Backfire: Lorenz Just Accidentally Argued the Entire LGBT Crowd Is Perverted - How Did Nobody Catch This?
Washington Post reporter Taylor Lorenz doxed the creator of the Libs of TikTok account in an article on Tuesday — and then spent the rest of the day defending herself.
Most of the attacks on Lorenz focused her “journalism” and the ethics surrounding it, particularly since — as the Daily Caller noted — Lorenz has argued in the past against doxing and online harassment.
However, if readers looked closely enough, they might have noticed Lorenz’s arguments made the entire LGBT community look as if they were perverted and using their influence to indoctrinate children.
(The mainstream media, predictably, has taken Lorenz’s side — even though Libs of TikTok has been documenting insane behavior publicly posted on social media, particularly by teachers who openly admit they’re propagandizing their children. Here at The Western Journal, we support the account’s mission — and we’ll continue to highlight educators who use the classroom as a leftist pulpit, as well. You can help us by subscribing.)
Lorenz’s exposé of the Twitter account didn’t quite have the impact she expected. Widespread cultural outrage over the alleged identity of the Libs of TikTok proprietor hasn’t emerged, no matter how much Lorenz’s report claimed the account “reposts a steady stream of TikTok videos and social media posts, primarily from LGBTQ+ people, often including incendiary framing designed to generate outrage.”
Instead, Lorenz found herself defending the report on Twitter, including the doxing of the individual behind it. This was especially ironic when Lorenz had recently appeared on MSNBC, where she gave a tearful interview about the predations of the online mob directed at her.
“Lots of convo about the ‘harm’ of covering a powerful online figure, but not much abt the harm done to the average LGBTQ+ ppl the acct seeks to drive out of schools and public life,” she tweeted.
“I hope people read this whole story and understand this account’s impact.”
Lots of convo about the “harm” of covering a powerful online figure, but not much abt the harm done to the average LGBTQ+ ppl the acct seeks to drive out of schools and public life. I hope people read this whole story and understand this account’s impact https://t.co/p5dNT7tHa3 pic.twitter.com/LMIwlRL3QR
— Taylor Lorenz (@TaylorLorenz) April 19, 2022
And, responding to criticism from Matthew Yglesias — co-founder and former writer for the liberal website Vox, and certainly not a conservative — Lorenz made the point again:
“Yes, an acct whose goal is driving LGBTQ ppl out of public life is bad. Gay/trans ppl targeted by the acct have had their lives destroyed, but the *point* of the story is actually a nuanced look at radicalization & how the right wing outrage cycle functions. That’s worth covering.”
Yes, an acct whose goal is driving LGBTQ ppl out of public life is bad. Gay/trans ppl targeted by the acct have had their lives destroyed, but the *point* of the story is actually a nuanced look at radicalization & how the right wing outrage cycle functions. That’s worth covering https://t.co/VP6gpqowE8
— Taylor Lorenz (@TaylorLorenz) April 19, 2022
There are several things that make these arguments problematic, however.
As conservative pundit Stephen L. Miller wrote, Lorenz and her supporters are “willfully ignoring the fact the videos LibsofTiktok embeds and shares are already posted online, on public timelines for anyone to find.”
As I said, willfully ignoring the fact the videos LibsofTiktok embeds and shares are already posted online, on public timelines for anyone to find. pic.twitter.com/YECDn2fO9m
— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) April 19, 2022
But here’s what Lorenz never points out but should be obvious: Libs of TikTok isn’t doxing random LGBT individuals whose behavior is well within what we’d consider normal. For that matter, the account doesn’t exclusively focus on LGBT individuals, something Lorenz glosses over.
In one case, a Virginia teacher called a state school disciplinary approach, which involves sitting quietly and following directions (among other things) “white supremacy.” That got highlighted.
In another video, a California teacher bragged that she’d deliberately misplaced the American flag for her classroom and told a student if he wanted to pledge allegiance, he could pledge allegiance to the LGBT rainbow flag in the room. That got highlighted, too.
While it’s unclear whether either one of these people identified as LGBT, the behavior being exposed was clearly propagandistic — and it was something that was being shared publicly.
But yes, there are LGBT individuals featured. This includes one transgender individual who reportedly talked to students between kindergarten and second grade during a Zoom session, footage of which was released earlier in the month.
.@BrookeSchool 1st grade teacher records an “identity share” zoom call with K-2 grades where he spoke about being trans.
“When babies are born the dr looks & makes a guess on whether the baby is a boy or girl. Sometimes the dr is wrong. If they are right, the baby is cisgender” pic.twitter.com/qYGFm9B7rF
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) April 10, 2022
“Something that’s really cool and unique about who I am is that I am transgender,” teacher Ryan Skyer said.
“So, we touched a little bit about that at the beginning of this week in the book that Miss Hammond read, but I’m going to give you my explanation of what it means to be transgender as well.
“So, when babies are born, the doctor looks at them and they make a guess about whether the baby is a boy or girl – based on what they look like. And most of the time, that guess is 100 percent correct. There are no issues, whatsoever. Sometimes the doctor is wrong. … When the doctor makes a correct guess, that’s when a person is called cisgender.”
And here’s a video of what was described as an Oklahoma teacher claiming he’d told his students, “If your parents don’t love and accept you for who you are this Christmas, f*** them. I’m your parents now.”
“If your parents don’t accept you for who you are, f*** them. I’m your parents now” – Oklahoma middle school teacher
This teacher was let go last week after complaints of grooming and this tiktok + others containing questionable content were brought to the principal’s attention. pic.twitter.com/eBgAWCW3K7
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) April 11, 2022
This isn’t the most outré behavior Libs of TikTok has managed to capture, but this biologically dubious speech was being given to children as young as 5. Is this what Lorenz wants to put forward as normative behavior for the LGBT community?
In March, the account published a handout from Doernbecher Children’s Hospital in Portland, Oregon, which instructed gender-confused young boys how to tape their genitals to “minimize or hide the contour (bulge) of their genitals, creating a flatter and more feminine appearance.”
It also directed them to and their parents to a sex toy shop, which could provide them with items to “affirm” their female gender.
WARNING: The following tweet contains graphic language that some readers will find offensive.
?Doernbecher CHILDREN’S hospital in Portland has a detailed guide on ‘tucking’ for kids. At the end, they also refer children to a sex toy shop for gender affirming items. pic.twitter.com/gqb44moeNt
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) March 16, 2022
Again, is this what Lorenz is saying is within the mainstream of the LGBT community and its allies? Is this normal? Are conservatives bigots for calling these people “groomers?”
This is the great act of prestidigitation in Lorenz’s Libs of TikTok exposé. It talks about the influence the account has had, how it’s led to teachers being fired. She talks about the fear she claims LGBT people feel because these clips are presented with “incendiary framing designed to generate outrage.”
She collects a bunch of quotes from individuals from left-wing organizations like the American Civil Liberties Union and Media Matters for America about the perfidious nature of the account. She notes Fox News often features content from the account on its shows — the kiss of death as far as most Washington Post readers are concerned.
What she manages to spend the entire article successfully dodging, however, is what the content featured actually is.
What’s problematic is that, even though this is some of the tamer stuff, Lorenz seems to imply the troublesome clips featured are emblematic of the LGBT community as a whole.
Remember, as she wrote in her tweet, not enough people were talking about “the harm done to the average LGBTQ+” person by Libs of TikTok.
Ergo, it’s not too much of a jump to say that, from the Lorenz point of view, when a children’s hospital publishes a guide for young boys to tape their genitals and refers them to a sex-toy shop, or when a teacher speaks to children as young as 5 about transgenderism and tells them doctors are just guessing about what a baby’s sex is, that kind of perversion is just what your average LGBT person or ally preaches.
There are plenty of outrages to unpack about Lorenz and her ethics-free hit piece.
This is one that got missed — and it’s one that the left should have to justify if they’re going to defend Lorenz’s “journalism.”
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