4 Ways Target Created Its Own Mess, And What You Can Do About It

(photo: Image Credit: “Kristiantiholov”, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

Target opened up a big and unexpected can of worms recently with their new potty policy. Giving the mom-hornet nest a good smack, they riled up folks like this gutsy mom and the growing movement she is a part of.

Target’s rationale for this jaw-dropping move, as stated in their official corporate statement, is that they desire an atmosphere where their employees and customers are “protected from discrimination, and treated equally.” Who can’t sign onto that?  

But there are obviously many problems with their new policy establishing totally open, non-sex distinct restrooms and changing areas. Anyone can use either. If questioned, all they have to do is explain they are indeed a member of the other gender. But as we will see, such questioning cannot be allowed. 

Target created this mess for themselves and is alienating their most important and largest customer base for four reasons they could have anticipated.

(1) Gender identity is entirely subjective. According to current gender theory in the LGBT movement—a group that actually does not exist as most believe it does—one’s gender identity exists solely in the mind of the person making the claim. There simply is no legal, psychological or outward presenting or body-parts change criteria that must be met before a person becomes transgendered. The only substance of it is the person’s own belief and declaration. If that sounds crazy to you, just read the Human Rights Campaign’s definition of gender identity:

“One's innermost concept of self as male, female, a blend of both or neither – how individuals perceive themselves and what they call themselves.”

According the rules Target is playing by here, no one can tell such a person they are not actually what they say they are.

(2) Therefore, any man can enter and occupy any woman’s restroom. This is exactly why a man on a now-deleted YouTube video was told emphatically by the manager at his local Target store that he most certainly could enter the woman’s restroom as a man. When he asked what he should do if any women objected, the manager simply said that he should point those ladies his way for an explanation of their corporate policy. This has happened at other places that’ve changed their bathroom and changing facility policies. See here and here for instance.

Target officials cannot question customers as to whether they were actually transgender as the LGBT community would essentially see this as a “stop and frisk” violation of their rights. Hence, completely open restrooms and changing rooms—no questions asked/no proof required—are the new reality at Big Red.

(3) The old policy was not a problem to leading pro-gay groups. The Human Rights Campaign is the world’s largest organization working for so-called gay rights. One of their key projects is their Corporate Equality Index, an annual report rewarding major corporations who do everything HRC requires for the dignity and respect of their LGBT employees. Their 2016 report rewarded Target with a 100 percent rating. But guess what?

This total seal of approval was bestowed well before Target changed their, as they described it, discriminatory and unequal bathroom policy. The old policy that earned them the HRC’s gold star was the same bathroom policy we have at Focus on the Family. This is true of all the other retailers that earned the 100 percent rating as well: Home Depot, IKEA, Hyatt Hotels, Kellogg Co, Macy’s, McDonalds, Office Depot, Shell, Starbucks, Walgreens, Walt Disney and Wells Fargo, to name a few. Obviously the old policy—which Target found completely unacceptable—was not a problem for HRC.

(4) There was no problem in the first place. In an effort to get ahead of the unexpected public backlash to their new policy, Target’s PR spokeswoman, Molly Snyder, unwittingly gave the practical, common-sense solution to the supposed trans problem. For any mom feeling uncomfortable taking their girls into the women’s restroom, Snyder allays those fears by telling USATODAY those moms that most Target stores:

“…have single-stall, family restrooms for those who may be more comfortable with that option.”

Aren’t these very facilities the answer to the trans dilemma? Not at all. Trans activists have long declared such a solution would still be unacceptable as “separate and unequal”. They hold that a trans woman should be able to use a woman’s potty like any other woman. So to be sure, this is not actually about the basic practicality and security of a trans individuals being able to attend to one’s basic bodily functions. It’s about sexual politics and cultural acceptance.

In fact, one leading transgender activist let it slip that the man/woman public bathroom thing is seldom an actual problem. On a recent WGBH public television talk show, he explains [at 4:06]:

“I am a transgender women, and visibly so. I am six foot, four; it’s easy to tell that I’m trans. And I have been using public restrooms successfully all over the country for nine years now, without any trouble.”

Target has foolishly told its core customer base that their right to safety, modesty and security must take a back seat to the feelings and politics of 0.2 to 0.3 percent of our nation’s total population.

Here is why this larger effort to erase the objective reality of male and female from our society matters so significantly:

So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.   (Genesis 1:27)

This is not to say that Target, or the confused people pushing such efforts, are satanic. They simply don’t know any better. But Christians must certainly understand what is going on here. When we say that male and female are simply cultural constructs and that a binary understanding of humanity is hateful and discriminatory, we know that the enemy of God who originally got Adam and Eve to doubt the word of God is now tempting humanity to doubt the very image of God in the world. He absolutely knows what’s at play here. And so must we. 

What to Do?

Concerned about all this? You can do something about it.

I am not a big fan of boycotts. They get a good deal of attention, but are not really effective. You don’t have to become an activist and buy a bullhorn or picket sign to make a difference. In fact, it’s best you don’t. If you are a quiet, mind-your-own business mom or dad, it’s actually you who has the strongest voice. People in leadership tend to roll their eyes at activist types. They are seen to be angry about everything and happy with very little, even if that’s not actually true. You, as a quiet mom or dad, need only do the following to have bring change.

1. Go to the Customer Service counter of your local Target store and kindly ask if you can speak to the manager.

2. Kindly introduce yourself to the manager and ask his/her name if you want.

3. Explain with a calm voice and a smile—and if you are nervous doing so, admit that to the manager, because it humanizes you—something like the following:

I have shopped at this Target store with my children for X years and I have always enjoyed it. It’s always (and offer a sincere compliment: well managed/stocked, employees are always kind and helpful, very clean, etc.)

But as a mom/dad, I am extremely concerned about your corporations’ (don’t make it about them personally) new bathroom and changing rooms policy and I suppose it hasn’t been easy for you as a manager. But allowing people of either sex to use the restroom they feel most comfortable with opens up a number of problems for me as a mom/dad and the security, modesty and comfort of my girls and boys.

Because of that, I can no longer be comfortable shopping here and I regret that. I am happy for you to share my concerns with your corporate leadership.

4. Shake their hand and thank them for listening to your concerns. Turn and walk away.

It doesn’t have be combative or confronting. Something as basic as this can be immensely powerful in effecting change, and I bet the manager of your local store would actually appreciate it as they probably share your concerns. Get your friends with the same concerns to do the same.

Target needs to hear from you.