Running Scared.

Businesses that support us are facing a huge backlash from the far-right, besides Bud Light  and Target they are also attaching other businesses including sports teams like the Dodgers.

The right’s crusade against corporate Pride Month campaigns

While acknowledging they “can’t boycott every woke company or even most of them,” right-wing figures created a playbook for future boycotts

Los Angles Blade

By Jack Winstanley & Charis Hoard

May 26, 2023

As major consumer brands continue to partner with members of the LGBTQ+ community, release Pride Month products, and carry out Pride campaigns, right-wing figures are responding with an escalating anti-LGBTQ+ crusade that aims to make inclusive branding a “market death wish.”

Currently, right-wing figures are celebrating Target’s decision to remove some of its Pride Month merchandise after a month-long campaign saw anti-LGBTQ activists harass and threaten store employees, with some figures even endorsing violence and acts of vandalism against the retailer. On May 25, disgraced CPAC Chair Matt Schlapp sent a letter to Target’s CEO & Board of Directors calling for an end to their partnership with a designer of the Pride collection who Schlapp claims is a “self-declared ‘satanist’” and “openly flaunts his anti-Christian agenda.”

Calling for boycotts is not a new tactic for right-wing activists. Former President Donald Trump and his allies attempted to organize a boycott against Major League Baseball after the 2021 All-Star Game was removed from Atlanta in protest of the state’s restrictive voting laws. Right-wing figures also attempted to start a boycott of the country band The Dixie Chicks (now known as The Chicks) in 2003 over their public opposition to the Iraq War.The right-wing attacks against Bud Light for their collaboration with trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney has ignited current frenzies to boycott companies seeking to be more inclusive.

This is nothing but an attack by right-wing white supremacist and homophobes who want to stamp us out. They made threats against Boston Children Hospital and other doctors treating trans patients.

Some of the businesses that are the focus are:

State Farm (May 2022): In May 2022, a right-wing consumer advocacy group released emails showing State Farm’s participation with a non-profit organization that provides trans-inclusive books to schools in Florida.

[…]

M&M’s (2022 – January 2023): In early 2023, M&M came under fire from right-wing media for making changes to their “spokescandies” with the intent to make the mascots more inclusive.

[…]

LEGO (February – April 2023): The LEGO Group announced that it would create minifigures representing people with disabilities, different skin tones, and other diverse characteristics, including pivoting some existing product lines to feature characters with LGBTQ identities and mental health conditions.

[…]

Nike (April 2023 – ongoing): Mulvaney also unveiled a partnership with Nike, with Mulvaney posting a video on Instagram advertising the brand’s leggings and sports bras. Right-wing commentators and social media figures, including former Olympic athletes Sharron Davies and Caitlyn Jenner, condemned the partnership. Soon after, a “burn bra challenge” started on TikTok in protest. 

[…]

Jack Daniel’s (April 2023 – ongoing): In early April, right-wing social media users dug up two-year-old Pride Month advertisements for Jack Daniel’s whiskey that featured contestants from RuPaul’s Drag Race, claiming that the distiller had “gone woke.”

[…]

Sports Illustrated (May 2023 – ongoing): Sports Illustrated unveiled that transgender singer Kim Petras would be on one of the four covers of this year’s Swimsuit Edition, sparking backlash from right-wing commentators.

[…]

Adidas (May 2023 – ongoing): Sportswear brand Adidas released its Pride Month campaign featuring a male-presenting model wearing the brand’s “Pride Swimsuit,” and immediately faced transphobic attacks from right-wing media.

[…]

Walmart (May 2023 – ongoing): Walmart is reportedly being targeted by a number of right-wing social media users over its Pride collection after their apparent success against Target.

The North Face (May 2023 – ongoing): In May 2023, The North Face announced its second Summer of Pride campaign coinciding with the release of its Pride collection, with advertisements featuring drag queen Pattie Gonia. In response, right-wing media began their typical attacks, saying that The North Face had the goal of “making fun of women” by featuring a drag queen in its campaign, and claiming that the company has “gone trans.”

I plan in the fall to buy a nice winter parka from North Face.

Companies like North Face are standing up to the bullies.

The North Face doubles down on 'Summer of Pride' campaign amid backlash from right-wingers

• Right-wingers are now targeting The North Face after the brand debuted its "Summer of Pride" collection.
• Conservatives, including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, are calling for a boycott of the outdoor apparel brand.
• VF Corporation, the brand's parent company, defended its campaign, which features a drag queen as its spokesperson

Insider

By Jordan Hart

The North Face is standing strong against right-wing criticism of its latest Pride campaign, which features a drag queen as the spokesperson for the outdoor gear company. 

In an Instagram post this week, which has its comments turned off, drag performer Pattie Gonia invited viewers to "come out" into the wilderness as part of The North Face's "Summer of Pride" campaign.

[…]

The campaign quickly drew ire among conservatives, including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who chimed in to criticize The North Face and call for a boycott of the brand following the release of the collection, accusing the company of "grooming our children" in a tweet.

Newsweek wrote,

Lauren Boebert has hit out at clothing company North Face over an advertising campaign featuring a drag queen, telling her followers: "It's time to boycott ANY product North Face has ever made."

The Republican Colorado representative's remarks come amid rising calls by conservatives for a boycott over its "Summer of Pride" campaign, which features Pattie Gonia and was released on Instagram on Wednesday.

[…]

The controversies sit at the heart of a culture war, and feed into a broader debate about the acceptance of LGBTQ+ individuals in public life.

Some companies have pulled back from supporting us, some have stood along side of us… please support these companies!