Two years ago, I got to write one of the weirdest headlines I’ve ever written here at HotAir. What made it weird was that no Beege-isms were required.
The whole thing spoke for itself.
What happens when Target hires a transgender Satanist to design their Pride merchandise?
That was the whole story right there. Target was already a focus of attention for their in-your-face pride month rainbow explosions of questionable merchandise at their stores before the story broke about the…let’s call him ‘avant-garde’…British artist they’d hired to design some of the collection that year.
Literally a Satanist on top of the hell Target was already catching for their ‘tuckable’ bathing suits for toddlers.
Woof.
The chain took a whoopin’ online, on Fox, in the stockmarket, the state of Florida filed a shareholders’ lawsuit against management, on and on with the dogpiles for the woke virtue-signaling retail giant. Adding to Target’s woes were unprecedented shoplifting losses in some of its biggest metropolitan retail stores in places like New York City and San Francisco.
Thanks to their obstinance, the company’s next couple of years were straight out of the soundtrack from the old Batman TV series. You know – BOP! BASH! BAM!
SPLAT!
I guess, as with many progressive fever dreams, the writing on the wall was finally clear enough for them to read the message ’round about 5 November, and corporate attitudes began a not-so-subtle shift back to the Sanity Zone.
One blockbuster announcement came in January, after hugely successful anti-DEI activists Robby Starbuck and Christopher Rufo trained their sights on the chain.
BREAKING: Target is abolishing its DEI programs. The dominoes are starting to fall. h/t @lizcollin pic.twitter.com/gkuyaFVT2Q
— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@realchrisrufo) January 24, 2025
I mean, holy smokes! DEI was a central tenet of Target’s corporate identity and, POOF.
It’s suddenly going away.
One organization that came out of the backlash to the transgender movement and the Target queer and trans merchandise for toddlers and little kids was Gays Against Groomers. They’ve fought ferociously against the alphabet soup sex cult, and you could hear the satisfaction in their Xweet today sharing what’s quickly becoming a viral photo of Target’s June store displays.
What a difference a year (and millions of pissed off Americans) can make! We stood up and said we will not allow @Target to shove radical gender ideology and sexualized propaganda at childen under the guise of “Pride.” We spoke with our voices, our wallets, and our convictions…… pic.twitter.com/aW2YOGwwiB
— Gays Against Groomers (@againstgrmrs) June 3, 2025
…What a difference a year (and millions of pissed off Americans) can make! We stood up and said we will not allow @Target to shove radical gender ideology and sexualized propaganda at childen under the guise of “Pride.” We spoke with our voices, our wallets, and our convictions… and guess what? They listened.
This year, the rainbow racks are gone, and in their place are red, white, and blue. Patriotism. Family. Sanity.
This is what happens when we stand united and say NO. Keep pushing. Keep exposing. Keep winning!
How about them apples?
That Fourth of July vibe is pretty schweet, I have to admit.
Walking into @Target – instead of a giant “PRIDE” display as in the past, they have a USA section!! This is winning! 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/xgs4S4urix
— Katie Yonke (@JKHomestead) June 1, 2025
Now, that’s not to say Target’s completely done away with their ‘Pride’ collection, because they haven’t. It’s simply not front and center in the store anymore.
…Target does have a Pride collection this year, though it has reportedly been scaled back in comparison to recent years, with the aim of “Inclusivity for Everyone,” according to a report from the outlet Women’s Wear Daily.
The Pride collection section on the company’s website features various rainbow print items, tops with the word “Proud” printed on them, and has a section for LGBTQ+ owned brands.
Target has received criticism from both sides of the political spectrum in recent years. In 2023, many conservatives called for a boycott of the retail chain following the release of its 2023 Pride collection items, which promoted the LGBTQ+ community.
In fact, what collection there is has been so reduced and the merchandise so lackluster that Pride afficianados are really pissed off about it. One critic is calling it ‘the laziest thing I’ve ever seen.’
June marks Pride month, and with it comes an onslaught of rainbow-washed brand merchandise aiming to bring a layer of corporate sleaze to the annual celebration. Hopping on the bandwagon is retail store Target, with one of the laziest Pride collections to ever grace my peepers – to call it embarrassing is an understatement.
There are ways to go about creating impactful branding for Pride in a way that doesn’t undermine the importance of the occasion, but Target’s lacklustre attempt feels more like an act of necessity, rather than support. Awash with tepid neutrals, empty slogans and careless design, Target’s abysmal Pride collection is the perfect example of what not to do when it comes to Pride branding.
They can have their pride.
What they can’t have is shoving it down everyone else’s throats anymore.
Personally, that whole red, white, and blue thing is looking pret-tee damn appealing to me.
It never gets old.
