Grooming

Grooming, much like safeguarding, is a term now used principally in conservative culture war politics to describe the way in which a corporation, institution, or (usually non-familial) adult indocrinates a minor or "child" with sexually "degenerate" themes in order to make them susceptable to adult sexual advances. Commentators such as Christopher Rufo, Graham Linehan, and then later, James Lindsay, Jaimee Michell (Gays Against Groomers) and Chaya Raichik (LibsOfTikTok) have typically used the term to refer to how young people are supposedly coached towards "postmodern", "queer" pro-pedophile politics by the liberal media, trans-affirmative sex educators and physicians who perform medical transitions. This activity was seen as early as 2020, but intensified in 2022. Mainstream Republicans such as Ron DeSantis and Marjorie Taylor Greene have gone on to use the term. As of 2022, 45 percent of likely Republican voters believe that "teachers and parents that support discussions about sexual orientation and gender identity in school are groomers."

Historical background and deeper meaning

Up until the late 10s, the term was used in a politically nonpartisan manner and effectively meant an adult's flirtation with a minor, with a view to engaging in later "sexual" contact. This has led to the absurd situation where adults can be labelled as abusers (by bodies such as the UN) for simply communicating with young people under 18 years old, but above the Age of Consent within a particular country. Given communication is how legally consenting partners obtain (and thus, no informed consent), it is perhaps not helpful to define it as a form of abuse that involves a "perpetrator".

According to FBI Alum, Kenneth Lanning, the term has its origins in law-enforcement circles during the late-70s. It referred very specifically to non-violent "techniques" offender used to "seduce" their "victims". In law (where it is applied), grooming typically refers to adults using the internet to solicit under-age persons or minors for sex. Sometimes referred to as "child grooming", theories of it's "exact form" and purportedly prepubescent and passive victims have been challenged, even by victimological CSA authors.

In either use (populist or professional/legal), "grooming" is a term employed primarily when there are:

• Conflicting values between primary and secondary socialization agents
• And where simple consent is present from the younger person (or partner)

2020s Conservative and Radical Feminist usage, and examples

Book bans in red states are clearly influenced by concerns surrounding grooming

As mentioned earlier, the term "grooming" is now largely used by conservatives and radical (i.e. conservative) feminists in reference to the "sexualization" or sexual indoctrination of children by what they see as morally degenerate liberal elements in society, and corporate pedophiles. A history of "grooming" as a moral panic follows in the section below.

In 2023, British woman Eleanor Williams was convicted at the age of 22 for perverting the course of justice, after she lied about being "trafficked", raped and beaten over many years by a non-existent "Asian grooming gang". Williams hit herself in the face with a hammer, gave herself black eyes and bruises across her body, and severed her finger before posting graphic photos of her injuries online. She became an icon for a popular right-wing "anti-groomer" campaign in the UK known as "Justice for Ellie", supported by Tommy Robinson and leading to multiple men being falsely accused and stigmatized in their communities, attempting to commit suicide. Williams was imprisoned for 8.5 years, and her case made national news.

A history of grooming panic

Following the earlier mentioned awareness-raising by Rufo and Lindsay, the most conspicuous supposed example of "grooming" has been Drag Queen Story Hour - an allegedly politicized event in which children are read a story by a drag actor. This is sometimes conceptualized by supporters as "queer/drag pedagogy". Medical transitions of minors are also an important battleground, with many anti-grooming conservatives referring to such operations as mutilation of children who "can't consent" to the procedures. In 2022, left-leaning social networking site, Reddit even banned the "groomer" slur from its platform, soon to be followed by Twitter, Meta (Facebook) and TikTok. Twitter then went on to eliminate heavily followed accounts such as Gays Against Groomers, a suspected radical-feminist media front group which has since been reinstated numerous times after being featured in the right-wing media. MAP related Twitter accounts on the other hand were indiscriminately culled after these events, in an attempt to conceal the growing movement. The "groomer" term was later used in a graffiti attack. Groups of Proud Boys protesting Drag Queen Story Hours have become a common occurence, and a 2022 survey by Data for Progress found that 45% of likely Republican voters think that “teachers and parents that support discussions about sexual orientation and gender identity in school are groomers.”

Other controversies center on "all ages" drag shows - often provocatively hosted in conservative states. "Backdoor Playhouse" in Tennesee is one such example. In some instances, corporations such as Kering (owner of Balenciaga) have been the target, as they have promoted advertising campaigns seen to be "normalizing pedophilia". The promotion of sex-toys to children has also been a point of concern for moral entrepreneurs such as Rufo (despite the fact that it is likely many are already sexually active). Libraries (both school and public) have become a "symbolic" battleground for feminist pedophobes, erotophobes and anti-LGBT conservatives, with numerous laws being passed and some legal actions in response.

Other examples are Republican "anti-grooming" campaigns against Disney, attempts to negatively implicate the 2010 European early-years sex-education matrixes of the World Health Organization (by the British anti-statist citizen-journalism hub "UK Column" and others), and modern moral outrages sparked by pole dancing children. Further examples are cited in our gallery below.

Protests and lethal attacks

In mid-2022, the non-lethal firebombing of a gay bar that advertised an all-ages drag event posed a warning of the danger of pedophobic attacks to the gay community. Then in November, those fears were realized when a crazed gunman shot 5 dead in a Colorado Nightclub. The nightclub had advertised an "all ages drag brunch" for the morning following the attack (see gallery). The killer's father later expressed relief that his son was seemingly not gay, in light of what he did.

These events had followed prolonged campaigns of harrassment by Proud Boys, an American patriotic group whose usual strategy is to turn up at Drag Queen Story Hours and intimidate attendees. Neo Nazi elements have also shown up at rallies to protest "pedophilia" in modern society.

Gallery

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  James Lindsay and Libs of Tik Tok were heavy influencers of this topic in the early 20s
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  Often cited example of Drag Queen Story Hour "grooming"
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  The rise of all-ages drag performances is seen as very triggering by some Americans
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  Little girl with pup play fetish dogs, common "groomer" meme
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  OK, Groomer catchphrase. Graham Linehan and James Lindsay were known as pioneers of this term
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  Award winning Dutch gay pride photo tweeted by right-wing Andy Ngô, fuelling American panic and "normalization" discourse.
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  Recycled images from older pride marches show children being "sexualized"
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  More commonly used images
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  Images of children pole dancing for physical activity have caused some sex-hysterics to experience "psychological breakdowns" on social media
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  One of various examples cited by Jon Uhler (conspiracy theorist)
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  This Instagram account caused controversy in 2022
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  Instagram account (continued)
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  Instagram account (continued)
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  Club Q's planned event roster for the morning of Sun 20 Nov, 2022. 5 shot dead as a result
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  In 2023, Arkansas has taken steps to clamp down on drag performances
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  Circulated by Gays Against Groomers
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  Religious provocation
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  Alleged sponsorship of all-ages drag events, 2023
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  Reduxx commentary
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  Supposed event, in which children can play with sex toys - something an anti-MAP charity has encouraged in the past
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  An anti-"groomer" rally in 2023
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  A "coloring book" for children, cited as grooming by James Lindsay
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  Dutch TV used as an example
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  Radical/conservative Feminist treatment of a Trans woman's involvement in a bill essentially removing a loophole encouraging accusations of "pedophilia"

As a technique (pre-2020s usage)

The theorizing and imposition (on to individual "offender" histories) of a set grooming "technique" is itself reliant upon a theorizing and imposition of sexual intent in adult-minor interactions. According to CSA theorists, the process of grooming is itself a means to an end - the primary motive of the older partner being (unlike in "non-pathological" rapports) to obtain intimate access to the minor's body and genital anatomy.

As established above, it is claimed that "child grooming techniques" are pathological and unique to pedophiles or child sexual offenders. In reality, even these techniques' theorized forms are situational variants of known techniques, widely encouraged among adult peer groups and media. For example, the product description for a book aimed at same-age attracted heterosexuals claims that:

"This Book Will Get You Laid" takes the age-old dance between men and women and strips it down to its bare essentials - how to catch the eye of your chosen victim, sorry, loved one; how to make initial contact (or 'Moving in for the Kill'); foolproof mechanisms for persuading them to come back to your place; and, once there, how to make all their clothes fall off as if by accident."

Much like the known, but often denied adult grooming techniques, the theorized forms of child grooming are said to be aimed at gaining the other partner's trust. Again, the implicit message is that bonding between human beings is simply a means to an end, and that the "less powerful" partner has to be deceived as to the true, or intended nature of the relationship. Additionally, it is claimed that the parents of a minor may be groomed and deceived, making them less likely to believe accusations.

Victimologists have at different times theorized, but in no way established that the following techniques are particularly common in the "grooming" of minors by adults "for the purpose of abuse":

• Using electronic media to conceal their true identity and impersonate a minor
• Taking an undue interest in a minor (having a "special" friend)
• Giving gifts or money to the minor for no apparent reason
• Showing pornography to the minor
• Talking about sexual topics
• Hugging, kissing, or other physical contact even when the minor doesn't want this attention
• Talking to the minor about problems that would normally be discussed between people of the same age or more commonly, adults (e.g. marital problems)
• Becoming good friends with the minor's parents in order to gain easy access to them (e.g. babysitting)
• Looking for opportunities to have time alone with the minor.
• Inviting the minor over for sleepovers or sleeping in the same room or bed with someone else's child.

Internet prevention measures

Internet technologies have made it possible to at least claim that minors are being protected from the "epidemic" of grooming.

In 2003, MSN implemented restrictions in their chat rooms purportedly intended to help protect children from adults seeking sexual conversations with them. In 2005, Yahoo! chat rooms were investigated by the New York attorney general's office for allowing users to create rooms whose names suggested that they were being used for this purpose. That October, Yahoo! agreed to "implement policies and procedures designed to ensure" that such rooms would not be allowed.

Multiple programs have been developed, that help identify grooming and warn parents. The software studies chat room and other Instant messaging logs for activity that may identify grooming or other potentially suspicious activities. Some of the technologies have been adapted to social networking services and ISPs.

Criticism of theories

Our research review of the internet, minors and "online victimization" documents some examples of where theories of grooming have been problematized, notably the presumed ages and levels of consent involved.

Gallery

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  Humor meme
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  Deconstruction of logic
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  Comparing grooming of adults to "children"
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  How banal activities with "children" (teens) are reinterpreted

Legal examples

United Kingdom

A person aged 18 or over (A) commits an offence if—

(a) A has met or communicated with another person (B) on at least two occasions and subsequently—

(i) A intentionally meets B,

(ii) A travels with the intention of meeting B in any part of the world or arranges to meet B in any part of the world, or

(iii) B travels with the intention of meeting A in any part of the world,

(b) A intends to do anything to or in respect of B, during or after the meeting mentioned in paragraph (a)(i) to (iii) and in any part of the world, which if done will involve the commission by A of a relevant offence,

(c) B is under 16, and

(d) A does not reasonably believe that B is 16 or over.

External links

• Wikipedia article - Covers "grooming" as a conspiracy theory and introduces commentary from LGBT sympathizers. See also Gay Recruitment for the long-standing anti-gay theory. See also Drag panic.
• Wikipedia article on Child Grooming - May contain extra legal information about the original concept.
• Twitter should follow Reddit’s lead and take action against the “groomer” smear inciting anti-LGBTQ harassment - From Media Matters - a liberal group who encourage censorship.