Sun, January 15, 2023 at 6:38 p.m. MST·2 min read
Counter-protestors turned up in support of a drag brunch in Calgary this Sunday.
(Tom Ross/CBC - image credit)
More than 100 counter-protestors gathered outside the Rec Room in northeast Calgary to support an all-ages drag brunch in the face of protestors on Sunday.
It's the second time in less than a month that a drag event in Calgary has been met with this opposition. In December, a drag brunch in Inglewood was met with protests, while another brunch was cancelled, citing threatening phone calls.
Protests have happened at all-ages drag events elsewhere, including in several U.S. states where drag story readings have been disrupted.
Some people, like community advocate for LGBTQ issues Anna Murphy, anticipate these protests becoming a pattern in Calgary — but said the counter-protestors on Sunday gave her hope.
She says it's important to continue to show up and "demonstrate who we truly are as Calgarians, which is a community that is safe, welcoming and affirming."
She also wants to see politicians and community organizations demonstrating allyship and affirming trans and queer people in order to show that "spreading misinformation, ignorance and hate … is not who we are as a community."
Tom Ross/CBC
Signs held by protestors on Sunday had messages against exposing kids to "adult entertainers," and some conflated drag shows with pedophilia. Some also carried signs saying "Jesus is Lord."
Some far right groups have alleged that all-ages drag events sexualize children or set them up to be groomed by sexual predators.
A performer who goes by the name Comrad Borscht said that, in reality, all-ages drag events are a safe, comforting space for queer children, and that organizers and performers consider their audience and make the art appropriate for kids.
"They do their best to make sure that it's just silly dancing to silly songs or or rhinestones, big hair, crazy stuff."
A larger police presence was noticeable at the protest outside the Rec Room on Sunday compared to the one in Inglewood in December, but there was no physical violence.
By early afternoon, only a handful of protestors remained.
More than 100 counter-protestors gathered outside the Rec Room in northeast Calgary to support an all-ages drag brunch in the face of protestors on Sunday.
It's the second time in less than a month that a drag event in Calgary has been met with this opposition. In December, a drag brunch in Inglewood was met with protests, while another brunch was cancelled, citing threatening phone calls.
Protests have happened at all-ages drag events elsewhere, including in several U.S. states where drag story readings have been disrupted.
Some people, like community advocate for LGBTQ issues Anna Murphy, anticipate these protests becoming a pattern in Calgary — but said the counter-protestors on Sunday gave her hope.
She says it's important to continue to show up and "demonstrate who we truly are as Calgarians, which is a community that is safe, welcoming and affirming."
She also wants to see politicians and community organizations demonstrating allyship and affirming trans and queer people in order to show that "spreading misinformation, ignorance and hate … is not who we are as a community."
Tom Ross/CBC
Signs held by protestors on Sunday had messages against exposing kids to "adult entertainers," and some conflated drag shows with pedophilia. Some also carried signs saying "Jesus is Lord."
Some far right groups have alleged that all-ages drag events sexualize children or set them up to be groomed by sexual predators.
A performer who goes by the name Comrad Borscht said that, in reality, all-ages drag events are a safe, comforting space for queer children, and that organizers and performers consider their audience and make the art appropriate for kids.
"They do their best to make sure that it's just silly dancing to silly songs or or rhinestones, big hair, crazy stuff."
A larger police presence was noticeable at the protest outside the Rec Room on Sunday compared to the one in Inglewood in December, but there was no physical violence.
By early afternoon, only a handful of protestors remained.
Opinion: Focusing only on LGBTQ 'groomers' is what puts kids at risk for sexual abuse
Pat Brothwell
Pat Brothwell
Asheville Citizen-Times
Sun, January 15, 2023
Guest opinion columnist Pat Brothwell
Last weekend, I watched “Keep This Between Us” on Hulu, a four-part docuseries initially airing on the Freeform network. According to the show’s news release, the series “exposes an epidemic of widespread grooming —manipulative and coercive behavior by abusers to gain access to potential victims — in U.S. high schools.” It’s a timely topic, as accusations of grooming dominate recent headlines, aimed almost exclusively at LGBTQ people and curricula.
What’s notable about this series — and why I wanted to highlight it — is that it examines filmmaker Cheryl Nichol’s experience being groomed by a straight male high school teacher, not the demographic most currently associated with the term “groomer,” but statistically, the demographic most likely to sexually abuse children, a crime that’s rarely meaningfully addressed by pundits or legislatures, even though it’s disgustingly common. Putting the bulk of the blame on the LGBTQ community allows scores of adult groomers to continue their behavior unchecked and puts kids at risk.
The CDC reports that 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 13 boys in the U.S. experience child sexual abuse. These statistics are appalling when you consider the amount of lip service and rhetoric we devote to “saving children,” and when you consider these statistics are based on reported data, I’d imagine the actual numbers are larger.
I’m not suggesting that LGBTQ adults don’t groom children — I was unfortunately acquainted with a gay guidance counselor who used his position of power to assault minors — but A) being a member of the LGBTQ community is unequivocally not synonymous with grooming, and B) statistically it’s adults who identify as straight who abuse the most children.
There just aren’t enough LGBTQ adults living in the United States to perpetrate such a widespread crime. While Gallup reports that Americans consistently overestimate the gay population in the U.S. — American adults estimate that 1 in 4 Americans (23.6%) are gay — just 7.1% of U.S. adults identify as being part of the LGBTQ community. (Now sure, the LGBTQ population is probably larger, as again, stats are only as good as what people will admit to, and plenty of Americans are still closeted and/or coming to terms with their sexuality, but it’s the out and visible LGBTQ population consistently misaligned as “groomers.”)
Secondly, the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network reports that males perpetrate 88% of sexual abuse claims reported to Child Protective Services. Breaking down the 7.1% of LGBTQ Americans further, less than 2% of the population are gay men. The Tucker Carlsons, Laura Ingrams and Ron DeSantises of the world can shout “groomer” at gay people all they want, but the numbers don’t add up.
How did this narrative start? It’s a pretty widespread tactic. Blame an easily vilified minority for the sins of the majority. It’s been pushed so long it’s even evangelized by the population it hurts the most. Last summer I was introduced to an Instagram account with 175,000 followers by a fellow gay man I met on a dating app (talk about … indoctrination).
This “groomer” narrative misplaces blame for heinous behavior and has allowed the grooming and abuse of minors to thrive unchecked. If you care about saving kids and ending what I feel comfortable considering an unnamed epidemic, you’ll quit equating the LGBTQ community with child sexual abuse and start examining the many behaviors society has conditioned us to be unproblematic as long as it’s straight people perpetuating them.
Last August, I wrote a piece for the Citizen-Times where I shared how I was cautioned against being open about my sexuality when I worked as a high school teacher. A well-meaning colleague warned it might result in a groomer narrative in the district where I taught, an affluent, conservative part of Pennsylvania that loved touting its family values.
Meanwhile, I had a colleague — a popular, middle-aged straight male teacher — who pretty openly texted female students late at night and on weekends, not about school work, but just to chat. I’m not suggesting anything more than texts happened, but it’s interesting to note how I, a gay man, was counseled to conceal my sexuality while this straight teacher felt very comfortable conducting inappropriate behavior openly, without fear of a besmirching narrative following him.
We’ve been groomed as a society to focus on a false-grooming narrative, and all that does is protect actual groomers and allow an alarming number of young people to be abused.
Pat Brothwell is a former high school teacher, and current writer and marketing professional living and working in Asheville.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Groomers who most often sexually abuse children are not LGBTQ
Sun, January 15, 2023
Guest opinion columnist Pat Brothwell
Last weekend, I watched “Keep This Between Us” on Hulu, a four-part docuseries initially airing on the Freeform network. According to the show’s news release, the series “exposes an epidemic of widespread grooming —manipulative and coercive behavior by abusers to gain access to potential victims — in U.S. high schools.” It’s a timely topic, as accusations of grooming dominate recent headlines, aimed almost exclusively at LGBTQ people and curricula.
What’s notable about this series — and why I wanted to highlight it — is that it examines filmmaker Cheryl Nichol’s experience being groomed by a straight male high school teacher, not the demographic most currently associated with the term “groomer,” but statistically, the demographic most likely to sexually abuse children, a crime that’s rarely meaningfully addressed by pundits or legislatures, even though it’s disgustingly common. Putting the bulk of the blame on the LGBTQ community allows scores of adult groomers to continue their behavior unchecked and puts kids at risk.
The CDC reports that 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 13 boys in the U.S. experience child sexual abuse. These statistics are appalling when you consider the amount of lip service and rhetoric we devote to “saving children,” and when you consider these statistics are based on reported data, I’d imagine the actual numbers are larger.
I’m not suggesting that LGBTQ adults don’t groom children — I was unfortunately acquainted with a gay guidance counselor who used his position of power to assault minors — but A) being a member of the LGBTQ community is unequivocally not synonymous with grooming, and B) statistically it’s adults who identify as straight who abuse the most children.
There just aren’t enough LGBTQ adults living in the United States to perpetrate such a widespread crime. While Gallup reports that Americans consistently overestimate the gay population in the U.S. — American adults estimate that 1 in 4 Americans (23.6%) are gay — just 7.1% of U.S. adults identify as being part of the LGBTQ community. (Now sure, the LGBTQ population is probably larger, as again, stats are only as good as what people will admit to, and plenty of Americans are still closeted and/or coming to terms with their sexuality, but it’s the out and visible LGBTQ population consistently misaligned as “groomers.”)
Secondly, the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network reports that males perpetrate 88% of sexual abuse claims reported to Child Protective Services. Breaking down the 7.1% of LGBTQ Americans further, less than 2% of the population are gay men. The Tucker Carlsons, Laura Ingrams and Ron DeSantises of the world can shout “groomer” at gay people all they want, but the numbers don’t add up.
How did this narrative start? It’s a pretty widespread tactic. Blame an easily vilified minority for the sins of the majority. It’s been pushed so long it’s even evangelized by the population it hurts the most. Last summer I was introduced to an Instagram account with 175,000 followers by a fellow gay man I met on a dating app (talk about … indoctrination).
This “groomer” narrative misplaces blame for heinous behavior and has allowed the grooming and abuse of minors to thrive unchecked. If you care about saving kids and ending what I feel comfortable considering an unnamed epidemic, you’ll quit equating the LGBTQ community with child sexual abuse and start examining the many behaviors society has conditioned us to be unproblematic as long as it’s straight people perpetuating them.
Last August, I wrote a piece for the Citizen-Times where I shared how I was cautioned against being open about my sexuality when I worked as a high school teacher. A well-meaning colleague warned it might result in a groomer narrative in the district where I taught, an affluent, conservative part of Pennsylvania that loved touting its family values.
Meanwhile, I had a colleague — a popular, middle-aged straight male teacher — who pretty openly texted female students late at night and on weekends, not about school work, but just to chat. I’m not suggesting anything more than texts happened, but it’s interesting to note how I, a gay man, was counseled to conceal my sexuality while this straight teacher felt very comfortable conducting inappropriate behavior openly, without fear of a besmirching narrative following him.
We’ve been groomed as a society to focus on a false-grooming narrative, and all that does is protect actual groomers and allow an alarming number of young people to be abused.
Pat Brothwell is a former high school teacher, and current writer and marketing professional living and working in Asheville.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Groomers who most often sexually abuse children are not LGBTQ
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