Richmond city councillor’s 2SLGBTQIA+ social media posts questioned

Social media posts from a Richmond city councillor over 2SLGTBQIA+ issues are raising concerns from some in the transgender community.

On Tuesday, coun. Alexa Loo replied to a thread of posts about “parental rights” in reference to controversial mandates that parents be consulted before their child uses different pronouns in school. Saskatchewan and New Brunswick have recently implemented such mandates, with the matter also becoming an election topic in Manitoba.

Such moves have been criticized for putting some 2SLGTBQIA+ children at risk, with advocates saying schools would infringe on students’ privacy if they haven’t told their families.

In one post on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, Loo wrote, “Cults and groomers use alienation and love bombing and other tactics to separate their target from family. Schools should not be teaching kids to not trust their parents.”

Cults and groomers use alienation and love bombing and other tactics to separate their target from family. Schools should not be teaching kids to not trust their parents.

— Alexa Loo 盧仙泳 (@alexaloo) August 29, 2023

“If my child’s coach or pastor was suggesting to keep secrets with my child, that would be a huge (red flag),” Loo wrote in that same thread.

“How is my 5,6,7 year old supposed to make the distinction between ‘acceptable secrets’ with teachers and ‘unacceptable secrets’ with people?”

If my child’s coach or pastor was suggesting to keep secrets with my child, that would be a huge . How is my 5,6,7 year old supposed to make distinction between “acceptable secrets” with teachers and “unacceptable secrets” with people?
Need consistent messaging for our kids.

— Alexa Loo 盧仙泳 (@alexaloo) August 30, 2023

Speaking with CityNews, the councillor says she’s concerned policies that grant a child confidentiality can confuse them.

“Five-year-olds are coming home and apparently their pronouns have changed in schools,” she said Wednesday.

“When you hear about the idea of keeping things secret, especially in really young children between one adult and the child, it makes you question, ‘are we giving a consistent message to our children?'”

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Loo referred to sexual assault scandals in sporting organizations like Gymnastics Canada as a reason why it can be dangerous to urge secrecy.

“You’re expecting that child then to be able to discern who they’re allowed to keep secrets with and under what circumstances. And when we look at some of the sports situations, the ‘let’s keep this a secret from your teammates, from your parents, from whomever,’ that’s where the trouble came in,” she explained.

A transgender advocate, however, says Loo’s argument doesn’t hold water.

School mandates ‘undermining’ trans kids safety: advocate

Travers, a sociology professor at Simon Fraser University (SFU), who is transgender, says the rhetoric that Loo and others have engaged in around “parental rights” is harmful to trans children.

“We know so much about how queer and trans kids are often not safe at home. We see an overrepresentation of queer and trans kids among street youth, among homeless youth, et cetera,” they told CityNews.

“There are really good reasons that we wouldn’t want parents to be told against the will of a child about their request for a different pronoun, for example.”

Travers says mandating schools to notify parents of things like pronoun changes is a “step backward” for schools becoming a safe space for 2SLGBTQIA+ youth.

“Schools may be better prepared to support LGBT kids than some families,” they explained.

“If you put pressure on schools to report trans children to their parents, to betray confidentiality, you’re really undermining the safety of trans kids in that context.”

Travers adds that Loo’s notion that children are being taught to lie to their parents is inaccurate, as is the comparison to sexual assault scandals in sports.

“In that context, it would be the coach or the adult in authority who is wanting the secrecy. That’s really different, isn’t it? That a child is vulnerable to an adult who tells them to keep this secret,” they said.

“Adults are not telling trans and gender diverse kids to keep secrets. My guess is that the first question that a school counsellor or a teacher would ask the kid is, ‘Is this something that you’ve talked about with their parents?'”

Travers, a sociology professor at Simon Fraser University. (SFU)

The two posts in question are not all that Travers takes issue with.

On Wednesday, Loo posted her condemnation of the vandalizing of two rainbow crosswalks in the city earlier in the week.

She wrote, “This is disgusting. Our rainbow crosswalks are meant to show inclusion, acceptance and safety.”

Loo reiterated her disdain for the vandalism while speaking with CityNews, calling it “disappointing.”

“Our hope as city council, my hope as a councillor, was that this was as a sign of inclusion, acceptance, everybody working together, and to create a safe and harmonious space for everyone in Richmond,” she said.

However, Travers says that sentiment rings hollow given what the councillor had posted less than a day before.

“If you align with social movements that are determined to end support for trans and gender diverse children, you’re basically reinforcing the kind of hatred and targeting against LGBT people that is so deeply harmful,” they said.

Richmond Mayor Malcolm Brodie declined to comment on Loo’s controversial posts.

With files from The Canadian Press