Target: Use Restroom That Matches Your Gender Identity

Retailer takes a stand for 'inclusivity,' solidarity with transgender community
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 20, 2016 11:31 AM CDT
Target: Use Restroom That Matches Your Gender Identity
Target: taking a stand for inclusivity.   (Target)

A "religious freedom" mandate in Mississippi and North Carolina's so-called "bathroom bill"—which dictates, among other things, that transgender people must use bathrooms aligned with their birth gender—has triggered big-name stars, TV and film production companies, and businesses to boycott. Now Target is taking a stand, expressing its solidarity with the transgender community, the Washington Post reports. "We believe that everyone—every team member, every guest, and every community—deserves to be protected from discrimination, and treated equally," the retailer says in a Tuesday statement. "Most relevant for the conversations currently underway, we welcome transgender team members and guests to use the restroom or fitting room facility that corresponds with their gender identity."

The Post notes that Target's headquarters are in Minneapolis, and that Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton recently banned all state travel to Mississippi and North Carolina over their new laws, per the Pioneer Press. Meanwhile, high school junior Gavin Grimm, a transgender student who was born female and is now fighting to use the boys' restroom at his Virginia high school, was granted his own victory by a federal appeals court in Richmond, the New York Times reports. The court ruled that Title IX—which prohibits gender discrimination in schools that receive federal funds—is applicable to students who wish to use the school bathroom that aligns with their gender identity. The ruling doesn't give Gavin the immediate right to use his school's boys' room—it mandates that the lower court that originally ruled against him must reassess his request for a preliminary injunction. (More Target stories.)

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