People Are Pissed About Abercrombie & Fitch's Tweet About Pride Month

Abercrombie, and all the beloved college nostalgia it brings, has gotten itself into a pickle with its latest attempt to include Pride Month commentary in its marketing.

The retailer partnered with The Trevor Project, an organization created to champion suicide prevention amongst LGBTQ+ teens.

To celebrate the partnership and all of Pride Month, Abercrombie released the following tweets to its account about its support for the LGBTQ+ community:

But It Soon Followed With A Problematic Tweet

A quote shared online from an Abercrombie employee along with her photo is what sent eyes rolling to the sky.

The tweet promotes the idea that "Pride" is "for everyone," but the problem is, it's actually not.

Pride Month was created in response to the routine exclusion that LGBTQ+ people have endured for years — that has threatened not just their actual "pride" but also their emotional and physical health.

According to the National Coalition of Anti-Violence (NCAVP) programs, the number of LGBTQ+ people murdered rose 217 percent in 2016, making it the deadliest year to date.

The report reads,

NCAVP recorded 77 total hate violence related homicides of LGBTQ and HIVaffected people in 2016, including the 49 mostly LGBTQ and Latinx lives lost in the shooting at the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, Florida in June of 2016. Outside of those lives lost during the shooting at Pulse Nightclub, there were 28 homicides of LGBTQ people, an increase of 17% from 24 in 2015.

This violence, along with job, bathroom, and even health care discrimination is part of the struggle that the LGBTQ+ community is fighting against — one that simply does not belong to "everyone."

For Abercrombie to uplift an employee who claims "Pride" belongs to everyone is at best, a terrible misuse of words and, at worst, a complete dismissal of the LGBTQ+ experience.

Elite Daily reached out to Abercrombie about the tweet, but did not receive a comment in time for publication.

Twitter Users Clapped Back With Upset Responses

Let This Be A Lesson On How Straight Allies Can Engage With Pride Month.

Insensitive insertion is often the problem with straight people even when it isn't Pride Month. LGBTQ+ resistance is not about centering the feelings or the experiences of cisgender heterosexual people.

Want to be a real ally? There are many ways to celebrate Pride Month without disempowering the movement.

As your LGBTQ+ friends march, attend festivals, and whatever else they choose to do to celebrate and uplift themselves this month — the best thing to do as a straight person is to support them while playing the back.

Start by listening to your LGBTQ+ friends and family. Watch as many documentaries and films that tell their stories.

Scroll through and silently Twitter-stalk their conversations about their daily lives, so that you can further expose yourself to issues they face. Look up why Pride Month is held in June in the first place.

Study the pioneers of the LGBTQ+ movement. Find an organization that supports the community and donate or volunteer.

Will yourself to speak up when you see injustices taking place against LGBTQ+ people — not just this month, but very month.

Show up for the LGBTQ+ community by showing them that you don't need to be invited to the party to love, celebrate, and respect their lives.