Target Quietly Reducing Pride-Themed Merchandise After 2023 Backlash

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News outlets report retail giant Target will reduce the amount of LGBT pride-themed merchandise in its stores during Pride Month in June.

Last May, Target experienced significant backlash and declining sales after displaying transgender products in its stores, prompting Target to hold “emergency” meetings to figure out how to undo the damage.

In particular, last year Target made a point to market LGBT-themed onesies and rompers for newborn babies as well as other kids clothing.

Even though Target may be adjusting how its “pride” themed products are marketed in-store, the company continues to support radical, pro-LGBT efforts and organizations.

In a statement released last Thursday, Target said,

At Target, we know our business thrives when we create experiences that foster a sense of belonging. That’s why we support and celebrate the LGBTQIA+ community during Pride Month and year-round.

A few ways we’re celebrating during Pride Month and throughout the year:

  • Our Pride+ Business Council will host internal events and experiences where interested team members can learn, reflect, celebrate and connect. It’s complemented by the year-round resources and benefits we provide to our LGBTQIA+ team members, reflecting our culture of care for all 400,000 people who work at Target.
  • We’re joining local Pride events in our hometown of Minneapolis and around the country.
  • We’re offering a collection of products including adult apparel and home and food and beverage items, curated based on consumer feedback. The collection will be available on Target.com and in select stores, based on historical sales performance.
  • We continue to support LGBTQIA+ organizations year-round, including Human Rights Campaign, Family Equality and more.
  • Target also spotlights LGBTQ-owned brands in our assortment during Pride Month and throughout the year in our stores and online.

It’s troubling to see multimillion dollar corporations use their wealth and influence to promote radical LGBT ideologies.

The recent backlash companies like Target, Disney, Anheuser-Busch, and others have received shows Americans are tired of corporate, pro-LGBT pandering.

Ironically, when companies face the sort of pushback Target did last year, they tend to blame the customers for being “transphobic” rather than take responsibility for their business decisions.

All of that ought to show how out-of-step these corporations are with everyday Americans.

Photo Credit: Phillip Pessar, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

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Gender Ideology Coming for Courts: Guest Column

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Judges in the state of California who oversee child abuse and neglect cases are now required to take an annual training course entitled “LGBTQ+ Considerations.” The training urges judges to “use the name and gender of the youth they request” and “insist the Department use their requested name and gender.” And, recently in Ohio, a state-backed function featured a workshop in which activists told judges to affirm the transgender identity of youth.  

Adopting language amounts to adopting ideas. When gender ideology shapes the courtroom, both the health and wellbeing of vulnerable young people and the God-given responsibility and prerogative of parents are threatened. Young people who struggle with gender are already at a higher risk of depression or suicide. Affirming their confusion does not lead to better mental health outcomes.  

If the courts really hope to protect young people, they will protect the family and not undermine it with bad ideas. 

Copyright 2024 by the Colson Center for Christian Worldview. Reprinted from BreakPoint.org with permission.

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WV female athlete, Christian teachers join lawsuit against Biden admin’s attempted Title IX rewrite

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The following is a press release from our friends at Alliance Defending Freedom.

Wednesday, May 8, 2024

COVINGTON, Ky. – A Kentucky federal district court granted a motion Wednesday to allow A.C., a high-school athlete from West Virginia, and Christian Educators Association International, an association of teachers, to join a lawsuit suing the Biden administration over its recent attempt to rewrite Title IX, a federal law designed to create equal opportunities for students in education and athletics. A.C. has already lost key opportunities to a male student on her track team and had to endure that student’s vulgar sexual comments while on the team. Christian Educators also face threats to their free speech and to their right to access sex-specific spaces like bathrooms without encountering members of the opposite sex.

Following the publication of the administration’s rule on April 29, six states, including Tennessee and West Virginia, filed a lawsuit, State of Tennessee v. Cardona, last week, challenging the administration’s attempt to redefine “sex” in federal law to include “gender identity.” This attempt to rewrite federal law jeopardizes privacy, safety, free speech, and fairness for students and teachers.

“Every young woman should know she can step into a school setting with full assurance she will be provided with safety and fairness,” said ADF Legal Counsel Rachel Rouleau. “The Biden administration’s radical redefinition of sex does just the opposite for young women and girls. It won’t just rewire our educational system, it also means young girls will be forced to undress in front of boys in gym class, girls will share bedrooms with boys on overnight school trips, teachers and students will have to refrain from speaking truthfully about gender identity, and girls will lose their right to fair competition in sports. Our client A.C. has already suffered the humiliation and indignity of being harassed by a male student in the locker room and on her sports team. No one else should have to go through that. We are urging the court to uphold safety and fairness for those impacted by the administration’s attempt to rewrite Title IX.”

A.C. is a 15-year-old girl from West Virginia who was forced to compete in track and field events against a male last year who took away her spot to compete in a conference championship. A.C. also had to change in the girls’ locker room with the male athlete and endure vulgar, sexual comments that the athlete directed at her. Since competing on the girls’ team, that athlete has beaten female competitors over 600 times, bumping those females down the results list.

Attorneys note that Tennessee and Kentucky have state laws that would protect the privacy and free speech of teachers who are members of Christian Educators and teach in schools covered by Title IX. But those state laws and the protection they provide A.C. and Christian Educators would be wiped away by the administration’s new Title IX rules. The federal court is allowing A.C. and Christian educators to argue against these rules and to argue against them going into effect.

ADF attorneys filed the motion to intervene with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky in State of Tennessee v. Cardona.

Alliance Defending Freedom is an alliance-building, non-profit legal organization committed to protecting religious freedom, free speech, parental rights, and the sanctity of life.

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