I usually think that rainbow capitalism is a little blah. What Target did was different. They hired a queer artist who designed items for the family, so to speak. They gave us a platform to shop and celebrate us. I bought a quirky “Live Laugh Lesbian” shirt and a matching high femme mommy and me dress for my kid. And now I feel gross about those items. I think if they hadn’t felt so authentic to my lived experience in the first place that sting might not have been as harsh.
But here it felt like they were really making an effort to feature queer indie designers, think about what the queer community might want and need... and now it feels like a slap in the face. And then, I get that they don't want their staff to be harassed, of course. But shouldn't we try *not* to cave to harassment? Should the people being violent get to win because we're afraid of them?
And then the question of whether, in this super heated political moment, a corporation can get it right. And if that's even worthwhile. What do you think?
[also fwiw I know the Live Laugh Lesbian tee you're talking about and it's super cute and I hope you get to enjoy it anyway... ]
I feel like it’s both. They got it completely right. And then they got it completely wrong. But also fwiw today I had a queer mom playdate and my friends nb child looked amazing in their nb target kids pride romper. So I’m trying to not punish the work the fabulous artists did.
Yeah I agree. It can be hard to hold that duality... Being both right and wrong. I feel like these days everyone wants things to be either completely right or completely wrong but that so rarely is possible. The artists really did do amazing work ❤️
I usually think that rainbow capitalism is a little blah. What Target did was different. They hired a queer artist who designed items for the family, so to speak. They gave us a platform to shop and celebrate us. I bought a quirky “Live Laugh Lesbian” shirt and a matching high femme mommy and me dress for my kid. And now I feel gross about those items. I think if they hadn’t felt so authentic to my lived experience in the first place that sting might not have been as harsh.
Wow, I really feel this. You know, when you see something that's clearly rainbow-washed (like this infamous logo for the Marines from last year https://www.al.com/news/2022/06/us-marine-corps-posts-helmet-with-rainbow-bullets-to-mark-pride-month-tweet-met-with-backlash.html) it's like, ok, I didn't expect much and I didn't get much.
But here it felt like they were really making an effort to feature queer indie designers, think about what the queer community might want and need... and now it feels like a slap in the face. And then, I get that they don't want their staff to be harassed, of course. But shouldn't we try *not* to cave to harassment? Should the people being violent get to win because we're afraid of them?
And then the question of whether, in this super heated political moment, a corporation can get it right. And if that's even worthwhile. What do you think?
[also fwiw I know the Live Laugh Lesbian tee you're talking about and it's super cute and I hope you get to enjoy it anyway... ]
I feel like it’s both. They got it completely right. And then they got it completely wrong. But also fwiw today I had a queer mom playdate and my friends nb child looked amazing in their nb target kids pride romper. So I’m trying to not punish the work the fabulous artists did.
Yeah I agree. It can be hard to hold that duality... Being both right and wrong. I feel like these days everyone wants things to be either completely right or completely wrong but that so rarely is possible. The artists really did do amazing work ❤️