Remember all the hoopla last summer when Boston's Macy's took down their gay pride window for fear of pissing of Christian groups. Well, as our friends over at Proceed at Your Own Risk point out, the decision may be a symptom of a larger agenda.

They write:

A local Macy's has pulled a big chunk of the gay content from it's annual HIV Prevention and Education Teen Night because the materials and presentations, developed by gay teens for gay teens were deemed to be "too gay" and "too honest." Apparently, in the "gay friendly" world of Macy's, HIV education should neither be gay nor sexual in any practical or real way.

While we all know AIDS is not explicitly a gay issue, nor is exclusively spread via sex, we'd expect someone on that end to at least stand up and keep things together. Oh well...

Get the full story at Proceed at Your Own Risk.

Give Ron Klein a break: it takes a few days to measure public outcry and draft an apology. Klein is the CEO of Macy's, the gay community's least favorite department store this month after putting the kabash on a window display celebrating gay pride. Klein is sorry about that. And he wants your forgiveness.

Pulling down the window display was, indeed, a mistake. But, you see, it wasn't because Macy's is anti-gay — it was because of a "breakdown in communication." Which sounds plausible, until you remember it was a breakdown in communication that led to the events of 9/11. Not that we're equivocating, of course.

When the controversy arose over the content of our display, the decision was made to maintain the display with no changes. We wanted to stand firm in our support of Boston Pride Week and the GLBT community - just as we always have.

Unfortunately, as sometimes happens in large organizations, a miscommunication occurred and the controversial mannequins were removed. Again, they were not removed because of pressure - but because of an internal breakdown in communication. Macy's mistake - unquestionably.

Some can also call our decision not to return the mannequins to the window a mistake. Historically, our windows dedicated to causes and celebrations have always been executed through the use of text and props such as posters. We traditionally do not feature mannequins in these "community windows" because the introduction of merchandise has no role in our tributes.

I would ask the GLBT community to consider all that we did do - and have done - for Pride Week and the GLBT community.

Should Macy's get a pass on this one? As In Newsweekly points out, Macy's does have a decent history with the gays. Domestic partner health benefits in '97. Corporate sponsor of the AIDS Action Committee. Sexual orientation added to its employee non-discrimination policies. Forget all that over a window display?

Klein's full statement, after the jump.

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News of what's in store for the third season of Project Runway couldn't have come at a worse time. It's not that Heidi Klum is leaving the show or Tim Gunn's voice is getting replaced. But Gap-owned Banana Republic will no longer serve as the show's sponsor. Gone is the mentorship at Old Navy's upscale brother. In BR's place? None other than Macy's — yes, that Macy's. The show debuts July 12 (with the season finale culminating in New York's spring Fashion Week, rather than fall). But first it's got some 'splainin' to do.

Project Runway 3 [JustJared]

We asked, and you answered. Last week's panning of Macy's for their gay window display removal doesn't seem close to ending — so we wanted to hear how else you, our readers, were reacting.

Writes in Queery reader Phillip:

I called Federated (Macy's parent corp.) and asked to speak to someone in the PR department. I got a woman on the line who seemed to have spent a while giving people the official response to 'the incident in Boston", and this was that there was a communication error internally, that it wasn't ordered from on high that the mannequins be taken down, and that it was a huge misunderstanding that they regret. Macy's supports the gay commuity, blah blah blah.

She assured me that giving the finger to gay pride was NOT their intention, even if the mannequins were pulled due to a miscommunication -- she mentioned that they participated in the parade, that they had fair employment practices, and so on. I pointed out that it seemed a little disingenuous for them to push the whole thing over with a "whoops! we goofed" if that REALLY is their position, and the public had largely made up its mind that Macy's failed to manifest any sort of a spine when pressed on the matter.

The display had apparently been scheduled to be taken down due to the end of Pride anyhow (though I'm not sure when this is for Boston...so I can't verify anything). And they are planning to make a big showing in New York Pride to leave no doubt in the public's mind that they are actually supporters. At this point I suggested that they ship the mannequins in question up to NYC and put them on the Macy's float. She thought that was a pretty good idea, at which point I thought "good enough" and thanked her for her time.

After the jump, a few more first-hand accounts..

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• Courtney Cox's new show Dirt has a bi character, Leo — and, shockingly, he even acts it. [AfterElton]

• A transgender murderer is suing her Massachusetts state prison for failing to pay for her sex change. [OutQ News]

• In case you ever needed a reason to wear boxer briefs. And never thongs. [Slate]

• China pulls The Da Vinci Code after Chinese Catholics claim the film could threaten social stability and become a political liability. [NYT]

• Wondering where the state of gay marriage stands in, uh, your state? Let this bullet-pointed list bring you up to speed. [Newsday]

The Macy's window display fall out continues. After the jump, find Queerty reader Tyler's letter to Macy's condemning their anti-gay position. Have you contacted the retailer? Let's hear about it.

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• Ellen DeGeneres is named "ideal dinner guest," beating out fellow lesbians Hillary Rodham Clinton and Condi Rice. [SisterWoman]

• When Erik McCormack moved to the New York, he was supposedly welcomed with open arms by gangs, even though he was playing a gay character on TV. What a great little nugget, just in time to hype Love Spring International. [PR Inside]

• Congrats to AfterEllen and AfterElton, who have grown so successful the deep pockets of MTV's Logo network came calling. [AfterElton]

• The Advocate is helping lead the charge against Macy's. Why cater to the right-wing conservatives when they aren't your market, anyhow? [Advocate]

After news broke about the Boston Macy's pulling a gay-themed display window, Queerty reader Andrew became so inflamed with the retailer, he immediately drafted two flyers, walked over to Macy's, and pasted them on the window.

The first flyer has the Boston Globe snippet below the text:

Celebrating minorities should never be offensive. Bring the mannequins back!

The second flyer has a before and after shot of the window and:

"They were male mannequins with enlarged breasts, and one was wearing a skirt. It was really disgusting." —MassResistance President Brian Camenker

Shame on you, Macy's, for bowing to such a juvenile complaint.

While we certainly don't condone vandalism in any sort, affixing flyers to a Macy's window shouldn't push too many boundaries. Kudos to Queerty reader Andrew for using his lunch break for something progressive.

Earlier: BREAKING NEWS: Macy's Pulls Pride Mannequins

A mannequin with a rainbow flag wrapped around its waist (pictured at right) has incited the wrath of some group of anti-gay nutballs in Boston who decided to flood Macy's, the creators of the display, with angry phone calls, blathering about how "offended" they were. The mannequins were part of a window display listing the events for Boston Pride, and after listening to the screaming of these intolerant dummies, Macy's officials made the brilliant decision to remove the mannequins, simultaneously giving weight to conservative fringe politics and insulting the entire gay community.

Not they we encourage boycotts without due cause, but we never liked Macy's anyway. Hello, Bloomingdale's Barney's, Sears, and TJ Maxx.

If you'd like to give Macy's a piece of your mind, contact them here or call their corporate offices at 513.579.7000.

Pride and prejudice: Macy’s yanks gay display, blasted by both sides [Boston Herald]