Nov 20
Social Media Buzzing over Walmart's Viral Gay Holiday Decorations
Kilian Melloy READ TIME: 2 MIN.
Walmart has some holiday decorations that will make the holidays a little gayer, and an influencer's viral posts mean they will no longer fly under the radar.
"TikTok and Instagram creator ChezAidan took to his local Walmart to show ornaments featuring pairs of Cardinal birds," Into detailed.
"Casual observers might assume the pairs, which are both bright red in color, were romantic couplings."
However, ChezAiden pointed out in his viral video, there's a distinct difference between males and females in the cardinal world, and it's the guys who rock the most flamboyant look.
Female cardinals, Into explained, "are less dazzling and pale brown in color."
"I don't think Walmart did their research on the difference between male and female cardinals," the creator narrated, zeroing in on several decorations featuring pairs of bright red birds.
Added ChezAiden, as his footage zoomed in on a pair of birds: "'Tis the season to be merry and gay!"
Responses to the video - which, Into noted, racked up millions of views in mere hours - included a dispatch from Russia, where "the main winter birb is a bullfinch, and these lil guys also look different depending on whether they're boy birb or girl birb."
"But girls don't look as flashy, they're grey, while boys are red. Few people know that tho," the comment added. "Which is why every winter all shops sell calendars and souvenirs and everything else new year related with two male bullfinches being very cute & romantic together.
"Considering that in my country EVERYTHING regarding queer stuff is outlawed (and you can get shit from police for wearing rainbow earrings), this stuff with the bullfinches looks surreal 😅".
Others offered more succinct comments that were equally pointed.
"Christians be like: this is a cardinal sin," one person posted, while another chimed in with, "It's funny how often big corporations get straight lover birds wrong."
Still another commenter noted that "for years we've been having gay birds for festive cheer 🏳️🌈," while someone else shared, "My bfs mom is homophobic and she has two male deer with a baby in the foyer as Christmas decorations 🏳️🌈🥰".
Chortled one person, "i love this time of year JUST because of the gay cardinals. the homophobic grandmas love their gay cardinals".
"Finally I know what to decorate my house for gay xmas," one holiday shopper exulted, while another declared, "We love Walmart as an accidental ally".
Kilian Melloy serves as EDGE Media Network's Associate Arts Editor and Staff Contributor. His professional memberships include the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association, the Boston Online Film Critics Association, The Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association, and the Boston Theater Critics Association's Elliot Norton Awards Committee.