Christian Institute Slams Tesco for Promoting Gay Pride
The Christian Institute slammed Tesco for supporting an activity of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community (LGBT) by selling a candy brand carrying a political statement on its package. The candy in contention is Skittles, which now sports an all-white packaging.
The candy which used to have a multi-colored rainbow on its pack has produced a rainbow-less package. "But why give up the rainbow?" Skittle's announcement asked. "For the LGBT community. During Pride, only one rainbow matters. So we've given ours up to show support," the announcement said.
This referred to the London Pride parade last Sunday, which was sponsored by Tesco. The limited edition rainbow-less pack will be available until September exclusively at Tesco. Proceeds from the packet will be used to help raise money for the supermarket giant's LGBT charity partners.
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Christian Institute Director Colin Hart commented that Tesco has gone "out of its way" to back the LGBT agenda. "Why does any kind of sweets need to be politicized? People should be able to buy their favorite confectionery without being forced to consume a political message as well?" he said.
The all-white packaging was also criticized by ordinary consumers who felt that the change of design had "racist" undertones. "The normalization of whiteness is a problem because we live in a society where whiteness is considered the standard," one Twitter user commented. But a spokesperson at Skittles replied that any suggestion that its support for Pride was in any way racist was wrong.
Tesco first sparked outrage in 2011 when it dropped its 10-year support for the Cancer Research "Race for Life" in favor of Pride in London. "Let's send Tesco a message: stick to groceries and stop dabbling in dubious fringe political movements," one consumer said at the time.
But Tesco clarified it will continue to be an official partner of "Race for Life" wherein it claims to have raised over £20 million. It also indicated it would no longer sponsor gay pride festivals. In recent years, however, the supermarket chain has been named as a "gold" supporter of Pride in London.
