(OPINION) According to a report from FaithWire, Target announced this week it will sell “chest binders” and “packing underwear” in stores for “Pride month.” So-called “Pride month” was first declared in 1990, when then-President Bill Clinton named June “Gay & Lesbian Pride Month.”
Then, when former President Barack Obama took office in 2009, he labeled every June during his two terms in office “LGBT Pride Month.” President Joe Biden has continued the Democratic tradition.
Amid uproar over Florida’s Parental Rights in Education law, which goes into effect July 1 and prohibits public-school teachers from instructing children in pre-K through third-grade classrooms about sexual orientation and gender identity, this year’s “Pride month” will undoubtedly include more unapologetic celebrations of LGBT lifestyles.
According to Breitbart, Target recently collaborated with the brand TomboyX, which identifies itself as a brand that is “passionate about fostering acceptance and equality.”
“We are a queer-founded brand dedicated to empowering our LGBTQ+ community year-round, and advocating for equal representation and celebration of all people,” the brand states, offering products for “all bodies and needs, of all sizes and across the gender spectrum.” “Gender Euphoria” is one of its signature collections, and includes “tucking” bikini bottoms as well as “compression” tops, or chest binders.
A brief search on Target’s website shows some of the pieces the department store offers as part of the collaboration, including “pride” packing underwear, “pride” bras, and a $25.00 “compression top,” or chest binder.
Target is also collaborating with Humankind, another “queer-owned” brand focusing on gender-inclusive swimwear. Some of the pieces offered at Target as part of the collaboration include several LGBT “pride” pieces, including swim trunks that read, “cheers queers.”
This is far from the first time Target has jumped into the political fray, sparking a significant controversy in 2016 after jumping into the transgender bathroom debate, making it clear that biological men could use women’s changing rooms and bathrooms.
“Inclusivity is a core belief at Target,” the company said at the time. “It’s something we celebrate. We stand for equality and equity, and strive to make our guests and team members feel accepted, respected, and welcomed in our stores and workplaces every day.”
