Earlier this week, LGBT bloggers and the Twitterati erupted in “huzzahs” at the announcement Old Navy would carry Pride t-shirts in its stores and on the company’s website*, beginning June 1. Furthermore, it was announced, 10 percent of the sales would be donated to the It Gets Better Project. The project is near and dear to the hearts of many of us lesbihomogays, especially those that grew up outside of gay Meccas where gay visibility is almost non-existent and there’s little support or acceptance for queer teens.
But June 1 came and went, with nary a shirt to be seen on the website.
It turns out Old Navy is limiting the distribution of these shirts to those same gay Meccas where they are sure-fire sellers and where their display won’t roil the retail waters for the heartland-targeted chain. The shirts are being carried in just 26 of the companies 1,030-plus stores.
I think it’s really sad that the parts of the country most in need of queer visibility won’t be able to easily access these shirts.
