Macy's removes display marking local gay pride week

[wicket]

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2006/06/07/macys_removes_display_marking_local_gay_pride_week/

Macy's department store has removed a window display marking Boston's gay pride week after a group that opposes gay marriage complained it was offensive.

The display at the downtown Boston store featured two male mannequins, with one wearing a gay pride rainbow flag around his waist, next to a list of several planned Boston Pride Week events.

MassResistance, formerly the Article 8 Alliance, which has campaigned against gay marriage and gay-themed textbooks in public schools, objected to the display and said the mannequin wearing the flag had a "skirt" on, the Boston Herald reported.

The group posted pictures on its Web site and scores of its supporters complained to Macy's by phone and e-mail.

Elina Kazan, a Macy's spokeswoman, said the store decided to remove the mannequins but leave the list of events in order to strike a balance. Displays in previous years did not use mannequins.

[meegbear]

1. Fuck You Macys!

And don't forget to force your employees to say "Merry Christmas" so these fucktards won't bully you again, you poor multi-million dollar organization you.

[msongs]

2. removed in order to kowtow to the fascists - gays at macy's protest?

I know it is a stereotype, but willing to speculate there are many glbts working at macy's. any protest planned for the cave in to the nazis? they could all wear skirts...I mean kilts. those sissy scotsmen would kick the butts of fasicsts who rag on kilts.

Msongs
www.msongs.com
batik & digital art
put YOUR pics on a shirt!

[wicket]

7. I have a Macy's gift card I haven't used

I'm going to see if I can cash it in and use it a store that doesn't cave to fascists! :grr:

[ccpup]

3. My letter to Macy's

Miss Sakai,

As a gay man with, fortunately, a large disposable income, I will no longer be shopping at any of your Macy's stores. To allow a small anti-gay group to dictate how you decorate your windows and, in effect, turn your back on a large portion of your clientel is, to me, inexcusable. So, today, I'll be returning my recent large purchase, cutting up my Macy's card and shopping (a lot!) elsewhere.

And my dozen or so close friends, not to mention those who work with and for me, will no longer be shopping at Macy's either. And neither will their friends and families and so on and so forth.

I hope this loss of business from those Macy's deemed undesireable and okay to ashamed of is worth the small amount of business you may (or may not) get from this small anti-gay group.

Best of luck.

[Cha]

4. Good for

you! And Welcome to DU, ccpup!

Edit~ I imagine macy's will be gettting a lot of letters and reactions like that! I hope so!

[myrna minx]

5. Great letter!

Macy's apparently doesn't care about their current clientele, they just care about a loud minority of bigots. :eyes:

[wicket]

6. Awesome letter!

:yourock:

[VaYallaDawg]

10. God for you, ccpup! And welcome to DU.

I live in small-town Murka, we don't have Macy's stores here, but I wouldn't go in one if there was.

[pstokely]

45. You might in a few months

[REACTIVATED IN CT]

14. Excellent Letter

We should boycott all the other stores owned by the same company. I think they are acquiring Filenes .

[hippywife]

15. They are owned by

Federated Department Stores:

http://www.fds.com/home.asp

Along with these other stores:

Famous-Barr
Filene's
Foley's
Hecht's
Kaufmann's
L.S. Ayres
Marshall Field's
Meier & Frank
Robinsons-May
Strawbridge's
The Jones Store

[Name removed]

22. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. 
[link:www.democraticunderground.com/forums/rules.html|Click
here] to review the message board rules.

[me b zola]

26. That is what civilized people would do...

Boycott stores that endorse or cave in to HOMOPHOBIC BIGOTS.

You think that gay men suffer from short man's syndrome, eh? How many gay men do you know?

[me b zola]

29. Being gay is not a choice

...but being a homophobic, hateful bigot, OTOH, IS a choice.

I would pity people like you IF you weren't responsible for so much destruction and pain.

[Name removed]

30. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[jesus_of_suburbia]

31. And if that gets me banned, it was oh so worth it!

:-)

[benburch]

34. It won't get you banned...

...because in this case it is so very obviously true.

And you know what they say about homophobes - the worst ones are closet cases who slip down to the adult bookstore and suck other guys off through the gloryholes... I think our poster here is nearly that homophobic...

[jesus_of_suburbia]

41. Extreme homophobes are gay, no doubt about it!

"homophobes - the worst ones are closet cases who slip down to the adult bookstore and suck other guys off through the gloryholes... "


so true.... not all people who misunderstand homosexuality are gay, but those who CONSTANTLY harp on it must have something within themselves they are trying to hide.

[jesus_of_suburbia]

43. The Mods here ROCK!!

they get rid of the crap pretty quickly!

[benburch]

32. No, you fail to understand what is at work here...

First, they knuckled under to homophobes of the "Christian" far right. That is offensive enough.

Second, do you know who has the most money to spend on discretionary goods? Gay men. You can check the research if you like, but it will show you that gay men, and especially gay male couples buy more high end goods than single straight people or straight couples. THAT is why gay people are finally getting some respect in this country - merchants are learning what a key marketing segment they are for all manner of luxury goods!

And gay men don't have to imagine that people are out to suppress them, just ask Pat Roberts. That man is more filled with hate than Satan himself.

[Matariki]

35. more filled with hate than Satan himself

!!! excellent. may i use that?

[benburch]

38. Please feel free! nt

[Matariki]

40. i'll reserve it exclusively for "christians" - of course

hate seems what they're good at. (the ones in "quotes", of course)

[iconoclastNYC]

8. I'm sending this to Aravosis / Americablog

[Theres-a]

9. Oh,HELL no!

Not that I buy much from them anyway,but it's over now.Pigs.

[KyndCulture]

11. Anybody got an email addy?

Here's the phone number for the store if you wanna call

Macy's
450 Washington Street
Boston, MA 02111
617/357-3000

[ComerPerro]

12. Aren't these "take it down, its offensive" people the same ones who

complain about the "War on Christmas"?

[KyndCulture]

13. 2 gay guys are NOT offensive, I'll tell you what is...

It's FAR FAR more offensive to me to see a size 2 female mannequin in a store display window with impossible proportioned breasts wearing clothes that couldn't possibly fit a real girl's body, stuck there to make teenage girls puke up the carrot they ate for lunch, ya know?

Bring back the gay guys! At least that looks somewhat real.

[jesus_of_suburbia]

33. Amen! Young women are constantly seeing

unrealistic, unhealthy images that make them feel bad about their beautiful bodies.

This is the real sickness... not 2 gay men.

[alcibiades_mystery]

16. "gay-themed textbooks"???

Ay yay yay...

[BlooInBloo]

17. As AmericaBlog put it, they're trying to ERASE gay people....

... Silly dept stores - any idiot coulda told em that bigots were gonna complain - why did they even bother putting up the display in the first place?

Cowards.

[-..__...]

18. Stores really should avoid mixing politics with business.

The anticipated pay-off is minimal compared to the shit storm that usually follows.

[rucky]

19. Look at this from a business perspective:

Who is more likely to buy designer clothing at Macy's?

Group A:




or these guys:

http://www.theage.com.au/ffximage/2005/02/25/queer_eye,0.jpg


Apparently Macy's chose to risk losing the business of Group B to appease Group A. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

[wicket]

20. Too true!

Macy's really shot themselves in the foot with this.

[NYC Liberal]

21. If some racists complained about a Black History Month display

would they also remove any associated displays too?

[EFerrari]

23. Exactly. n/t

[Name removed]

24. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. 
[link:www.democraticunderground.com/forums/rules.html|Click
here] to review the message board rules.

[wicket]

25. Hi jasonalanprice

Enjoy your short stay you bigot! :spank:

[me b zola]

27. Are you trying to compare yourself to a human???

Crawl back under your rock and wait a few thousand years...maybe then you'll be evolved enough to join the rest of humanity.


BEAT IT, CREEP!!!

[NYC Liberal]

28. Buh-BYE!

[Viva_La_Revolution]

36. Oh yes, they "choose" to be gay

just like you choose to spout moronic statements.

Or maybe you just can't help it either. :shrug:

[jesus_of_suburbia]

37. jasonalanprice, if you are a white Freeper....

who truly is not racist....

TRUST me...


40 years ago you would have HATED African Americans.

You would have, trust me! I'd bet my life on it.

If you are an African American Freeper, you have no empathy... which makes you pathetic (By the way, all people who have no empathy are pathetic... but African Americans are treated so poorly by some you would think they would be more likely to empathize).

[benburch]

39. He hates blacks, mexicans and jews NOW.

My only question for him; How *do* you Klansmen keep those sheets SO WHITE?

Come on! Give with the secret?

Starch? Blueing? Optical whiteners? What?

[wicket]

46. LOL!!!

:rofl:

[benburch]

42. jasonalanprice sleeps with the fishes...

[jesus_of_suburbia]

44. LOL!

"He Disrupted Poorly"

[mainer]

47. Don't punish Macy's -- or they'll never be brave again

They took the initiative and put up a Gay Pride Week display. That's something to be commended. The fact they felt forced to take it down is not to be commended, but dang it, doesn't that say something for Macy's that they even had it up in the first place? If they start getting boycotted by both sides, they'll never dare do anything controversial again. Instead, let's send them letters encouraging them to stand up for what's right. Be their friends. Tell them we'll support them against the wackos.

[wicket]

48. kick

:kick:

[noonwitch]

49. If people don't like the display, they can shop at Walmart

All the employees there wear those "Too blessed to be stressed" pins, so I doubt any of those with a problem with Macy's display would be offended by anything they see there.