Target's Transgender Bathroom Policy Will Cost It $20 Million

A Target executive said Wednesday that the retailer will spend around $20 million to add single-stall bathrooms to stores that don't currently have them, after many of the company's customers threatened boycotts following its decision to allow transgender people to use the bathroom of their choice.

About 1,400 of Target's 1,800 stores already have single-stall locking bathrooms in addition to men's and women's rooms, Target spokeswoman Katie Boylan told Patch. Construction on the bathrooms will run through November, with a break for the holidays, and completion is scheduled for March.

"At the end of the day for Target, it’s all about making sure that everyone feels welcome and safe and secure in our stores," Boylan told Patch.

Target unveiled its transgender-friendly bathroom policy in April, which angered some customers who threatened to boycott the store. It's unclear how many have actually gone through with it.

Boylan told Patch, "We don’t have any evidence that the impact (of the boycott) is material at this time."

Other major retailers such as Macy's and Barnes and Noble have similar policies, but Target has been the most vocal about its policy. The company went out of its way to trumpet the policy in a company blog post.

“It’s clear that some of our guests like and some dislike our inclusive bathroom policy,” Target CFO Cathy Smith said on the conference call.

The American Family Association, a Christian non-profit, has been one of the most vocal opponents of Target's policy. A petition on the organization's website to boycott Target has garnered more than 1 million signatures, according to its counter.

Abraham Hamilton, a spokesman for the American Family Association, told Patch that Target's announcement doesn't change the association's stance on the boycott. Hamilton said Target made the association aware of its single-stall bathroom plan in a meeting after Target's policy was announced.

"Their bathroom doesn’t alleviate our concerns, because their policy would allow biological men into women’s restrooms," Hamilton said. "I do appreciate some adjustment, but it’s one that would require 99.9997 percent of the customer pool to go into the separate restroom, instead of keeping the general restrooms safe."

Hamilton noted that the group's concern is not about assaults by transgender people, but "predators" who "will take advantage of target’s policy."

Assaults committed in bathrooms by transgender people are extremely rare, if nonexistent.

Image via Jay Reed, Flickr, used under Creative Commons