There was a video title that said, “Did Pretty Little Liars Groom Us?” I ignored it and just thought to myself, “first of all, no, a piece of fiction can’t groom anyone. Only real life people can.” I watched Pretty Little Liars as a teenager myself, and I never wanted to enter a relationship with a teacher in real life so seeing that video title just made me roll my eyes and then move on to find a video to entertain myself.
I had to ignore that youtube video for *months*, every time the algorithm brought it up on my page.
A person cannot be groomed by a piece of fiction.
Grooming is an intentional act that is perpetrated on purpose by a human person with agency.
Acting like a piece of fiction can “groom” someone 100% trivializes grooming as a concept, and excuses actual predators by absolving them of their agency.
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