Target is tucking away a portion of its LGBT-themed Pride Collection to protect employee safety as the retail giant deals with backlash stemming from the collection’s release earlier this month.
The collection features over 2,000 items, including clothing, lights, books, and furnishings.
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“Take pride,” a message on Target’s website reads. “Being true to yourself and your community is something to celebrate all year long.”
The marketing of Pride-themed items for children as young as newborns has not sat well with many conservatives.
Many on the Right are furious that Target is pushing products for children as young as 2 years old with messages such as “Bye Bye, Binary,” “Pride 1, 2, 3,” and “I’m not a girl,” according to a report.
A boycott similar to the ones conservatives imposed on Anheuser-Busch and Adidas has been placed on Target, and those upset with Target have made their outrage well known to the retail giant.
“Since introducing this year’s collection, we’ve experienced threats impacting our team members’ sense of safety and [well-being] while at work,” a statement from the Minneapolis-based retailer read.
“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,” it continued.
Removed items include products from LGBT brand Abprallen, whose creator has been known for designing items with satanic symbols, a sweater reading, “Cure transphobia not trans people,” and a bag reading, “Too queer for here,” according to the report.
Along with the removal of specific items, several Target locations in the South have moved Pride Collection items from the front of the store to more internal locations, the report noted.
“We had swimsuits in the front … but now, they are in a random area in the back now,” one employee at an Arkansas location said. “We started shifting the merchandise on Sunday.”
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Target has released LGBT-themed Pride products for over a decade, but this year appears to be the first time it has been met with such a high level of vitriol.
Customers have entered the stores, confronted employees, and thrown merchandise on the floor, according to Target spokeswoman Kayla Castaneda.
