Macy's Still Apologizing to Queers

One year after Macy's Pride window display debacle, the company is still trying to make amends to the LGBT community. They have a new window display this year celebrating Boston Pride. This time there are no mannequins.

Last year Macy's caved in to the anti-gay group MassResistance and removed the mannequins from their Boston Pride display window. MassResistance complained to the company that the mannequins featured in the display were offensive because they had "enlarged breasts".

After Macy's removed the mannequins, they were flooded with calls and emails from people criticizing them for caving in to the anti-gay radical right. QueerToday organized a protest in front of the store. We marched into the store and to the management offices to voice our outrage.Even Mayor Menino chimed in, "I'm very surprised that Macy's would bend to that type of pressure," Menino told Bay Windows. "Macy's was celebrating a part of our community, gay Pride, and they should be proud of the gay community, and I'm proud of the gay community and gay Pride. Once again it's the radical right wing that's doing it. They don't represent the people."

Macy's eventually apologized for removing the mannequins and admitted they had made a mistake. Now Macy's is trying to make good with the LGBT community. They have again apologized for their mistake with last years Pride display. The CEO of Macy’s East blames an “internal breakdown in communication” for the debacle last year.

This years Boston Pride window display was designed by a member of the Boston Pride Committee. I took a walk downtown last week to see the display. It is nice to see the large rainbow flag backdrop and the silhouette of two men holding hands along with the Boston Pride Calender.

However, the display seems a bit empty to me. How did we go from two life-like full scale mannequins, to just a silhouette of hands holding? That seems backwards to me. I can't blame Macy's for this though, it was designed by a Boston Pride Committee member.However, I will give the Boston Pride Committee props for not letting Macy's off the hook too easy. Instead of praising Macy's for actually having a Pride window display again this year, vice president of the Boston Pride Committee, Keri Aulita, said the organization isn’t going to forgive and forget. “Does one action make amends for something that was really painful for the community? No,” Aulita said. “They’re very well aware that the road to repair is not going to be a quick fix. We’re holding them to a continued relationship, and so far we’ve seen nothing but them willing to do so.”

Update: According to Kyle Hemingway, the designer of the Pride display window, he "was only charged with the creation of the graphic, the emptiness of the window is the artistic intention of Macy's".