Commentary
As an elementary school teacher who teaches physical education to children with disabilities in seven Orange County schools, I want to warn parents there are books in our K–12 schools teaching kids how to use adult “hookup” apps while instructing them on how to perform various sex acts.
My
school district partners with the city library’s mobile library program, which visits
schools, parks, and the city zoo. In September, the Knowledge Mobile, as it’s called, was visiting one of my elementary schools. As I browsed the bookshelves, a colorful book caught my eye, so I checked it out. I was shocked at what I found. In a section called “How sex apps work,” the book tells readers to upload a picture of themselves to the app. It explains that the app can access their locations and will locate others so they can chat and meet up. The title of the book is “
This Book Is Gay” by Juno Dawson.
Of course, for the sake of liability, the book states that the
hookup app Grindr has an age minimum of 18. However, it’s common knowledge that savvy minors easily gain access to content labeled “mature” by lying about their date of birth. Plus, if this information is meant for ages 18 and older, why is it in our publicly funded K–12 schools?
In reading the book “This Book is Gay,” I found the language immature. For example, to describe human anatomy or sex acts, the book uses words such as willy, bum, and poo. The book also describes a disturbing scenario in which a 16-year-old boy and an older married man flirt in a guitar shop and their flirtations advance into foreplay.
I was so upset about the content of this book that I contacted the city library director. He told me that he’s pressured by politicians to include books such as this in the mobile library. I sent a
letter to the county district attorney about this, but I never heard back.
Why do politicians want these types of books in a bookmobile for children? Could it be because their campaigns are funded by unions? The teachers unions say they want our schools to be a “safe place” for kids who identify as LGBT, yet they endorse a book that promotes an adult sex app.
In 2021, National Public Radio conducted
interviews with users of Grindr and reported: “The dating app Grindr is supposed to be for men seeking men. But many underage boys are using it to hook up with adults, and that can put them at risk of exploitation and trafficking.”
Jenifer McKim from Boston Public Radio said: “Grindr is one of many online sites where minors can be stalked. Boys and girls are victimized. But researchers say the number of male victims is vastly underreported, in part because boys are less likely to disclose their abuse.”
Users of the app
warn that Grindr doesn’t verify identities, including age, which enables predatory behaviors. Ms. McKim interviewed a young man, German Chavez, who said he was sexually assaulted when he was in middle school by a 60-year-old man he met on Grindr. A year later, he said he was using the app to sell sex to help his family pay bills. He said he didn’t see himself as a victim—instead, he blamed himself. Reading these stories broke my heart and made me very angry at those responsible for promoting the Grindr app through our school library books.
NBC San Diego
reported in 2014 an incident of a man bragging about how he intentionally infected his Grindr hookups with HIV. When I became a state delegate for the California Teachers Association in 2022, I learned that my union supported the passage of
Senate Bill 239, which was signed into law and states that intentionally infecting someone with the HIV virus is no longer a felony. If the teachers union cares so much about the safety of vulnerable kids who identify as LGBT, then why did they support a law that can place naïve kids at the mercy of sophisticated abusive predators?
If parents in California try to get “
This Book Is Gay” out of their children’s schools, good luck, because in September, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law
Assembly Bill 1078, which states that schools
can’t censor books because of concerns related to racial or LGBT themes, because it stifles inclusivity and diversity.
However, this kind of thing could lure minors into a trap of profiteering sex slavery. It’s obvious that state leaders prioritize union politics over student safety. As a public school teacher who’s also a protective mom and grandmother, here’s my warning to parents: Don’t be fooled by the political rhetoric—there’s a razor blade in the shiny school apple.
Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
