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4 things to know about Target 'Pride' backlash over LGBT products, 'tuck-friendly' swimsuit

Abprallen clothing line

An Instagram post from Target brand designer Abprallen with the words 'If I cannot inspire love I will cause fear.'
An Instagram post from Target brand designer Abprallen with the words "If I cannot inspire love I will cause fear." | Screenshot/Instagram

Due to the backlash surrounding the collection released ahead of "Pride" month, Target decided to pull products associated with the Abprallen brand from its stores and online markets. The brand's owner, Erik Carnell, a trans-identifying individual, expressed both disappointment and relief with the decision. 

“When this has all died down, I’m going to be incredibly disappointed that such a huge opportunity was taken away from me,” Carnell told CNN Saturday. 

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Carnell started the brand six years ago by creating a couple of pins. As a woman who identifies as a boy, the Abprallen brand owner said she takes her work “incredibly seriously.” She recalled how she felt “lost” as a child and desperately wished to be a boy, contending that there are many people like her that feel the same way. 

Despite the public backlash over Target displaying products designed by Carnell’s brand, the owner revealed that she had to temporarily close Abprallen’s online store due to a recent spike in orders. 

“I’ve been inundated with support,” Carnell said, adding that when she’s “in a better head space, I know how much that’s going to have a positive impact on me.”

One of the reasons the brand attracted controversy is due to a March 28 Instagram post of a “Satan respects pronouns” design, stating that LGBT-identified people are “often referred to as being a product of Satan or going against God’s will, so fine. We’ll hang with Satan instead.” The statement is printed on an image of Baphomet, the goat-headed idol associated with satanism. 

Samantha Kamman is a reporter for The Christian Post. She can be reached at: [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter: @Samantha_Kamman

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