Queerphobes are at it again, according to a recent story out of LGBTQ Nation. Per the outlet, an anonymous worker at a Target in Kalispell, Montana, described the store they work at as being in a “pretty conservative” community that’s still a “decade” behind the times. The employee alleged that LGBTQ+ workers in the store often receive dirty looks and complaints from customers over their Pride shirts. In itself, that’s deeply deflating and disappointing. But in context, it’s even worse.
As highlighted by the outlet, a Reddit user posted to the site that they’d found an anti-LGBTQ+ sticker inside of a children’s book in the very same store. The sticker, which has a rainbow and an image of a person with a beard wearing a pink skirt, alleges incorrect information about queer people that is rooted in hate and queerphobia, reading in part that more than 75% of “HOMOSEXUALS” have STDs and that it’s “NOTHING TO BE PROUD OF.” (This isn’t true, obviously, and even if it were true, there is no need to demonize anyone for living with a health issue.)
According to the poster, the customer found three separate stickers inside the three books they bought. In a word: Yikes.
RELATED: School board candidate checks out more than 20 LGBTQ books so kids can't read them during Pride
The outlet reached out to Target and received a response from spokesperson Brian Harper-Tibaldo, who said the company is having its security team “actively” investigate the situation. Harper-Tibaldo says the company encourages anyone who has received this message to let the company know.
The big picture here? It’s so tempting to brush this off as an isolated incident. Some extremists are spreading anti-LGBTQ+ hysteria and wasting their time and money on stickers. Hopefully, people who receive such items will just toss them away. Right?
In a better world, sure. But in today's world, anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric and hate are alive and well, largely thanks to Republicans who have been fanning the fire of queerphobia by pushing anti-queer legislation, like the anti-trans sports bill, health care bills, and the infamous bathroom bills.
When it comes to books, too, there’s a fresh level of concern here. Conservatives are coming down on books by and about LGBTQ+ people hard right now. The push comes from conservatives infiltrating school board meetings, yes. But the rhetoric certainly is not ending there. We’re seeing politicians threaten to ban parents from bringing their children to drag shows, for example, as well as efforts to fine or even sue librarians who dare to shelve certain books.
And of course, this issue overlaps with the ongoing critical race theory (CRT) hysteria Republicans won’t let go of—all of these people want to control and limit what’s discussed in safe, age-appropriate ways in public schools and libraries, which in essence works to keep young people in the closet and adults in the room afraid to be themselves or teach the full truth.
LGBTQ+ youth, and especially trans youth, already report disproportionate rates of bullying, harassment, and even assault when compared to their peers at school. They’re more likely to become homeless and to leave high school without a diploma. Unsurprisingly, queer youth report high rates of mental health struggles like anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation. Also unsurprising is the point that research confirms acceptance and affirmation can help lower suicide risk in trans youth, for example. And yet conservatives are trying to keep queer youth (and again, especially trans youth) on the sidelines of life by keeping them in the closet.
We don’t know how many of these awful stickers are circulating around that store or others. We don’t know if any LGBTQ+ folks actually got them or what they did with them. But we do know this nation has not finished its battles for equality and protection from discrimination, and we certainly know the right is more than happy to mobilize its voter base with whatever rhetoric is necessary, including fearmongering from decades ago.
Add your name: I read banned books!