Target's LGBTQ+ Pride Range Sparks Boycott Calls After Bud Light Controversy

A recently released range of clothing by Target for LGBTQ+ Pride Month—which takes place every June—has provoked outrage on social media, with calls for the retailer to receive "the Bud Light treatment."

The beer brand has been embroiled in controversy since the beginning of April, after it sent a commemorative can to transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney to celebrate her first year of transitioning to a woman. The promotional move sparked calls for a boycott, and industry data shows sales of Bud Light declined more than 17 percent across the month.

Several brands have been the target of condemnation from conservatives over marketing advocating for the LGBTQ+ community. While experts have said such campaigns provide an opportunity for brands to appeal to consumers in new markets, critics have accused companies of alienating their traditional customer base.

The controversies sit at the heart of the culture wars, and speak to a broader debate around the acceptance of LGBTQ+ individuals in public life.

A video of the new Target range, posted on Wednesday, which has since received more than 1.3 million views, shows a T-shirt with the slogan "trans people will always exist," another depicting a woman lying down with the caption "busy thinking about girls" and a babygrow with the words "bien proud" in the colors of the LGBTQ+ flag. It also included a rainbow neck pillow, multi-colored fairy lights as well as a trans flag.

Referring to the children's clothes on display, Gays Against Groomers, which describes itself as an "organization of gays against the sexualization, indoctrination and medicalization of children," wrote: "They are indoctrinating and grooming them with LGBTQ ideology. It is highly inappropriate and disturbing."

"The only thing these people understand is money," it added. "Target deserves the Bud Light treatment."

"This is not cool," Clown World, a California-based clothing company with a large Twitter following, said. "Screw Target. They're targeting children."

Stefanie Daubert, a reporter for far-right newspaper Epoch Times and a self-described Trump supporter, tweeted: "Boycott Target for pushing this on children."

Newsweek approached Target via email for comment on Friday.

However, many were excited by the new range. One Twitter user wrote that the "Target pride collection gets better every year," while another said of a onesie with "gay" written on the back: "Losing my mind over this piece of clothing from target's pride collection."

According to the Daily Mail, Target has produced a range of items for Pride Month for a decade. Pride Month is celebrated every June. As well as sponsoring a number of Pride events, Bud Light is among the five of America's 10 most popular beers to have LGBTQ+ partnerships.

The two are not the only brands to have recently faced boycott calls over pro-LGBTQ+ marketing. In April, whiskey maker Jack Daniel's caused outrage after teaming up with three drag queens for a Pride Month promotion—despite the campaign being nearly two years old.

Prior to that, chocolate makers Hershey's faced a similar response to an advertising campaign in February after including a transgender rights activist's face on special chocolate bar wrappers in Canada for International Women's Day.