The massive clothing corporation Target has launched its new series of LGBTQ clothes that includes items for children, sparking controversy as the marketing push prepares for Pride Month.
Target’s move comes as several companies have come under fire for LGBTQ marketing, such as Bud Light. In that instance, the backlash was so severe that top executives at Anheuser Busch began distancing themselves from the incident.
Target’s promotion urges shoppers to “fill your world with pride” and highlights “partners in pride” such as JZD, “a queer, Latina-owned apparel & lifestyle brand creating products that make the Latino community feel represented and connected to their roots.”
Some of the “Must-have Pride picks” include an adult shirt that reads “Bien Proud” in multicolored lettering, another shirt with “Queer Queer Queer Queer” on it, and a small throw pillow that reads “Self Made.”
Target also promotes a “Pride Toddler Sleeveless Romper,” which shows a picture of a small child wearing the product. Another shirt displayed at stores declares, “Trans People Will Always Exist.”
Target has been active in promoting LGBTQ rights, scoring a perfect rating with the Human Rights Campaign, a pro-LGBTQ activist group, and acting as a platinum-level national corporate partner.
The company boasts that “for 10 years, Target has offered exclusive Pride merchandise, with over 150 inclusive products available in all stores.”
During the previous Pride Month, Target launched a similar marketing push, explaining, “We teamed up with LGBTQIA+ designers, entrepreneurs and Target team members to design our 10th annual Pride assortment and authentically celebrate the community.” That run included more than 250 pieces.
Some groups have denounced the inclusion of LBGTQ apparel for children as inappropriate and an example of corporate propaganda.
Consumers’ Research warned that “parents may need to cover their kid’s eyes next time they’re strolling through their local Target.”
“The retail store just released a new line of LGBTQ+ merchandise geared toward children and even babies,” the activist group said. “This follows longstanding efforts by Target to indoctrinate kids via books titled, ‘Are You a Boy or Are You a Girl?,’ ‘The Hips on the Drag Queen Go Swish, Swish, Swish,’ ‘I’m Not a Girl,’ and more.”
Gays Against Groomers shared a video and image of the Target displays, tweeting, “This is what you will find in the kid’s section of @Target. We urge you to take your business elsewhere.”
“The are indoctrinating and grooming them with LGBTQ ideology,” the organization continued. “It is highly inappropriate and disturbing. We hope there are enough parents out there that understand how wrong this is and show them that this garbage will not sell.”
“The only thing these people understand is money. Target deserves the Bud Light treatment,” Gays Against Groomers concluded.
Other groups pushed back against the calls to boycott, claiming such initiatives endanger LGBTQ-identifying youth.
Rainbow Youth Project USA said, “Over the past few months, we’ve received reports of young people being harassed and verbally assaulted for looking at items in Pride sections of stores like Target. Be aware — Gays Against Groomers says Target is grooming children with Pride clothing.”