Neil Shenvi @NeilShenvi
"Critical Grooming Theory"

When some people hear "groomer," they immediately apply a Western, individualistic lens. But they fail to realize that "grooming" is a systemic, structural problem deeply embedded in our "ways of knowing."

A thread. 1/

Neil Shenvi
@NeilShenvi
·
Apr 6
Replying to
@NeilShenvi
When I, as a Critical Gooming Theorist (CGT) say that all progressives are groomers, I'm not saying that they personally support grooming, as defined by the dictionary. I'm saying that they benefit politically from "systems of advantage" that harm children. 2/
Neil Shenvi
@NeilShenvi
·
Apr 6
When a progressive is offended that he's called a "groomer," that is a symptom of "groomer fragility." He needs to sit with his discomfort and do the work to understand the lived experience of children and detrans folk who are harmed by systemic grooming. 3/
Neil Shenvi
@NeilShenvi
·
Apr 6
A lot of progressives think there is a category of "not groomer." But one is either "groomer" or "anti-groomer." Being "not groomer" is just a way to perpetuate systemic grooming. 4/
Neil Shenvi
@NeilShenvi
·
Apr 6
Grooming is one of many interlocking systems of oppression. One cannot be anti-groomer if one is a communist. One cannot be anti-groomer if one is a feminist. To be "anti-groomer" it to recognize the intersections of your communist, feminist, progressive privilege. 5/
Neil Shenvi
@NeilShenvi
·
Apr 6
Superficial change is insufficient. CGT shows that systemic grooming has been baked into supposedly neutral, objective ideas like "expressive individualism," "identity," and "social justice" from our nation's founding. Dismantling it requires fundamental social transformation 6/
Neil Shenvi
@NeilShenvi
·
Apr 6
Is this thread satire? Yes. But it's a satire based on statements and reasoning taken nearly verbatim from the Critical Social Justice literature (e.g. Kendi, DiAngelo, Adams, Collins, etc.). CSJ is fundamentally flawed, cynical, and deconstructive. It is a universal acid. 7/
Neil Shenvi
@NeilShenvi
·
Apr 6
If this thread frustrates you, good. It should. It shows why we need to reject CSJ. It will poison our discourse and tear to shreds the very fabric of our society. Maybe rethink how you've been redefining words like "racism," "bigotry," whiteness," and "Christian nationalism." 8/
Neil Shenvi
@NeilShenvi
·
Apr 6
If you've been drinking the Kool-Aid of CSJ language and ideology, it's time to wake-up. They're a dead-end. You don't have to choose between embracing CSJ and embracing actual racism/sexism/injustice. You can and must reject both. 9/9

Critical Grooming Theory