US retailer Target has decided to remove certain items from its LGBTQ Pride Collection range due to threats and confrontations in some of its stores. The company stated that this step is necessary to protect its employees from the “volatile circumstances” that have arisen. In certain states, Target has relocated Pride month merchandise to the back of the store. The range includes over 2,000 items featuring rainbow motifs and slogans like “love is love,” as well as products such as “gender fluid” mugs and children’s books promoting inclusivity. Target cited threats to its employees’ safety and well-being as the reason for making adjustments to its plans and removing items that have been at the center of confrontational behavior. Some incidents involving Pride merchandise being thrown on the floor have been reported.
The specific products being immediately withdrawn are under the Abprallen label, which has faced criticism for its use of Satanic visuals such as pentagrams and horned skulls. Target will remove these products from all its US stores and its website. The move by Target reflects the ongoing controversy faced by brands worldwide when offering product ranges aimed at reflecting and supporting LGBTQ diversity.
In Malaysia, Swatch faced a similar issue, with authorities confiscating 164 rainbow-colored watches worth $14,000 (£11,271) from its stores, including in Kuala Lumpur. Homosexuality is prohibited in Malaysia, which is a Muslim-majority nation in Southeast Asia. Although enforcement is infrequent, engaging in gay sex can result in imprisonment and whipping. Swatch argued that its collection of watches featuring rainbow colors and promoting peace and love should not be considered harmful or political.
The company’s CEO, Nick Hayek, questioned how Malaysia’s home ministry’s enforcement unit would confiscate natural rainbows that appear in the sky frequently. Swatch plans to restock its Pride Watches range and display them in stores as instructed by its headquarters in Switzerland, according to Sarah Kok, the company’s marketing manager. The watches were deemed to have “LGBT elements” and were said to violate a 1984 printing law that critics of the government have long criticized as draconian, based on a summons notice received by Swatch.
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