued

The fact, which takes place after the controversy over an advertisement made by a transgender influencer for a beer, highlights the climate of tension that reigns over this issue in a country where various rights related to sexual minorities or people of color are challenged by officials or far-right figures.

“The goal is to make ‘pride’ (pride) toxic for brands“said ultra-conservative editorialist Matt Walsh, hailing Target’s move.

Meanwhile, California Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom accused Target CEO Brian Cornell of “sacrificing the LGBT+ community to extremists” for his decision.

“This is not just in a couple of stores. There is a systematic attack on the gay community across the country. Wake up because this doesn’t stop here. are you black? are you asian are you jewish You’re a woman? So you’re the next one“, said the official on Twitter.

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