New York City Youth Pride event partners with founding sponsor, Target

Amid the fierce criticism surrounding Target’s LGBT advocacy, the well-known retail store is partnering with the NYC Youth Pride event set to take place on June 24.

The event hosted by New York City Pride is promoted as an annual celebration for “LGBTQIA+ and ally teens” in partnership with Target, its founding sponsor, the NYC Pride website reads.

Target has been facing backlash over the last several weeks for featuring PRIDE attire for children. In the wake of the controversy, the retailer has lost over $10 billion, the New York Post reported.

The Minneapolis-based company has also been criticized for giving money to GLSEN, which is known for providing schools with free resources and sexually explicit books.

The first NYC Youth Pride event was held in 2017, and it has included drag queens, DJs, and casts from Broadway shows over the years, with some events tagged as “Kid Friendly.”

In 2022, the cast of Kinky Boots and the Youth Pride Chorus sang a song called “Everybody Say Gay.” The song appears to be a response to parental rights legislation championed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, which the media and some celebrities dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill. 

In its first year, the queer fashion brand DapperQ partnered with NYC Pride and Target by holding a young adult fashion show, which was shown in a Youtube video. The video’s description says the event was “geared towards teens and their families.” 

Photos from previous Youth Pride events also feature the Target logo on some of the displays and artwork. 

Target’s history with the LGBT movement is not a new phenomenon, as some its team members started their first “GLBT” group in 1993, which was later formalized in 2003. It is considered the predecessor to what is now known as the Pride+ Business Council. 

“Guess @Target still isn’t getting the message. Hold the line #BoycottTarget,” Scarlett Johnson, chapter leader of the parental rights group, Moms For Liberty in Wisconsin, stated on Twitter about the latest controversy.

In another tweet, she quoted the Lead Experiential Designer of the displays and artwork, Zoe Ganch, who stated that the event targeted youth under “20 years of age.” 

“As the first ever NYC Pride event targeted to youth 20 years of age and younger, we created a cheerful & spirited atmosphere for LGBTQ youth, families, and allies to celebrate Pride Weekend,” Ganch said on her website. “Chock full of photo-worthy activations and resources to help long after the event’s end, Youth Pride was a platform for Target to continue their relationship with the LGBTQ community and empower young people to embrace their authentic selves.”

Johnson says Target is failing to consider parents when it makes these decisions.

“They’re not even considering us,” Johnson recently told The Lion. “But I think that is changing. They’ve gone too far.”