Target, which debuted its Pride Collection in May, said on Tuesday that it was withdrawing some items to protect employee safety following customer backlash.
The Pride Collection at Target includes over 2,000 items such as clothing, books, music, and home goods. There are “gender fluid” mugs, “queer all year” calendars, and books for children aged 2 to 8 years old such as “Bye Bye, Binary,” “Pride 1,2,3,” and “I’m not a girl” available.
“We’ve experienced threats impacting our team members’ sense of safety and wellbeing while at work since introducing this year’s collection,” Target said.
“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,” the Minneapolis-based retailer explained.
Target has been celebrating Pride Month for over a decade. This year’s collection, according to Target spokesperson Kayla Castaneda, has increased customer-employee conflict and Pride merchandise being thrown on the floor.
Target’s move comes after conservatives chastised Anheuser-Busch for promoting Bud Light on social media with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney last month.
Target, according to Castaneda, is removing the products from its US stores and website.
The only Pride Collection product that has been removed is the LGBTQ brand Abprallen, which has been chastised for its association with British designer Eric Carnel.
Carnell’s pentagram, horned skull, and other Satanic merchandise has sparked outrage on social media.
The Tuesday Abprallen search on Target.com yielded “0” results.
According to social media posts, Target sold a $25 “cure transphobia not trans people” slogan sweater and a $18 “too queer for here” tote bag.
Target is considering transgender swimsuits and children’s products, according to Castaneda.
For example, the “tuck friendly” fit description of a women’s swimsuit implied that it could tuck male genitalia.
On Tuesday, Fox News reported that some Southern Target stores were removing Pride-related merchandise from the front of their stores. Arkansas Target employees moved Pride-themed swimsuits deeper into the store.
“We used to have swimsuits in the front… but now they’re in a random area in the back,” the employee explained. “We began moving merchandise on Sunday.”
