Commotion: Target’s Phallic Santa Cookie

Suzy Woltmann

Food & Beverages

22nd December 2020

Commotion: Target’s Phallic Santa Cookie

There has been much hubbub over the cookies (Getty Images).

The Claim

Retail company Target is selling a Christmas cookie that contains a phallic image.

News posted on

Emerging story

The claim went viral on social media following Target’s release of Santa Claus cookies in December 2020.

However, some disagreed, saying there is “nothing racy or phallic” about the cookie.

Misbar’s Analysis

Misbar found that there has been much hubbub over the cookies. Many argue that the boots on the bottom cookie bears more than a passing resemblance to male genitalia.

At first glance, the Misbar team could not discern the phallic implication of the Santa cookie.

However, we found that some cookies look more phallic than others.

Reviews for the cookie on Target’s site mostly fell on the side of calling those who saw anything phallic in the cookie ridiculous.

In response to the scandalous accusation, Target said: "We have not received any feedback directly on this item. The design is intended to represent Santa's boots. We appreciate the feedback and will take it into consideration moving forward."

Since Target did not intend for the cookies to look phallic, some cookies look phallic while others do not, and the discussion on social media has been rampant, we rate this claim as commotion.