The specific use of the term groomer as a slur [ 2 ] [ 3 ] to refer to LGBTQ people particularly trans people [ 4 ] and drag queens [ 5 ] became more prominent during partisan political campaigning in the s, [ 6 ] [ 7 ] where it was often used to justify anti-LGBTQ curriculum bills.
Arising in the s, the term groomer refers to child grooming [ 27 ] [ 28 ] and became popularized through abuse survivor advocacy, initially applying to actual criminal behavior without reference to U. As described by Vox in an April report, "Conservatives use it to imply that the LGBTQ community, their allies, and liberals more generally are pedophiles or pedophile-enablers".
There is no reliable evidence that sexual orientation minorities are likely to abuse children. At the beginning of the Cold War , for example, the U.
The allegation that having an LGBT identity causes or otherwise contributes to pedophilia has continued as a matter of ideological faith into the 21st century, manifesting after as the "groomer slur" in particular. One survey by Courier Newsroom, a left-leaning think tank , found that 55 percent of likely American voters oppose the conspiracy theory, while 29 percent believe it. Results were divided greatly on the basis of political party. Writing at Intelligencer , columnist James Kirchick argues that the grooming conspiracy theory grew out of more generalized homophobic conspiracy theories which originated in Germany in the early 20th century, in particular the Eulenburg affair.
It led to one of the first major public discussions of homosexuality in Germany, comparable to the trial of Oscar Wilde in England. Scientific research began to explore the causes of homosexuality in the second half of the nineteenth century. Susanna Cassisa argues that this panic led to efforts, in , to legalize same sex activities for men, but only for those over 21, thus "enshrining in the nation's penal code the unfounded belief that gay men were seducers of youths".
