Kudos to Sephora and Ulta for being open-minded and supportive of the communities they serve. They’ll get some hateful reactions from the Tucker Carlson crowd. The impact on the overall business? I expect it will be negligible. It’s a tiny cadre of customers who will be the most vocal and will attract the most attention. For the vast majority of the customers, this will be noise they will ignore.

It will increase their business with the trans community for sure, and as long as the approach is tasteful (I know, I know — that is subjective based on the individual) it will not hurt them with non-trans customers. If brands are authentic in their approach to transgender people in a way that does not alienate other customers they will win. Said differently: tread carefully, thoughtfully and authentically.

It’s smart for Ulta and Sephora to appeal to every single customer. It’s in their interest to make beauty universal, because the quest for beauty sells cosmetics.

Ulta and Sephora know very well who they are targeting with their marketing investments, and young shoppers are obviously extremely high on their priority list. As Tom points out in his article, Gen Z shoppers care strongly about diversity and inclusion. I suspect the majority of people most “outraged” by these topics and guests are likely not Gen Z shoppers. In contrast, most younger shoppers tend to look past the occasional insensitive comment shared on marketing platforms and instead focus on a brand’s actual commitment to causes that matter to them. Including Ulta’s recently announced plans to invest $50 million in diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.

“38 percent say society has gone too far in accepting transgender individuals.”

I must wonder what too far means and where we stop accepting. Is it “too far” to say that not everyone in America does not have the same individual rights?

The world is full of three kinds of people: Those who get it, those who don’t, and those who never will. The second group can evolve, and the third group isn’t worth worrying about. Keep it up, Ulta. Our differences should be celebrated.

Every human deserves to feel attractive, regardless of age, gender, culture or otherwise, and beauty isn’t just for women. I’m also quite frankly puzzled by the complaints flung at people whose hearts are in the right place but might not get the words quite right in this new and evolving age of discovery. Sephora and Ulta have demonstrated they are brave enough to have an honest discussion about LGBTQ and other issues that are not commonly aired. With continued support and kind, constructive recommendations rather than unproductive criticism, we’ll all learn to appreciate the beauty in everyone.