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Last week, right-wing gadfly David Cole wrote a banger exploring the parallels between the childhood transgender craze and the “childhood sexual abuse”/“ritual satanic abuse” panics of the 1970s and 80s. Cole points out the irony of the “say groomer” obsession on the right, and the larger moral panic in right-wing spaces about how the “trans kids” phenomenon is primarily about “sexualizing children”, given that the first wave of moral panic about the molestation of children was driven primarily by leftist women, which is the same demographic now primarily driving the movement that is in turn being accused of molesting children. I think Cole makes a very convincing case that the “groomer” thing is a red herring, a distraction which has blown up into a full-blown purity-spiraling moral panic in the hothouse ecosystem of the Extremely Online right. If you think that the people teaching kids that they’re trans are primarily doing so because they’re interested in molesting kids, why are they so overwhelmingly women?
His observations ring true for me; from the constant sharing of the Auron MacIntyre sign-tapping meme and the Sam Hyde quote, to Pizzagate and the obsession with Epstein, the right wing is proving that it’s every bit as susceptible to purity spirals and moral panics as the left wing. And as Cole points out, it’s especially odd because the “groomer” panic on the right is itself a response to the “trans kids will all kill themselves unless we affirm them” panic on the left. The “groomer” panic also features the same obnoxious and cancerous motte-and-bailey strategic-equivocation tactics that rat-adjacent rightists despise so much when it’s used against them; figures like James Lindsay, Rod Dreher, and even Marjorie Taylor Greene, are all involved in a linguistic shell game, wherein they use a word which they know for a fact is supposed to refer to grooming children for direct sexual abuse, and when pressed they retreat into “well, they’re saying that children have a sexual identity, which is kind of like sexualizing them, which is the same thing that child molesters do.”
There are certain topics that I won’t publicly touch even in a space like this; I’ve thought about one day trying my hand at starting a Substack and joining the right-wing online commentary/content-creation ecosystem, and there are certain subjects where I fear that if I deviate too much from the party line, I will be cast out into the outer depths before I even begin. The whole issue of child sexuality, how it relates to teen sexuality, whether or not queer theorists want to rape kids, etc., seems like the most high-voltage of any of those third rails. Being seen as an apologist for child molestation is a hell of an accusation to face, no matter how specious and lacking in credibility, and it’s nice to see a writer with some level of clout in right-wing commentary stick his neck out there and identify this moral panic for what it is.
I’m even hesitant to offer too much more of my own larger commentary on the issue, but I wanted to put this piece out there for commentary, particularly for those who do take the “groomer” thing more seriously than I do.
What level of evidence would it take to convince you that the term "grooming" has a history of common and uncontroversial use to describe adults or older youths maneuvering themselves into a position of unaccountable confidence and authority over younger adolescents and children, to their benefit and the child's detriment, but without explicitly sexual connotations? For example, if I could provide you examples of mainstream media describing street gang recruitment as "grooming", would you agree that this seriously undermines your statement above?
Because if "grooming" has in fact been the accepted term for such behavior, it doesn't become less appropriate when the specific behavior in question is aimed at shaping children's understanding of sexuality and sexual identity in deeply unhealthy ways, does it?
Tough to say, how about you throw some my way?
Edit: I now see that FC substantially edited and fleshed out his comment after I had already responded to it, leading to Hlynka’s response below, which I found confusing until I went back and saw FC’s edit.
About 30 seconds of searching turned up this hand-out from Shared Hope international.
#1 REASON THEY JOIN? RELATIONSHIP
They are drawn by ‘belonging’ – dress codes, gang colors, power and being part of something strong and impenetrable.
Poverty is a huge factor in recruiting victims.
English as a second language makes some more vulnerable. Undocumented aliens makes them a target. Who would they tell?
They may have real needs for food, clothing, shelter, rehab or resources. The gang offers to protect and provide. **Grooming ** includes promises and flattery.
-- “See that girl in the nice clothes? She’s one of mine.”
-- “Do you need something? We will hook you up.”
-- “I care you’re in pain.”
I didn’t realize that FC had added significantly to his original comment, so I was unsure why you thought that this one single example was going to look like strong evidence in favor of his proposition. Now that I see your comment in relation to his edit, I at least realize why you picked this example, although I still consider it nowhere near strong enough evidence to refute my accusation that those using “groomer” are attempting to smuggle the most inflammatory connotation into their every use of the term.
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