Apparently, Target doesn’t like it when descriptions about books contain LGBTQ-related words.
According to The Columbian, department store retailer Target has received complaints for blurring and bleeping out words related to LGBTQ themes.
It seems that several books, such as “Trans: A Quick and Quirky Account of Gender Variability,” by Jack Halberstam, and "Double Cross: The True Story of D-Day Spies” by Ben Macintyre, have had their descriptions censored on Target’s website.
Not only were LGBTQ-related words like transgender or queer censored in Target’s edits, but so too were other words like “Nazis,” “stripper,” or “bondage.” This includes some texts that use the words historically.
After news of the censorship spread, Target spokeswoman Jenna Reck stated that the issue was unintentional.
“Like most online retailers,” Reck said in a statement, “Target doesn’t want profanity and other select words to appear on our website in an effort to ensure a positive shopping experience.”
She then added that the removal of words similar to those shared above “was an oversight on our part and they should be included. We’re working to update our site with the descriptions that were provided to Target by the book publishers.”
Since then, some words have been reinstated in a couple descriptions such as in “Lana and Lilly Wachowski: Sensing Transgender” by Cael Keegan, which explores the works of the transgender filmmakers who created The Matrix and Sense8 series.
However, some books, like “No Property in Man: Slavery and Antislavery at the Nation’s Founding,” by Sean Wilentz, have remained censored.
h/t: The Colombian
