In response to consumer outrage and calls for boycotts prompted by social media influencer Kaylee Campbell Layton’s viral video revealing LGBT Pride clothing including “tuck” swimwear for concealing male appendages in the children’s section, Target corporate held an emergency meeting for some of its southern locations.

According to a Target insider, many stores have swiftly relocated their Pride sections within 36 hours after emergency calls were made on Friday, instructing managers and district senior directors to move mannequins and large signage from the front of the store to a smaller section towards the back. The call, which lasted approximately 15 minutes, primarily focused on ensuring team member safety and avoiding the need to defend Target against the backlash. Target Asset Protection and Corporate Security teams were present during the call.

Monday, RedState reported that Target collaborated with a designer on its Pride line who insists that “Satan loves you.” 

Merchandise includes Pride newborn onesies, swimwear that “thoughtfully fits on multiple body types and gender expressions”, including swimsuits that are labeled for a “light binding effect,” and bottoms labeled as “tuck friendly construction.” A spokesperson for Target claimed that the “extra crotch coverage” swimwear is only available in adult sizing. 

The video that got me suspended #BoycottTarget pic.twitter.com/b3fE9iEa0C

— Kaylee Campbell Layton (@thekayleec) May 21, 2023

Bathing suit merchandising displays are to replace the relocated Pride merchandise. The insider mentioned the decision was presented as an effort to boost swim sales.

Target is aiming to prevent a situation similar to Bud Light’s recent backlash, after partnering with transgender social media influencer Dylan Mulvaney. The sustained Bud Light boycott resulted in major sales dives, a video of shuttered vendors at Fenway ballpark, a dismissed marketing director, and now they are buying back unsold cases of beer from wholesalers.

Mulvaney’s partnership consisted of a beer can celebrating the influencer’s “365 days of girlhood,” and a hashtag #BudLightPartner. Mulvaney did a rendition of the Bud Light Super Bowl advertisement along with another clip carrying beers while dressed like Audrey Hepburn in “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” while pretending not to know what March Madness meant. While unpalatable for many conservatives and biological women, the Mulvaney antics pale in comparison to Target’s gay Pride children’s merchandising. Beer, after all, was never intended for children.  

The impacted Target stores are located in South Carolina, Arkansas, and Georgia. Pride merchandise continues to be prominently showcased at other locations and on the Target website. 

It is unclear if moving the products and signage will quell the calls for a boycott, as Target’s CEO Brian Cornell has spoken out on the Bud Light backlash, saying,

I think those are just good business decisions, and it’s the right thing for society, and it’s a great thing for our brand.

I’m no economics guru, but I’m certain that boycotts aren’t good for businesses. Conservatives have seen the impacts of a sustained boycott on Bud Light and will use wokenomics against Target, too.