Is Disney Supporting the Confusion and Sexualization of Children?

The Florida legislature passed the Parental Rights in Education bill which reinforces the fundamental right of parents to direct the care, education and upbringing of their children. The legislation, HB 1557, now awaits Governor Ron DeSantis’ signature.

LGBT activists and their allies – including Disney – were angry about HB 1557, which keeps teachers from inappropriately sexualizing children and mandates that schools tell parents if their children are struggling with physical, mental or emotional issues, such as internal conflicts about sexual identity.

Disney CEO Bob Chapek announced the company would donate $5 million to LGBT-activist groups, and he said, “I called Gov. DeSantis this morning to express our disappointment and concern that if the legislation becomes law, it could be used to unfairly target gay, lesbian, non-binary, and transgender kids and families.”

Thankfully, the Florida Family Policy Council (FFPC) and the Family Policy Alliance have written an Open Letter to the Walt Disney Co., calling on the company to support parents, which constituents can add their names to.

FFPC President John Stemberger said, “The Disney CEO is being played like a fiddle and manipulated like a playdough cartoon. Even though 67% of Americans oppose what they are doing, Disney is more concerned with the screaming mob of woke employees who are literally bullying the company by abandoning paying guests at theme parks.”

Stemberger is referring to a walkout by woke Disney employees who opposed parental rights in education. Conservative employees, who called for a “politically neutral Disney,” were largely ignored by the company’s leadership.

The provision in HB 1557 that received the most attention says:

Classroom instruction by school personnel or third parties on sexual orientation or gender identity may not occur in kindergarten through grade 3 or in a manner that is not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards.

Why would Disney oppose this? Sounds like common sense, doesn’t it? Don’t talk about sexual attractions, identities or behaviors with elementary school kids, but teach readin’ and ‘ritin’ and ‘rithmetic – as Charlie Rich sang.

But LGBT activists – and their cronies in the media, social media and Hollywood –  dishonestly dubbed HB 1557 the “don’t say gay” bill and opposed parental rights in education. If only conservatives were as good at creating clever little rhyming slogans.

In response, some proponents labeled it “the anti-grooming” bill. “Grooming” is the practice of building a relationship with a child and inappropriately sexualizing them for the purpose of abuse and exploitation.

Of course, most educators have no interest in talking to five-year-old kids about sexually confusing and inappropriate topics, subjects that many parents have scientific, moral and biblical reasons for opposing. These are topics better left to parents, and most teachers and school administrators know this.

But such inappropriate sexualization is happening across the country in elementary education through a variety of means, such as comprehensive sex education mandates; teaching critical race theory, with its overt support of homosexuality and transgenderism; social studies mandates that require talking to children about LGBT-identified individuals; and library and classroom books that introduce age-inappropriate sexual topics.

Florida’s HB 1557 works to stop this confusion and sexualization. Why does Disney oppose this? 

Another very important provision of the bill says:

A school district may not adopt procedures or student support forms that prohibit school district personnel from notifying a parent about his or her student’s mental, emotional, or physical health or well-being, or a change in related services or monitoring, or that encourage or have the effect of encouraging a student to withhold from a parent such information.

This section of the bill is needed because transgender activists encourage schools not to tell parents when their child struggles with sexual identity confusion. They claim not informing parents is necessary for a child’s safety.

The National Center for Transgender Equality published a “Model School District Policy” that says:

School staff shall not disclose any information that may reveal a student’s transgender status to others, including parents or guardians and other school staff, unless legally required to do so or unless the student has authorized such disclosure.

This policy has been adopted by states, school districts and schools across the country – including Florida, where parents filed a lawsuit against a Tallahassee school for secretly affirming their daughter’s sexual identity confusion.

The Open Letter to the Walt Disney Co. tells the company:

As a company whose primary customers are parents and their children, turning against Disney’s own audience for supposed political gain makes no sense. Yet, in opposing Florida’s bill that supports parents and protects children from sexualization, that is exactly what Disney has done. …

The bill supports the rights of parents to have access to critical information about their child’s academics, health, and wellbeing. The bill also protects very young children, ages nine and younger, from being exposed to sexual themes and ideas. 

That’s what most parents want – to protect their children and to be informed about their welfare.

Again, why would Disney oppose this?

 

Related articles and resources:

Disney Attacks Parental Rights in Education – Florida Governor Defends It

Florida Family Policy Council

Florida Lawmakers Introduce ‘Parental Rights in Education’ Bill

Florida Legislature Boldly Stands Up to Bullies and Passes Parental Rights in Education Bill

Florida Parents Sue School for Helping Teen ‘Transition’ – Without Their Knowledge or Consent

Open Letter to the Walt Disney Co.

 

Photo from Facebook.