In this week’s PGN, there are several articles about groups that want to make the LGBTQ community disappear. I’m being kind in using the word “disappear,” because many of these groups, if they had the chance, would likely do much worse to us.
Our main cover story on Moms for Liberty, as well as Creep of the Week on Dissident Homeschool, focus on groups that want to eliminate everything LGBTQ from schools and education. No books, no discussion, no symbols of tolerance, nothing. They don’t want LGBTQ people to exist.
And in next week’s PGN, we’ll have a story focusing on the group Gays Against Groomers, which, among many things, is against Drag Queen Story Hour, “alphabet religion” and the “indoctrination” of children. Ambassadors for the group (which is led by pro-Trump figures, obviously) include many people who apparently only have first names, and, also, a drag queen named Lady MAGA who, I guess, also doesn’t want drag queen story hour.
Let’s look more closely at Gays Against Groomers, which has been named by the Anti-Defamation League as “online amplifiers of anti-LGBTQ+ hate and extremism.” What are they about? The about section of their web site states in part: “There are millions of gays within the community that want nothing to do with this Alphabet religion and join the fight with parents and concerned people everywhere to protect children. We also aim to return sanity and reclaim the community we once called our own. The gay community is not a monolith. Those pushing this agenda do not represent or speak for us all, nor do we want to be associated with them in any way. What we are witnessing is mass scale child abuse being perpetrated on an entire generation, and we will no longer sit by and watch it happen.”
Putting aside the dubious claim of “millions of gays” who share GAG’s values, that paragraph is transphobia at its finest, folks. Yes, gay people can be incredibly transphobic. This group, and groups like the LGB Alliance, are exhibit A.
But I’d be happy to level with Gays Against Groomers. One of the main issues they fight against is the “transitioning and medicalization of minors,” which they call “mass scale child abuse” on their website statement.
Let’s unpack that.
Some people believe that minors should not be allowed to transition because they cannot fully comprehend the gravity and permanence of such a decision. That is a valid concern. But there are ways to address and discuss that concern without launching a nationwide crusade that also, bizarrely, ties in drag queens and those in the “alphabet religion” who are trying to self identify beyond sexual orientation.
The common sense way to address the concern of trans minors who may want to undergo hormone treatments or gender affirmation surgery starts with education. It’s something that children and their parents need to research and discuss. It’s something that needs more data and study so that parents and children can make a more informed decision and so doctors can better answer any questions families have. And it’s something that needs to be out in the open rather than smothered. Every parent and every child is different. They should be allowed to figure it out together. But Gays Against Groomers would rather just ban it completely, because there apparently is no way a child could ever transition and live a happy life if they do it before they’re 18.
If Gays Against Groomers don’t want trans kids to transition, then to be fair, they should also come out and say that gay kids also should not be allowed to do gay things until they’re 18. After all, engaging in gay things might irreparably change the way a child is; it might change their whole life in a way they can’t reclaim. Gay child wants their first same-sex kiss? Not til they’re 18.
I’m 39 years old, and I’m still learning things about my sexuality. Should I have not be allowed to be with other men until I completely and fully understood myself? If Gays Against Groomers applied their criteria to everybody fairly, no LGBTQIA+++ adult would be having sex or kissing or doing anything LGBTQIA+++.
Furthermore, if Gays Against Groomers applied their criteria to everybody fairly, I’d wager that the majority of their own members, too, wouldn’t be allowed to do anything same-sex related, because you don’t misunderstand an entire community of people without misunderstanding yourself first.