Is hostile backlash to corporate Pride month campaigns a sign of the times?

Pride month is here, and, like every year, a handful of brands are issuing special merchandise and campaigns to celebrate de LGBTQAI+ community.

But these efforts also come with some backlash from the far right and most conservative groups in the form of boycotts or social media anger.

That was the case for Target this year. The retail giant decided to pull back or hide some of its Pride Month products to protect employees from backlash.

A company statement collected by the Associated Press said workers had experienced threats since the company introduced this year's collection in stores.

According to the news agency, the items that attracted attention were tuck-friendly swimsuits and designs by the British company Abprallen.

"Given these volatile circumstances, we are making adjustments to our plans, including removing items," the company continued in its statement.

Target is not the only company that has suffered a hostile backlash against an LGBTQAI+ support campaign this year. Just a couple of months earlier, Budlight had the same problem.

In March, the beer company paired with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney to promote the brand to extend the brand to a broader audience.

After the campaign, the backlash was intense on social media, and a boycott caused a sales drop for the company. According to the New York Times, their numbers fell more than 23% in four weeks.

Prominent conservative voices like Kid Rock, in the picture, participated in the boycott. Some experts cited by the newspaper said the campaign was too far from the company's target audience and core beliefs.

That would explain why their sales dropped that much ─a first time, despite conservative backlash being common every time a company starts an advocacy camping supporting the LGBTQAI'+ community.

However, some experts are worried that the backlash is turning hostile more recently. Experts cited by NPR and The New York Times agree that boycotts and reactions have become more violent.

The attacks have become personal and targeted employees working in stores or designing campaigns. "I think this is a newer dimension of the backlash," Katherine Sender, professor of media and sexuality at Cornell University, told NPR.

According to experts cited by the New York Times, the current political climate around transgender rights has complicated the campaigns this year.

Data from the American Civil Liberties Union collected by the Associated Press shows that close to 500 anti-LGBTQAI+ bills have gone before state legislatures since the start of this year.

Advocates also consider that some corporate responses have not been helpful, said the New York Times. Target has received critics for caving to pressure, and Bud Light failed to support Dylan Mulvaney.

With the political climate so hostile, Sarah Kate Ellis, chief executive of LGBTQAI advocacy group GLAAD, told the newspaper that they will probably "need to assemble a Pride war room for brands" to "push back."