Pride campaign: Woolworths deserves to be congratulated, not boycotted

Source: Woolworths

This week someone sent me a video featuring Errol Naidoo of the Family Policy Institute. Mr. Naidoo was urging people to boycott Woolworths because of the retailer’s support of Pride Month through posters in store and new policies accommodating staff who are part of the LGTBQI+ community. 

In the video Mr. Naidoo makes some wild allegations. 

Firstly, he accuses Woolworths of not doing anything for faith communities - in specific, Christian communities. That is obviously not true. To mention the obvious: Easter and Christmas – both of which are Christian festivals - are hugely celebrated by Woolworths. Equally so is Eid – the Muslim festival, as well as many Jewish holidays.

Secondly, it is very clear from the narrative that Mr. Naidoo believes that being gay is in conflict with Christianity and the Bible. Mr. Naidoo’s position is, of course, not unique. Many conservative Christians use sections of especially the Old Testament (such as Leviticus 18:22) to claim that the Bible condemns homosexuality. 

There are many scholars that have raised objections to the translation of this verse from the original Hebrew text, but there is not enough space to analyse this particular issue in this column. 

However, even if we take this Biblical verse on face value, we know that there are many other Old Testament instructions that no one in their right mind would suggest are acceptable today. For example, Exodus 21:7 condones the selling of daughters by their fathers into slavery – something I trust Mr. Naidoo and Christians in general do not agree with. Equally so, Exodus 35:2 states that “For six days, work is to be done, but the seventh day shall be your holy day, a day of sabbath rest to the Lord. Whoever does any work on it is to be put to death.” Surely no one would suggest these days that a person should be killed for working on the Sabbath? 

I could mention many more examples. 

Mr. Naidoo’s main objection seems to be that people of  the LGTBQI+ community are anti-family and presumably that growing up with same-sex parents is harmful to children.

These outdated belief have been repeatedly proven to be untrue. 

A recent analysis of 34 studies published between 1989 and April 2022 in countries that legally recognize same-sex relationships showed definitively that parents’ sexual orientation is not an important factor in children’s development. 

In fact, it showed that children from LGTBQI+ parents fared as well on most metrics as children from opposite-sex parent families. In some areas, such as psychological adjustment and child-parent relationships, the children from same-sex partnerships actually fared better. 

Surely, we can all accept by now that what children ultimately need is to grow up in happy, loving households, something that  is totally possible irrespective of the sexual orientation of the parent/s. I have a number of female and male gay friends who have raised happy and extremely well-adjusted children and just for the record, many of them are also Christians. 

As someone who studied theology, the one thing that has always attracted me to the Bible and Christianity is the general demand for love, acceptance, and kindness. It seems to me that throughout his life, this was Jesus’ key message. 

In contrast, let’s consider the pain and confusion that the intolerance of Mr. Naidoo and his supporters cause not only to adults of the LGTBQI+ community, but their children. How on earth can that be Christian and in line with what we are taught by Jesus in the New Testament?

In addition, what possible threat does this small minority of people hold to heterosexual families? Surely, Woolworths’ campaign is not suddenly going to turn “traditional” families to single sex parenthood? More importantly, even if you don’t agree with the LGTBQ+ lifestyle, isn’t it better (and more Christian) to err on the side of kindness to those who are defining their gender and sexuality differently from the “traditional” binary way? 

It is of course also well worth mentioning that we do not live in a religious state.

In fact, our Constitution explicitly states that there can be no discrimination against people of the LGTBQ+ communities and their children. I presume that Woolworth’s actions and Pride Campaign are aimed at promoting this clause in the Bill of Rights.

It is also why members of the LGTBQ+ (and other) communities, celebrated the Hate Crimes and Hate Speech Bill. They are not anti-Christian as Mr. Naidoo suggests in his video. They are against bigotry, prejudice and hatred. 

It is important to remember that prejudice and the hate speech that flows from it is not only hurtful, but often results in assaults and death. This is true for many people in South Africa’s  LGTBQI+ community and in Africa as a whole. 

Years ago, I met an amazing young woman named Yonela. Her sister had disappeared a few years earlier. The family looked for her for almost a year, waiting and hoping in vain that she would return. Eventually after 12 months of agony, a person a few blocks away complained about a smell at the house next to his. Police came to check it out - and stuffed in a black bin were the remains of Yonela’s sister. 

She had been killed because she was gay. 

Yonela is a brave activist who on a daily basis deals with harassment and abuse, because she too has known from a young age that she was gay. She is only one of thousands of gay people in South Africa and this continent who live in fear for their lives. 

It’s good to know that Woolworths has issued a dignified response indicating that they will not buckle under because of Mr Naidoo’s campaign. Let’s support them for their affirmation of a community among us that is too often marginalised because of outdated and absurd prejudice.