Should Pride clothing be in the kid’s section?
May 30, 2023, 9:30 PM | Updated: May 31, 2023, 11:33 am
Pride month merchandise is displayed at a Target store Wednesday, May 24, 2023, in Nashville, Tenn. Target is removing certain items from its stores and making other changes to its LGBTQ+ merchandise nationwide ahead of Pride month, after an intense backlash from some customers including violent confrontations with its workers. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS
(AP Photo/George Walker IV)
SALT LAKE CITY — Target has fallen out of favor with many loud voices over its Pride line of clothing. The store has lost billions of dollars in value due to backlash.
Dave Noriega and Debbie Dujanovic, hosts of Dave & Dujanovic, took on the issue on everyone’s lips Tuesday. Joined by Executive Director of nonprofit IncludEd United Amanda Darrow, they discuss why Pride clothing is in stores.
Darrow says having Pride clothing on the shelves is all about safety.
“When we walk into a store and we see rainbows, we see items that, you know, are celebrating our identities,” Darrow said. “We find a sense of safety in those items. We see, ‘OK, I belong here … I can wear this outfit out. People can celebrate who I am. I can celebrate who I am.'”
Pride clothing in the kid’s section
Darrow says Pride clothing shouldn’t be kept out of the kid’s section.
“No, there shouldn’t be a line. And here’s why, we actually find our true selves, our gender identity as early as the age of 3 years old,” Darrow said. “We know who we are. We find ourselves to say, go to our parents at certain stages of our lives… and say, you know, ‘I feel like this is who I am.'”
Along with this, Darrow explained that she wants people to remember that people in the LGBTQ+ community have children too.
“We have babies… When we want to celebrate our families, we often will put them in a onesie with a rainbow and celebrate us because they’re our family,” she said. “They’re our kids. We’re not saying that we’re turning that baby into part of the community. We’re saying they’re celebrating us as parents.”
Dave & Dujanovic can be heard on weekdays from 9 a.m. to noon.
Related: Target removes some LGBTQ+ Pride merchandise over threats to employees
