A mother convinced an Ikea store to take down a sign that excluded nontraditional families - and now people are reportedly threatening her
APA mother is facing an angry mob after speaking out about a disconcerting Ikea sign.
Beatrice Hurtig, a 23-year-old mother from central Sweden, decided to take action after seeing a sign in an Örebro Ikea that she believed didn't include many modern families, reports The Local, citing Swedish newspaper Expressen. The sign specifically depicted a core family as simply having a mother and father alongside children.
"More room between tables for you and your mum and dad in the family corner," the sign reportedly read.
Hurtig took to Facebook with a photo of the sign, asking Ikea to take it down, as it excluded many families in 2016.
"Imagine a child who lives with their grandmother, or has a parent who's out of the picture, or has parents who simply don't think they belong in traditional gender categories," Hurtig told Expressen.
Ikea removed the sign, with a company spokesperson saying that Ikea aimed to make all customers feel welcome in the store.
Wikimedia CommonsHowever, the saga isn't over for Hurtig.
Since posting about her issues with the sign on Facebook, she says that people have begun harassing her for speaking out, writing about her appearance and "hoping for her to become a victim of sexual offenses," according to The Local.
The issue of shops and restaurants' inclusivity and depiction of gender norms has been a hot-button topic recently.
In December, Macy's renovated its men's bathrooms in a Prince George's County, Maryland location after a father wrote a letter to the CEO complaining that there were no options for him to change his son's diaper while shopping.
Meanwhile, nearly 700,000 people have signed a pledge to boycott Target after the retailer announced it would welcome transgender customers to use any bathroom or fitting room that matches their gender identity.