2023 Target Pride Collection

Overview

2023 Target Pride Collection refers to the 2023 iteration of chain supermarket store Target's annual marketing of clothes and merchandise marketed towards the LGBTQ+ community. The Pride collection proved divisive for both sides of the political spectrum, as people on the right were angered over the celebration of queer fashion and clothes designed for trans women, while people on the left found some of the messaging, particularly a shirt that read "Live Laugh Lesbians" (a parody of Live Laugh Love), corny or cringe.

Background

Starting in the mid-2010s, Target has been running promotional, LGBTQ-focused collections during May and June.^[2] The collection often came under fire from LGBT social media users starting in the 2020s, as some found the collections tacky and exploitative.^[3]

On May 1st, 2023, social media began noticing that Target had begun introducing its 2023 pride collection to stores. That day, Twitter user @kenzvanunu^[1] noticed that Target was selling a shirt with the slogan "Live Laugh Lesbian," gaining five retweets and 41 likes in two weeks (shown below).

Developments

Over the following weeks, other pieces from the collection began generating discussion on social media, as LGBTQ users tended to agree they were corny but some still found they wanted to purchase them. In addition to the "Live Laugh Lesbian" shirt, other discussed pieces include a shirt with a skeleton saying "Is he… you know…" and a green romper with "GAY" written on the back (shown below).

On May 5th, 2023, Instagram user @Mattxiv roasted the collection in a video that gained over 300,000 views in two weeks (shown below).

Twitter user @merrittk^[4] joked that an item titled "Gender Euphoria Flame Candle Blue – Pride" was their "activation phrase," gaining over 30 retweets and 440 likes in four days (shown below, left). Despite jokes about the collection, multiple LGBTQ social media users purchased and praised some of the merchandise. For example, Twitter user @hannahxsoup^[5] wrote that they loved the "tuck inclusive" bikini bottoms designed for trans women (shown below, right).

Conservative Backlash

The collection also inspired conservative backlash from many users online. For example, on May 12th, 2023, Turning Point USA published an article^[6] mocking the collection. It also posted a video mocking the clothes, using language some deemed "transphobic" when discussing the Tuck Bikini.^[7]

On May 10th, the Twitter account "Gays Against Groomers"^[8] urged a boycott of Target, claiming it was "targeting children" with LGBTQ clothing, gaining over 3,300 retweets and 10,000 likes in one week (shown below). The conservative backlash was also subsequently covered by Newsweek.^[9]

Search Interest

External References