Target Customer Claims She Couldn't Buy Book From LGBTQ+ Range in Viral Vid

A mom has shared her shock after saying she was stopped from buying a book aiming to "demystify gender stereotypes" for her children at a Target in Texas.

Sara Broussard was in her local Target on May 11 when she picked up the book, ABC-Deconstructing Gender, by Ashley Molesso and Chess Needham.

She told Newsweek that it was part of the store's Pride section of products, unveiled to celebrate LGBTQ+ pride month in June, but was taken aback when she was informed at the checkout she could not purchase it.

Her claims have added to the furor surrounding Target, which has been the subject of boycott threats over its products focused on the LGBTQ+ community, with some calling for the retailer to receive the "Bud Light treatment"

Target has announced that it has recalled several items, including some swimsuits and a T-shirt that read "Satan respects pronouns," after the retailer's shares fell dramatically and some staff reported suffering abuse at work.

Newsweek has reached out to Target via email and phone multiple times for comment since May 15.

In a statement on Tuesday Target said: "Since introducing this year's collection, we've experienced threats impacting our team members' sense of safety and well-being while at work.

"Given these volatile circumstances, we are making adjustments to our plans, including removing items that have been at the center of the most significant confrontational behavior," they added.

ABC-Deconstructing Gender was published in May 2023 by Running Press Kids. Using fun characters, authors Molesso and Needham seek to "demystify gender stereotypes" in a bright book for younger kids.

"My first thought was that it must have something to do with certain parent groups," Broussard told Newsweek. "When I looked online and couldn't find anything about it, I knew it was something worth sharing."

After the experience, the mom shared what happened in a video on TikTok that has had more than 570,000 views.

She explained: "When I rang it up it immediately said on the screen, 'a team member is on the way,' which is weird, like, that happens when you are trying to purchase alcohol or something. It was a book."

When the staff member arrived, Broussard said that she was equally baffled: "She was like 'Oh it's recalled,'" said the mom. "She said 'Yeah that's really weird, usually things are recalled based on, like, ingredients in them or something like that. I've never seen this before.'"

But as a result of the system stating that the book had been recalled, Broussard was unable to buy it for her children.

This isn't the first time that Target has been hit with claims that they have recalled LGBTQ+ literature. In March 2022, author of A Little Bit Country Brian D. Kennedy tweeted that his book had disappeared from shelves "along with some other queer debut books."

Newsweek has reached out to Kennedy for comment.

In response to the March 2022 book removal, Target told Publisher's Weekly: "During a recent website refresh, we learned that several books were inadvertently removed from our assortment. We're looking into the changes with our team and publishers and working quickly to return any books that were removed in error."

After being unable to purchase ABC-Deconstructing Gender at Target, Broussard looked up authors Molesso and Needham and purchased the book directly from them.

"I didn't go to Target looking for the book," she said. "I didn't even know the book existed until I tried to buy it from Target. I didn't need it super quick, so I figured I'd support them."

Newsweek has also reached out to Molesso and Needham and the book's publishers for comment.

Broussard shared her experience on TikTok after seeing nothing online about the book.

"I wanted to understand the reasoning behind the recall," she said. "The response has been interesting—comments are pretty divided between whether it's a misprint, been put out too early or that it's because I'm in Texas."