LGBT grooming conspiracy theory

The notion that LGBT people, or those supportive of LGBT rights, are engaging in child grooming and enabling child sexual abuse is a far-right conspiracy theory and anti-LGBT trope. This claim has been pushed by a growing number of mainstream conservatives, particularly in the United States and English-speaking world.

The use of "groomer" and "pro-groomer" as slurs specifically rose to prominence in the early 2020s, particularly in the wake of anti-LGBT curriculum bills. The conspiracy theory behind the trope draws on older forms of prejudice against LGBT people to argue that LGBT people are systematically using LGBT-inclusive sex education and campaigns for LGBT rights as a method of normalizing pedophilia and indoctrinating children. It is an expression of the homosexual seduction, homosexual recruitment and acquired homosexuality theories, drawing on the idea of an organized LGBT agenda or "trans ideology" to convert children's sexuality and/or gender identity.

Transgender people in particular have received targeted attacks using or alluding to the trope, whereas the older theories tended to target gay men. These accusations and conspiracy theories are characterized by experts as baseless, relying on homophobic, biphobic and transphobic notions; and are seen as modern examples of a moral panic.

While the conspiracy theory behind the modern "groomer" slur is often traced to American singer Anita Bryant and her "Save Our Children" coalition founded in 1977, its precursors go back further.

While the belief that LGBT individuals are more likely to molest children has no basis in fact, this assertion has existed for multiple decades in the U.S. and Europe, going back to the times before World War II. At the beginning of the Cold War, for example, the U.S. government sought to remove homosexuals from positions of importance during the Lavender scare. As a matter of ideological faith, these talking points became more widespread for the use of partisan political campaigning in the 2020s. Advocates for children's rights have protested that the conspiracy theories frustrate proper support for abuse survivors, and LGBT rights organizations have condemned the use of such notions as encouraging discrimination in the United States, the United Kingdom, Russia, Hungary, Uganda, and elsewhere.

One survey by a left-leaning think tank found that around 29 percent of likely American voters believe the conspiracy theory. Results were divided greatly on the basis of political party.