Virtual Pride: A Digital Frontier for Grooming & Indoctrination?

As Pride month sweeps across June, the push for “LGBTQ+ inclusion” has increasingly shifted into digital spaces, with virtual events, social media challenges, and gaming platforms like TikTok and Roblox hosting Pride-themed content aimed at younger audiences. For organizations like Gays Against Groomers, this trend raises red flags, as these online spaces often bypass parental oversight and expose children to complex, adult-oriented concepts under the banner of "celebration" and "inclusion." While advocates claim these events foster acceptance, we see a troubling pattern of digital platforms becoming unchecked avenues for the indoctrination, medicalization, and sexualization of minors. 

Virtual Pride events have surged in popularity, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic, with platforms like Twitch, Zoom, and Roblox hosting everything from digital drag shows to "LGBTQ+ youth summits." A 2025 report noted that events like the "It Gets Better: A Digital Pride Experience" included Twitch-hosted "Queer Proms" and Roblox charity streams, explicitly targeting impressionable youth with themes of "queer joy" and "resistance.” These events often feature interactive elements like TikTok challenges that encourage kids to engage with complex topics about gender and sexuality. While marketed as safe spaces, these platforms frequently lack robust age verification, allowing children as young as elementary school age to access discussions about transgender healthcare or queer identities without parental consent. This digital shift expands the reach of Pride events beyond physical parades, embedding them into spaces where kids already spend hours daily. Unlike in-person events, virtual Pride activities operate in a largely unregulated digital realm, where parents may be unaware of what their children encounter. One school district held a virtual "LGBTQ Pride summit" featuring drag performances and crafts for students as young as third grade, with no clear ways for parents to rightfully opt-out. Platforms like TikTok and Roblox, which have millions of underage users, amplify this issue by promoting hashtags like #transjoy or #gaymerpride, introducing kids to adult-oriented content.

These platforms often rely on algorithms that prioritize engagement over safety, pushing videos or streams that glamorize gender transitions or queer identities to impressionable audiences. Without parental controls or transparency, children can stumble into virtual spaces that normalize irreversible medical decisions or expose them to mature themes disguised as "inclusivity." Corporate sponsorship and activist-driven content fuel these virtual events, often prioritizing profit or ideology over child safety. Brands like e.l.f. and organizations like It Gets Better partner with streamers and creators to host Pride-themed gaming events, raising funds while promoting narratives around gender identity and queer activism.

Some critics call this "rainbow capitalism," where companies exploit the LGBTQ+ label for profit, using kid-friendly platforms to market complex social issues. Meanwhile, activist groups frame these events as empowering, claiming they provide "safe spaces" for kids. However, Gays Against Groomers sees this as a deliberate push to normalize gender ideology and sexualized content for minors, often without clear boundaries or age-appropriate filters. Exposing children to these virtual Pride events may come with serious consequences. Discussions about puberty blockers and gender fluidity, often presented in colorful, kid-friendly formats, can confuse young minds and pressure them to question their identities prematurely. Digital forums can be a breeding ground for brainwashing, convincing youth of harmful ideas they otherwise wouldn’t consider.

A report by GLAAD report noted that social media platforms like TikTok are increasingly hostile to LGBTQ users due to lax moderation, yet they continue to host content that promotes “gender-affirming care” to minors. This creates an unstable environment where parents and their children are vulnerable to online harassment and activist overreach. One personal account by 𝕏 user Forest shows how easily one can be pulled into gender delusion. Isolated during lockdown, she got hooked on trans content, cut off anyone who didn’t affirm, and gained 50,000 followers by pretending to be someone she wasn’t. Now she calls it a “fever dream” and says she was brainwashed. Her story is a wake-up call: the algorithm doesn’t care about your identity — it just exploits your insecurity.

Children's developing brain make them more susceptible to repetitive online content. A 2023 study found that adolescents exposed to over three hours of social media daily face double the risk of negative mental health outcomes, including identity confusion. Forest’s account of being fed slogans like “if you’re wondering if you’re trans, then you’re trans” shows how easily kids absorb these scripts. Unlike adults, children don’t have the maturity to question manipulative narratives, especially when they come wrapped in colorful, peer-approved, TikTok-style packaging. That’s what makes virtual Pride events aimed at kids so dangerous.

Forest’s desistance adds fuel to the growing backlash against TikTok, especially after Congress banned it in 2025 over its influence on kids. Her story is textbook cult behavior: get isolated, cut off “unsupportive” people, and fear being labeled “transphobic” if you question anything. Groups like Transgender Trend warn that online echo chambers breed gender confusion through peer pressure and loneliness. That’s exactly what Forest lived through. Her recovery sheds light on how virtual Pride events mimic the same manipulative patterns and put children’s autonomy at serious risk.

Virtual Pride events on platforms like TikTok and Roblox are the latest battleground in ending the war on children. Advocates may spin these events as inclusive, but there’s a serious lack of age-appropriate boundaries, parental oversight, and honest moderation. With digital spaces playing a bigger role in children’s lives than ever, parents need to stay alert, demand stronger platform protections, and push for policies that put child safety ahead of activist agendas. Gays Against Groomers urges families to take action: contact school boards, speak up to platform providers, and spread awareness about the risks. Let’s stand together to keep our kids from getting pulled into a virtual world designed to target their innocence. Join us in protecting them, both online and off.

References

BBC News. (2025, May 15). US TikTok ban takes effect. https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-67894567 

FingerLakes1. (2025, May 27). Celebrating inclusivity from anywhere: The rise and impact of virtual Pride events. https://www.fingerlakes1.com/2025/05/27/celebrating-inclusivity-from-anywhere-the-rise-and-impact-of-virtual-pride-events/ 

GLAAD. (2025). 2025 Social Media Safety Index. https://glaad.org/smsi-2025/ 

It Gets Better Project. (2025). Digital Pride 2025 is here. It Gets Better. https://itgetsbetter.org/blog/digital-pride-2025-is-here/ 

Murray, C. (2025, June 2). Pride Month 2025 organizers face uncertain future as some corporate sponsors pull back. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/conormurray/2025/06/02/pride-month-2025-organizers-face-uncertain-future-as-some-corporate-sponsors-pull-back/ 

Riehm, K. E., Feder, K. A., Tormohlen, K. N., Crum, R. M., Young, A. S., Green, K. M., & Mojtabai, R. (2023). Association of screen time and depression in adolescence. JAMA Network Open, 6(7), e2323105. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2808068 

Transgender Trend. Gender indoctrination in schools. https://www.transgendertrend.com/gender-indoctrination-in-schools/