Left-Wing Org Combines K-12 Radical Gender Theory With Anti-Cop, Anti-Capitalist Rhetoric

A left-wing organization is behind over 4,000 LGBTQ clubs and student groups in K-12 schools, combining the language of radical gender theory, anti-police, and anti-capitalist rhetoric, according to a new report.

The report from writer and activist Christopher Rufo cites documents from the left-wing nonprofit activist group GSA Network, an umbrella organization that encompasses more than 4,000 “gender and sexuality” alliances in schools in 40 states nationwide. The organization, which has an annual budget of more than $2 million, nonprofit tracker Guidestar notes, espouses the tenets of radical gender theory, but it also promotes defunding law enforcement, “decolonization and reparations” for minorities, and anti-capitalism.

“The individual chapters, which operate in elementary, middle, and high schools, often use the language of ‘LGBTQ inclusion’ and ‘anti-bullying’ in their public relations, but behind the scenes, the central organization is driven by pure left-wing radicalism that extends far beyond sexuality,” Rufo reported.

The GSA Network relies on “programming” students in order to adequately participate in the group, Rufo notes. One of the documents obtained by Rufo is a toolkit for students to organize their GSA clubs online. The toolkit instructs students to engage in “self work,” which involves the student engaging in a self-examination of his or her inherent systemic racial or gender privilege, how those privileges contribute to the oppression of LGBTQ people and people of color, and how he or she can combat their privilege in order to more effectively “commit to dismantling these systems for collective liberation.”

The toolkit also instructs students to examine their purpose for engaging in self work in order to help them “stay committed to liberation.” It also tells students that “self work happens everywhere—not just in a GSA meeting.” Included is an appendix with a sample rubric for students to examine their privileges and how they contribute to oppression of minority groups. The rubric is divided into five rows: “Groups with systemic power (privilege),” which includes straight people, cisgender people, men, and white people; “Systems of oppression,” which includes white supremacy, patriarchy, and imperialism; oppressed groups, which include transgender people, black and indigenous people; prejudice, which is described as “a preconceived idea about a group with no factual backing”; and discrimination, or “the actions and ways folks are affected by the system.”

Another document obtained by Rufo is a nine-point manifesto the GSA Network borrowed from the National Trans Youth Council, which the GSA Network uses “to guide our collective vision for gender justice and liberation.”

The platform explicitly borrows from the manifestos of other radical activist groups, like the Black Panther Party’s Ten-Point Program, the Young Lord’s 12 Point Program and Platform, and the Third World Gay Revolution. The nine points are:

1. We Call for the Right to Self-Determination and Control of Our Destinies
2. We Call for the Abolition of the Police, ICE, Borders and the Judicial System
3. We Call for an End to Disposability Politics and a Commitment to Transformative Justice
4. We Call for an End of the Cisgender Heterosexual Patriarchy
5. We call for Decolonization and Reparations for all Indigenous and Black Peoples
6. We Call for Comprehensive Education that Reflects our Histories and Needs
7. We Call for an End to Global White Supremacy
8. We Call for Land Justice and Environmental Justice
9. We Invite our Comrades, Accomplices and Allies to Join Us

The GSA Network also engages in radical anti-capitalist programming, Rufo reports. A promotional website for a summer camp run by the organization includes a portion dedicated to “Economic Justice and Capitalism,” which it describes as “often the most immersive experience for campers.”

Campers learn “to think through the ways that capitalism impacts our communities and greater systems that young folks interact with on a regular basis, including: school, incarceration, and employment.” Campers also learn “how capitalism erases parts of our community and therefore erases all of queer and trans community,” along with “techniques” messaging to share with their communities.