Politifact: Talking about sexual orientation and gender identity in the classroom is not 'grooming'

It may have taken a while, but thank you Politifact for stating the obvious:

“Grooming” is a term strongly associated with child sexual abuse; it refers to a process or set of behaviors adults use to make it easier to introduce and complete sexual interactions with a child. 

 Talking about gender identity and sexual orientation in the classroom would not be grooming, because it is done without intent to sexually abuse a child, experts said.

 Experts in psychology and child development said they are not aware of any evidence showing that increased exposure to LGBTQ people or topics makes children more likely to join the LGBTQ community. Instead, they said it is likely an environment of increased acceptance allows people to more openly consider whether they might be part of the LGBTQ community. 

Our problem seems to be that so many ignorant people think that talking about sexual orientation and gender identity,  i.e. LGBTQ people, in the classroom is the same as talking about sexual interactions. That's not the problem of LGBTQ people, it's the problem is a society with a twisted mind.

The entire Politifact article is very extensive and deserves a read and a share. I especially liked this excerpt:

Another reading of the "grooming" narrative  . . .  suggests that, over time, children might be taught to or coerced into claiming an LGBTQ identity as their own — even if they otherwise wouldn’t have. There is no evidence of that — and it points to a fundamental misunderstanding of human sexuality and gender identity. 

 Experts said they were not aware of any research or evidence that increased exposure to topics such as gender and sexuality makes people more likely to join the LGBTQ community. Instead, they said, it is likely an environment of increased acceptance allows children to more safely and openly think about, question and discuss their gender identity and sexual orientation. 

 Exposure to these topics "does not change the way people develop," said the University of Minnesota’s McGuire, who studies family relationships and gender identity and the health of transgender youth. 

 "It changes how they feel about how they develop," McGuire said. "Accepting parents don’t change whether or not their kid is trans — they change whether or not their kid hates themselves and gets kicked out of the house for being trans. The kid’s transness is there regardless."