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If that was the case, why did you call me dishonest instead of just asking why I thought she was an adult?
If the "pedophilia" part of the definition can be relaxed, why not the "for sex" part, especially since we're talking about minors in the latter case? It's not hard to find pre-"ok, groomer" articles that don't restrict "grooming" to sexual behavior? For example:
Grooming is the predatory act of maneuvering another individual into a position that makes them more isolated, dependent, likely to trust, and more vulnerable to abusive behavior. Grooming is a insidious predatory tactic, utilized by abusers. Grooming is practiced by Narcissists, Antisocial predators, con-artists and sexual aggressors, who target and manipulate vulnerable people for exploitation.:
In this phase, the predator will start to use the target to meet their needs. With children, this is generally sexual in nature, but predators will use victims for money, to accomplish morally questionable things for them, or even just to fill an emotional need.
While grooming is often associated with sexual abuse, it can be as simple as filling an emotional need. For example, a boss grooming a direct report to fill a narcissistic need for superiority. When a target fights back, or confronts their offender about what is taking place, the groomer will use gaslighting tactics to keep them within their control.
Insisting that grooming has never been used to describe non-sexual behavior seems like literal gaslighting to me.
Yes, I am sure it has sometimes been used in other ways. But when used in the context of teaching children about sex, do you really, truly, think it is meant in those ways? Because that is what we are talking about.
Yes. Especially when psy-opping adolescent girls into double mastectomies is a big part of what we're discussing.
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