Target is under fire for selling a T-shirt labeled "Trophy" in the women's departments of its stores as well as online.
The controversial T-shirt is allegedly meant to attract teenage girls, but outraged customers have taken to Twitter and other social media outlets, to slam the American retail giant, calling them offensive and demoralizing, the Daily Mail reported.
@Target under what circumstances should any human being wear a T-shirt that indicates that they are a "trophy" pic.twitter.com/NXIrg8wbvW
— Ashleigh Kanengeiser (@AshleighReneee) June 14, 2015
"It is never our intention to offend anyone and we always appreciate receiving feedback from our guests," Target released in a statement to ABC News. "The shirt you're describing is part of a collection of engagement and wedding shirts that are available in our women's and plus size departments. The collection also included shirts that say 'Team Bride,' 'Mrs.' and 'Bride.' These shirts are intended as a fun wink and we have received an overwhelmingly positive response from our guests."
Regardless of the company's intentions, the Target T-shirt scandal has resulted in a change.org page titled "Stop Selling Sexist 'Trophy' Shirt That Demeans Women," which requests that the retailer remove the shirts from its inventory, Examiner reported.
"Help women around the world by standing against these types of messages in our culture," the petition reads. "You may say to yourself, 'It's only a shirt, what's the big deal?' I would respond by asking you to consider how strong words can be, and the power they have to both help and hinder. This shirt hinders progress made by thousands of advocates before us. It says that, despite being 'equal' on paper, we are still viewed as 'things,' and Target wants to profit off of that."
The petition has over 10,000 supporters and needs 15,000 total before it's sent to Target.
Whether or not Target plans to stop selling the "Trophy" shirt has yet to be revealed.
