Update: 9:21am[et] 8/10/13
*Sears has taken down the original link but hasn’t scrubbed the whole ad yet; when you click on the link it says “product is no longer available,” this has changed from last night but it still shows the picture with other “costumes.” The interesting thing is that it wasn’t listed with costumes, it was in the category of Men’s Underwear last night. They haven’t scrubbed the whole thing yet, they must not know the thumbnail is still there and I took a screen capture but at least they’re breaking the link to the ad for now.
Somewhere over the rainbow there’s a man standing in a leather harness, with a leather collar and arm bands.
No, you’re not at San Francisco’s Folsom Street Fair or Chicago’s International “Mr. Leather,” you’re online at Sears.com.
That’s right, Sears, Roebuck & Company, one of America’s most storied “family” retailers is now marketing to the dark side of the alphabet – BDSM. (CAVEAT EMPTOR: Click at your own risk to see the ad here: Elegant Moments, Men’s 4 piece adjustable harness)
“Wow, it looks like for soul-less corporate America, sadomasochism is the new gay,” said Peter LaBarbera, President of Americans For Truth About Homosexuality (AFTAH). “Somehow the nitwits who are running Sears think it’s worthwhile alienating potentially millions of future normal customers just so they can break into the “leathermen’s” market. Really, Sears? How many kinky perverts are there anyway who are going to go to Sears to get their dog collar?”
But should we be surprised by Sears latest foray into fabulous? Lorah Delaney, in her article “Gay Friendly Companies for Families” lists Sears at the top of the list under clothing companies and she brags that they received a perfect 100 score from the Human Rights Campaign. What does one have to do to receive a perfect score in the HRC Campaign for equality? Let’s just say it’s about a notch below sodomizing the mannequins at the company picnic.
Correspondent Steve Weinstein, a frequent contributor to rainbow media, writes in an article from just last week, that Sears, “does a lot of good in the gay community, for some reason it has flown under the radar.” In his article, “Sears Buys Diversity, LGBT Rights,” Weinstein openly boasts of how committed the company is to the movement: “Today, Sears, which is headquartered just outside Chicago, is one of the most gay-friendly retail giants.”
