Target will scale back its Pride Month offering this year, following last year’s angry backlash against products that featured satanic imagery and encouraged children to “tuck” and hide their genitalia.
In a statement issued on Friday, the retailer said that its Pride-themed merchandise would be available in “select stores and on Target.com.”
This is a significant departure from previous years, including last year, when Pride products were situated prominently in virtually all stores, often near the entrances.
Last year, Target claimed it was forced to remove or resituate Pride displays to protect its “team members’ sense of safety and well-being,” after widespread protests at the overt sexualised nature of the displays and the presence of Satanic imagery.
Target also faced angry criticism for selling so-called “tuck-friendly” clothing that allows wearers, including children, to hide their genitalia.
Some customers hid products or even destroyed displays.
“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 company said in a statement.
Among the products removed were those by the LGBTQ brand Abprallen, which “offers some products featuring spooky, gothic imagery, such as skulls and Satan, in pastels colors,” according to NPR.
A few weeks before the backlash over last year’s Pride offering, Target CEO Brian Cornell said in an interview that the company wanted to support “all families” and that its “focus on diversity and inclusion and equity has fueled much of our growth over the last nine years.”
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