News (World)

Transphobes enraged by coffee chain’s mural for including drawing of trans man

Unlike other brands, the coffee chain is standing its ground.
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Costa Coffee
Costa Coffee Photo: Shutterstock

The right is threatening to boycott a coffee brand for acknowledging trans people.

Costa Coffee – the largest coffee chain in the U.K. – is the current target of conservative ire due to a mural on one of its vans that includes a trans masculine surfer with top surgery scars enjoying a cup of joe.

Related:

TERFs are trying to boycott Etsy for banning transphobic products  

Meanwhile, trans artists and creators are reclaiming #BoycottEtsy to promote their own products and stores.

After a photo of the cartoon was posted to social media, #boycottcostacoffee began trending on Twitter, with anti-trans conservatives accusing the chain of supporting “mutilation.”

But many others celebrated the brand’s inclusive mural and used the trending hashtag to clap back at transphobes.

In a statement to The Independent, Costa Coffee reaffirmed its commitment to celebrating gender diversity.

“At Costa Coffee, we celebrate the diversity of our customers, team members and partners. We want everyone that interacts with us to experience the inclusive environment that we create, to encourage people to feel welcomed, free and unashamedly proud to be themselves. The mural, in its entirety, showcases and celebrates inclusivity.”

Costa is the latest company to become the focus of the anti-LGBTQ+ right’s summer of boycotts. Since spring, conservatives have called for boycotts of Bud Light, Target, Lego, North Face, and numerous other brands over Pride products and LGBTQ+-inclusive marketing campaigns.

In May, two far-right commentators expressed that the goal of all this is to make support for the LGBTQ+ community “toxic” to brands. And as brands like Bud Light and Target have caved to conservative demands, they are also being accused of performative allyship.

“The way that Bud Light and Target are reacting to the far right angry at including LGBTQ+ people is EXACTLY why many of us have railed against corporate pride,” journalist and activist Erin Reed tweeted in May. “If your advocacy consists merely of rainbows that disappear at the first gust of fascist wind, it amounts to net harm.”

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