A subreddit run by Gays Against Groomers, a transphobic conservative organization, has been banned from the platform. The group is considered an extremist hate group, but defines itself as "a nonprofit of gays against the sexualization, indoctrination, and medicalization of children."
Gays Against Groomers, which opposes "gender ideology," drag queens, and "biotechnical warfare" against children in the form of gender-affirming care, is one of many anti-LGBTQ figures—like @LibsOfTikTok—that have emerged in the last few years as part of the anti-woke movement. Frequent targets of anti-woke influencers and politicians include diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, transgender people, and the LGBTQ community.
The group announced its subreddit, r/GaysAgainstGroomers, was shut down today in an Instagram post.
More "big tech homophobia on display!" the group wrote in the post's caption. "There was no 'hate' whatsoever. Wanting to protect children from being sexualized and butchered is not hate speech."
Gays Against Groomers also included screenshots of subreddits that have not been banned even though their's was, like r/GayYoungOldPorn, r/DadsandBoys, and subreddits that focus on incest, child sex abuse imagery, and rape.
"Some of the filth that is allowed on their platform," the group wrote in its Instagram caption about the subreddits it highlighted. "A group of gay people speaking out against pędøphilia and child abuse happening in their name is a step too far for them, though."
While Gays Against Groomers did not specify what led to the ban, accounts that have targeted trans individuals online have led to incidents of real-world harassment.
In an interview with the Daily Dot in 2022, the group's founder, Jaimee Michell, said she isn't transphobic but doesn't think transgender people should be a part of the lesbian, gay, and bisexual community.
"We are sick of being associated with this abhorrent behavior and toxic ideology. It is actually setting the gay community back miles," Michell told the Daily Dot at the time. "I’m sure you have seen the acceptance of us plummeting. What the radicals are doing in our name is the reason why. We will stop it."
By its own count, Gays Against Groomers has been banned from 15 platforms, including TikTok, Google, and Venmo. The group was also banned by Meta temporarily in 2023.
GLAAD, a media-monitoring organization that encourages fair and accurate representation of LGBTQ people told the Daily Dot that it is incumbent on platforms to enforce their anti-hate policies—like Reddit did—amid the growing number of anti-LGBTQ "bad actors" online.
"It’s not surprising that these accounts also tend to generate further false narratives when such policies are enforced, with bad actors casting themselves as victims," a GLAAD spokesperson said. "As the saying goes: enragement equals engagement."
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