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If you thought Pride month was the end of the rightwing freakout at Target carrying LGBTQ+ inclusive products, it turns out that was only the first installment. Now, with the holiday season, the sequel is here.
Conservatives, still fuming over this summer’s Target Pride displays, have found another reason to take aim at the retailer: inclusive Christmas products, especially its “Pride Christmas Nutcracker” and a figurine depicting Santa Claus as Black and in a wheelchair.
Fox News host Jesse Watters devoted a segment of his Thursday programming to the merch, which includes a nutcracker holding a progress Pride flag. Riley Gaines, host of Fox News’ OutKick (which, by the way, is totally a name better suited for a gay soccer league), stopped by Watters’ program to talk about the decorations, as well.
“Why do they keep pushing this?” Gaines asked. “Who are they trying to appeal to? Despite what the media portrays or how politicians are voting, this doesn’t represent the overwhelming majority of how this country, really how the world, feels on this issue.”
OK, now let’s break this down really quickly: Gaines and Watters are upset over gay nutcrackers. Meanwhile, though nutcrackers predate the ballet The Nutcracker (I mean, obvs, that’s what the piece is named after) they have become a Christmas staple because of The Nutcracker, written by Pyotr Tchaikovsky who was — you guessed it! — really, really gay.
Now she says that this product which, once again, is a nutcracker dressed up in a flag, doesn’t represent how Americans feel on this issue. What is the issue she is talking about? Nutcracker Christmas decorations? I doubt she has the data on that. But it’s certainly not LGBTQ+ rights, which the overwhelming majorityof Americans support. And similarly, by the way, polling has also found that most Americans want elected officials to leave trans people alone.
As far as the Santa Claus merch, I hate to break it to Gaines and her like-minded pals, but Father Christmas is — say it with me!!! — a fictional character who lives in the North Pole. Does it really ruin Christmas if he’s depicted as Black and disabled? Not at all!
What’s most embarrassing is that the Pride Nutcracker isn’t even new. The Miami Heraldwrote about it when it debuted (and went viral on TikTok) in 2021, but when you’re a right-wing talking head, making a huge thing about Pride flags on Target merch never goes out of style.
Target was the subject of conservative ire earlier this year after right-wing pundits falsely asserted that the company was selling “tuck-friendly” swimwear to children (a claim Politifact rated as untrue). They did sell swimwear optimized for people who are tucking, but those were designed for adults. After angry conservatives began destroying the store’s Pride displays, the retailer started moving those displays to the back of the store, taking them down altogether, and pulling products (made by queer creatives) from the shelves. Some of those LGBTQ+ makers spoke out about having their products removed from stores at the time.
The holidays can be such a stressful time of year, do we really need controversies over a nutcracker’s vestments or the ability status of a fake folkloric figure used to sell Coca-Cola? I think we should all just calm down and have a drink. Can I suggest a Bud Light?
Conservatives Are Mad at Target Again, This Time Over Gay Christmas Decor
If you thought Pride month was the end of the rightwing freakout at Target carrying LGBTQ+ inclusive products, it turns out that was only the first installment. Now, with the holiday season, the sequel is here.
Conservatives, still fuming over this summer’s Target Pride displays, have found another reason to take aim at the retailer: inclusive Christmas products, especially its “Pride Christmas Nutcracker” and a figurine depicting Santa Claus as Black and in a wheelchair.
Fox News host Jesse Watters devoted a segment of his Thursday programming to the merch, which includes a nutcracker holding a progress Pride flag. Riley Gaines, host of Fox News’ OutKick (which, by the way, is totally a name better suited for a gay soccer league), stopped by Watters’ program to talk about the decorations, as well.
“Why do they keep pushing this?” Gaines asked. “Who are they trying to appeal to? Despite what the media portrays or how politicians are voting, this doesn’t represent the overwhelming majority of how this country, really how the world, feels on this issue.”
OK, now let’s break this down really quickly: Gaines and Watters are upset over gay nutcrackers. Meanwhile, though nutcrackers predate the ballet The Nutcracker (I mean, obvs, that’s what the piece is named after) they have become a Christmas staple because of The Nutcracker, written by Pyotr Tchaikovsky who was — you guessed it! — really, really gay.
Now she says that this product which, once again, is a nutcracker dressed up in a flag, doesn’t represent how Americans feel on this issue. What is the issue she is talking about? Nutcracker Christmas decorations? I doubt she has the data on that. But it’s certainly not LGBTQ+ rights, which the overwhelming majorityof Americans support. And similarly, by the way, polling has also found that most Americans want elected officials to leave trans people alone.
As far as the Santa Claus merch, I hate to break it to Gaines and her like-minded pals, but Father Christmas is — say it with me!!! — a fictional character who lives in the North Pole. Does it really ruin Christmas if he’s depicted as Black and disabled? Not at all!
What’s most embarrassing is that the Pride Nutcracker isn’t even new. The Miami Heraldwrote about it when it debuted (and went viral on TikTok) in 2021, but when you’re a right-wing talking head, making a huge thing about Pride flags on Target merch never goes out of style.
Target was the subject of conservative ire earlier this year after right-wing pundits falsely asserted that the company was selling “tuck-friendly” swimwear to children (a claim Politifact rated as untrue). They did sell swimwear optimized for people who are tucking, but those were designed for adults. After angry conservatives began destroying the store’s Pride displays, the retailer started moving those displays to the back of the store, taking them down altogether, and pulling products (made by queer creatives) from the shelves. Some of those LGBTQ+ makers spoke out about having their products removed from stores at the time.
The holidays can be such a stressful time of year, do we really need controversies over a nutcracker’s vestments or the ability status of a fake folkloric figure used to sell Coca-Cola? I think we should all just calm down and have a drink. Can I suggest a Bud Light?
