A Richmond city councillor is on the defensive today after posting social media comments about parental consent for young kids wanting to change their preferred pronouns and names at school.
Coun. Alexa Loo was responding to posts about the controversial policies in Saskatchewan and New Brunswick which require parental consent for students under 16 to use their preferred pronouns and names at school.
Arguments are being made by the LGBTQIA community that the students in question shouldn’t need parental consent and requiring such consent puts the children at even greater risk.
However, on Tuesday, Loo questioned on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) whether it was wise to encourage young children to “keep secrets” from their parents and drew comparisons to the tactics used by sexual predators.
“Cults and groomers use alienation and love bombing and other tactics to separate their target from family,” posted Loo.
“Schools should not be teaching kids to not trust their parents.”
She added that “consistent messaging” is needed for the children, posting that “If my child’s coach or pastor was suggesting to keep secrets with my child, that would be a huge (red flag emoji). How is my 5,6,7 year old supposed to make distinction between ‘acceptable secrets’ with teachers and ‘unacceptable secrets’ with people?”
When contacted by Richmond News on Wednesday, Loo stood by her comments but said she was “not necessarily” commenting on the controversial mandates.
“I’m commenting on the policy of encouraging prospective adults in the child’s life to encourage keeping secrets, because then how is the child supposed to discern who now is the inappropriate adult to be keeping secrets with?” said Loo.
She explained that the conversations surrounding the pronouns mandate raise “a global issue” with “keeping secrets from parents,” which could lead down a”slippery slope” and “rabbit hole.”
“What about the fact that a Muslim girl wants to wear hijab at school but doesn’t wear it at home because her parents don’t believe in it? Or vice versa?” she said.
She added that parents “want to be included in major developments in their child’s life.”
When asked about her thoughts on existing school policies in B.C., which do not require parental consent, Loo said, “But there’s also no policies that encourage teachers to keep secrets from the parents” and parents are “included in what’s happening in their kids’ schooling, development, (and) education.”
It’s pronouns today, it’s what tomorrow?: Alexa Loo
Loo’s comments were met with some online backlash, with some raising concerns about kids feeling unsafe at home.
However, Loo added that, if a child is feeling unsafe at home, “that needs to be dealt with,” whether it’s connected to their sexual identity or not.
Referring to the City of Richmond’s latest youth strategy, Loo said one per cent of children in the city feel unsafe at home and the “big picture” should be addressed.
“So if we’re creating a policy that’s protecting a very small percentage of the population, but negatively affecting a huge percentage of the population, and teaching kids to be emotionally distanced from their parents and to latch onto other adults, that makes them unsafe,” she said.
She acknowledged that it would be a different conversation in “one-off situations where the kid’s in an unsafe situation,” but said the focus should be on the “global practice of keeping our kids safe.”
“You don’t follow the guy into the bushes to look for the kitty cat. You don’t have a secret with adults. Like, these are sort of basic things we teach our kids, but then if you turn around, say, ‘Okay, well, you can have a secret with the teacher. It’s okay. Because it’s just your pronouns,’” said Loo.
“It’s pronouns today, it’s what tomorrow?”
When asked about her references to cults and groomers and the historical use of such terms to vilify the LGBTQIA community, Loo said, “Lots of terms have been used against them, they don’t own those terms. I’m not talking about them.
“I’m talking about people who are trying to alienate your children from you…Sexual predators use those techniques. Our concern is sexual predators.”
She added that she is in support of LGBTQIA rights.
“I’m not attacking. I’m not trying to make it uncomfortable for any specific group. But I am looking at the bigger picture here,” said Loo, adding that “inclusivity” is key.
“I don’t want people alienated. I don’t think teachers should be teaching children to be alienated from their parents. That’s exclusive, right? So when we’re including everybody, everybody’s part of the process and they’re there to support each other and they’re there to go through the process together.”
- With files from the Canadian Press
