Conservatives SHRED Target for resurfaced LGBTQ ad featuring children

While Target is currently under a nationwide boycott over a recent LGBTQ pride month display that included merchandise for kids, an advertisement from 2015 resurfaced on Tuesday sparking further backlash as the video shows the retail giant using kids to promote pride month. 

On June 8, 2015, Target released an advertisement on Twitter that encouraged young kids to take pride in the fact that they were born gay.



"We weren’t born with pride. We #TakePride in who we were born to be. What do you #TakePride in?" Target wrote in a Tweet with the attached video advertisement.

The video begins with a child staring off into a mountain sunrise with a voiceover saying, "We're not born with pride."

The camera then pans to young girls and a young boy getting dressed for the day. The voiceover continues, "We're not born knowing where our life will lead, the obstacles we'll face, the joy we'll find, the heartbreaks we will feel."

The advertisement then shows clips of lesbian couples and gay men with facial expressions suggesting they are enduring hard times. 

"We're not born knowing these milestones are also stepping stones and helping us find our footing in what we stand for and who will stand by," the video continues.

A mashup of young teens riding skateboards, dancing in crowds, and appearing at protests proceeds to flash across the screen as the voiceover continues "In searching for the words that help us find our voice to be heard, to be seen, to belong. Accepted for how we live. Respected for who we love."

The advertisement ends with gay couples holding a baby, kissing, and a lesbian couple getting engaged concluding, "We're not born with pride. We take pride in celebrating who we were born to be."

This resurfaced advertisement comes on the backs of a significant nationwide boycott which resulted in Target losing nearly $10 billion in stock since the release of their LGBTQ pride merchandise in May. The pride merchandise consisted of trans clothing and attire, including a tuck-friendly bathing suit for men who like to dress as women and apparel for kids.

The resurfaced ad sparked backlash across social media with pundits, journalists, and influencers chiming in to share their distaste.

Human Events' Jack Posobiec said on Twitter, "Holy SHLIT Target has a Pride ad up featuring CHILDREN."

Another Twitter user said, "Message is clear: being trans elevates you, a mere mortal, to a higher spiritual plane and puts you in touch with powerful supernatural grace."

"I respect the #GAY Community as many of my long friends are Gay, some have been happily married for decades. BUT I draw the line at the moment you try to groom our children. Leave our children alone!" another added.