Why it’s not ‘grooming’: What research says about gender and sexuality in schools
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ press secretary Christina Pushaw was not happy that critics had nicknamed a controversial Florida law the “don’t say gay” law.
She retorted by deploying a term that quickly became a political grenade of its own: “grooming.”
“The bill that liberals inaccurately call ‘Don’t Say Gay’ would be more accurately described as an Anti-Grooming Bill,” she tweeted in early March, referencing the measure, that prohibits classroom instruction on issues of gender identity and sexual orientation in kindergarten through third grade.
For decades, the word “grooming” has been associated with sexual abuse — child sexual abuse in particular.
David Finkelhor, director of the Crimes against Children Research Center and sociology professor at the University of New Hampshire, defined it as “a set of behaviors and manipulations that adults use to make it easier to introduce and complete sexual interactions with a…
