Target has contracted with Abprallen — a clothing brand that sells Satanist merchandise, some of which glorifies violence — to create products for its “PRIDE” collection.
While Target does not sell Abprallen’s Satanist-inspired products, the retail giant approached Abprallen less than a year ago to design pride-related merchandise, according to the brand’s social-media post.
At one point Target sold three Abprallen items: a messenger bag saying “We Belong Everywhere” across trans-flag colors and planets, a tote bag with the message “Too Queer for Here” beneath a UFO, and a “Cure Transphobia, Not Trans People” sweatshirt. Only the sweatshirt remains for sale. It’s unclear why the other two items no longer appear on the Target website.
“I imagined what it would be like for a younger version of myself to see something more specific, more tailor made than a lacklustre rainbow flag. I wanted to create a range that would embrace younger me and tell him that who he is is more than OK, that being trans is special and wonderful and that the closet is not made for him to thrive in,” reads an Abprallen Instagram post announcing the collaboration with Target. Abprallen’s owner is a self-described “gay trans man” based in London.
The brand sells shirts, pins, and stickers with the design of a pastel goat head and the message “Satan Respects Pronouns.”
“Satan loves you and respects who you are; you’re important and valuable in this world and you deserve to treat yourself with love and respect. LGBT+ people are so often referred to as being a product of Satan or going against God’s will, so fine. We’ll hang with Satan instead,” the company stated in another Instagram caption. “Satanists don’t actually believe in Satan, he is merely used as a symbol of passion, pride, and liberty. He means to you what you need him to mean. So for me, Satan is hope, compassion, equality, and love.”
“Being called a demon is something I can cope with, and the idea of a trans demon is pretty damn cool, most of my work focusses on gothic or dark and satanic imagery juxtaposed with bright colours and LGBT+ positive messages,” the brand wrote in a separate post with Satanist artwork.
The brand also sells merchandise adorned with messages that glorifies violence.
The company sells clothing designs showing the phrases “We Bash Back” with a heart-shaped mace in the trans-flag colors, “Transphobe Collector” with a skull, and “Homophobe Headrest” with skulls beside a pastel guillotine. Other products by Abprallen include enamel pins saying “Heteronormativity Is A Plague,” “Time’s Up For Transphobes,” and “Join My Gay Cult.” Abprallen also sells a “Trans Witches for Abortion” button.
Target did not respond to National Review’s request for comment.
The Target “PRIDE” collection includes baby onesies and children’s clothes with rainbow patterns.
Additional items in the Target “PRIDE” collection include a shirt with the phrase “Homophobia [,] Transphobia Can Be Cured With Education,” a “Live Laugh Lesbian” shirt, and a shirt with an image of drag queen “Trixie Mattel,” who competed on the television series RuPaul’s Drag Race and later won RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars.
The books featured in Target’s “PRIDE” collection include “A Quick and Easy Guide to Sex & Disability,” young adult book “Dragging Mason County,” and the children’s book “If You’re a Drag Queen and You Know It.” Target’s trending LGBTQ+ kid’s books include “The Pronoun Book,” “Bye Bye, Binary,” and “The Rainbow Parade.”