The holidays are coming and clothes with messages are not far away, but the OCD sweaters from Target draw controversy because of their “mocking” of the mental disorder.
- OCD stands for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
- It’s the 3rd most common mental disease, which affects 2.2 million Americans
- Target labeled OCD as Obsessive Christmas Disorder
- Following the uproar, Target apologized, but did not remove the product
The huge retail store has placed up OCD sweaters for sale, but those letters do not stand for their traditional meaning. Most attribute OCD to Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, which is the third most common mental disease in the world. It’s a highly unfortunate condition, which while it’s mostly not life-threatening, it affects the life of the patients drastically.
Reportedly, around 2.2 million people in the United States are diagnosed with OCD, according to the National Institutes of Mental Health. This largely includes rituals and uncontrollable gestures that cause anxiety if they’re not done right and at the proper time. It can range from obsessive compulsions, such as counting, arranging, straightening, or many others that aim for ‘perfection’.
These unfortunate needs that seem meaningless to outsiders are actually quite important to them. It alleviates their anxiety and, in some cases, actually prevents them from inflicting harm onto themselves or others. The disorder can also take up to 4-7 hours of an individual’s time with these ritualistic behavior.
Target has recently come under fire by making light of it. The retail store has started selling sweaters with the writing “OCD” followed by “Obsessive Christmas Disorder” for a silly way of showing enthusiasm for the holiday. However, many of their customers, whether afflicted with the condition or not, have stated complains about their offensive product.
Some have voiced out their protests over Twitter, demanding the store to remove the sweaters from their shelves. A man, who reportedly has been suffering from OCD for 6 years, has stated his outrage at their joke.
The uproar was loud enough for the company to make a statement. While Target apologizes for the discomfort it has caused, they have no current plans of removing the sweaters from their shelves. The marketing misstep has fired up social media, though there seem to be conflicting opinions on whether the complaints are warranted.
Others have actually stood alongside the retail store. Another person who declared themselves afflicted with OCD has stated that they still find the product “funny”, calling protesters “uptight”. It’s perhaps a matter of opinion. On one hand, some would find it insensitive to say ‘I have OCD because I love Christmas!’, while others would rather swim against the stream of over-sensibility that has been bursting in the past couple of years.
This isn’t the first time Target has come under fire. Back in 2013, they also labeled a plus-sized version of one of their grey dresses as ‘Manatee Grey’, while the normal sized version was ‘Dark Heather Gray’. That one has no silly word play.
Image source: digitaljournal.com
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