They suggest that it feeds into a false trope of LGBTQ people preying on children. The loaded term, which is widely used to describe child sexual abusers who are priming their victims, enrages LGBTQ advocates and allies who say that it is painting teachers and advocates as pedophiles. Stop sexualizing children,” she said in a tweet. “Anyone who opposes anti-grooming laws like the one in Florida is pro-child predator. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) has also embraced the descriptor. Those on the fringes argue that opponents of the Florida law and other similar measures are enabling children to be primed for abuse by allowing such instruction by pushing them to question their gender identity.Ī spokesperson for DeSantis, Cristina Pushaw, tweeted last month that the legislation “would be more accurately described as an Anti-Grooming Bill.”Ī segment from Fox News host Laura Ingraham on Thursday talking about gender education in schools was titled “Doom & Groom.” In another early March segment, Ingraham said that public schools have become “grooming centers for gender-identity radicals.”įlorida GOP considers revoking Disney World’s right to self-rule over ‘Don’t Say Gay’ opposition “Groomer” started to gain traction as a term around the time the Florida legislature passed the bill last month. Ron DeSantis last week, which opponents have decried as the “Don’t Say Gay” law, prohibits instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity from kindergarten through third grade. The Florida bill signed into law by Republican Gov. ( The Hill) – “Groomer” is the new favorite term being used by far-right commentators and activists to describe opponents of Florida’s Parental Rights in Education law, sparking outrage among LBGTQ advocates who say that it is a smear that feeds into a trope casting those in the community as pedophiles.