Anti-LGBTQ+ activist group Gays Against Groomers is stoking the right-wing outrage machine with calls for a boycott of The North Face, citing the outdoor apparel company’s long-time sponsorship of a youth summer camp.
The self-loathing Gays Against Groomers dredged up a three-year-old tweet from The North Face touting their contribution to Brave Trails, a leadership summer camp in California and Maryland for LGBTQ+ youth and allies ages 12-18. Brave Trails founders Jessica and Kayla Weissbuch were recognized as LGBTQ Nation Heroesin 2020.
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The 2021 tweet reads, “We’re donating over $70,000 in connection with our Pride Collection to Brave Trails—a non-profit summer camp dedicated to LGBTQ+ youth leadership.”
Gays Against Groomers described the camp as a place where “kids as young as 12” go to “perform in drag”.
🚨 GROOMER ALERT: @thenorthface is sponsoring Brave Trails, an LGBTQ overnight camp for kids as young as 12 where children perform in drag. They donated $100,000 to them. It sounds like they are just begging for the @budlight treatment, and we think we should give it to them. pic.twitter.com/8ZfWZLnOxn
— Gays Against Groomers (@againstgrmrs) April 4, 2024
We’re donating over $70,000 in connection with our Pride Collection to Brave Trails—a non-profit summer camp dedicated to LGBTQ+ youth leadership. Learn more and discover the Pride Collection: https://t.co/cT8nzAd1hN
LGBTQ Nation contacted The North Face parent company VF Corporation for comment but has not heard back.
Right-wing writers at the Daily Wire picked up the old story, as well, further signifying how conservatives are starved for “woke” red meat.
The conservative propaganda site cited Brave Trails’ own description of the camp as evidence of its prurient motives.
“‘Welcome to Camp Brave Trails, where we blend all the traditional elements of a summer camp with an LGBTQ+ twist,’” Daily Wire quoted from the camp’s website. “‘Our camp is thoughtfully designed to serve as a safe haven for LGBTQ+ youth.’” The publication then complains, “The camp boasts that children as young as 12 have gone on to start LGBT clubs at their middle schools after attending the camp.”
Daily Wire uses the same strategy linking to videos posted by Brave Trails, intoning they “reveal that young children involved in the program dress and perform in drag while wearing makeup.”
That’s exactly what they show: kids playing dress up and voguing.
Is there a problem, officer?
For the usual outraged suspects, there was.
No more @thenorthface for our family. This is wrong. All north face going to give away today. We need to stand up to this nonsense, not condone it, and not become numb to it’s constant attack on the future of our country. pic.twitter.com/VGDXwVhqGP
Several right-wing X users called for a North Face boycott along with their reposts, while others upped the ante with threats, like this menacing declaration from Michael Nee, a rabid conservative QAnon supporter.
The online acronym FAFO translates to “F**k around and find out.”
North Face, Toms, Brooks, and all these other Pedophile supporting company’s are going to FAFO!!! We need to Boycott every last one, at the Least!!! https://t.co/xqxtvzSn4I
The North Face has staunchly positioned itself as an ally to the LGBTQ+ community. Last year, the company made its support for equality clear after conservatives flipped out over its Pride campaign.
In an ad, the outdoors-themed drag queen Pattie Gonia made a video announcing The North Face’s “Summer of Pride” event on Instagram.
“The North Face has always believed the outdoors should be a welcoming, equitable, and safe place for all,” the company said in a statement responding to the backlash. “We are honored and grateful to support partners like Pattie Gonia who help make this vision a reality.”
“Creating community and belonging in the outdoors is a core part of our values and is needed now more than ever. We stand with those who support our vision for a more inclusive outdoor industry.”
