LG Parties and the Seeds of Exploitation
When I started my training as a TCO2 Facilitator, I was surprised to learn about the adolescent social trend of LG parties that were happening across the lower mainland. LG (or “Little Girl”) is a label used by teenagers to stereotype young women (between the ages of 11-15) for wearing revealing clothing or perceived promiscuity. Over the past few years a number of young men from various communities have been suspended or expelled from their schools for hosting LG parties, where young girls were invited to parties by boys in older grades, provided alcohol and pressured to engage in sexual activities. Although it was disappointing to learn about how widespread this trend is, I wasn’t particularly surprised that older guys were giving younger girls alcohol and taking advantage of them. This exploitative ritual has been around a long time and is not uncommon in bars, dance clubs and other social environments where people party. What surprised me is that the term “LG” has emerged to make this alcohol-fuelled exchange of sexual activity for popularity/acceptance seem normal for such young people.
The “LG” or “Little Girl” Phenomenon
As we began presenting workshops in schools acrossNorth Vancouver, Surrey, Coquitlam and communities outside the Lower Mainland, we quickly learned that the LG phenomenon was known and accepted in every school we went to. We even noticed that our “LG discussion” was getting the most dramatic response from the students, and it was shocking to discover that this term is often used to degrade young women while blaming them for “provoking” sexual assault. From the beginning of the year, we knew it was our job to help young people realize this term is demeaning to young women and these parties are exploitative. We also learned during our early workshops that it was important for us to address victim-blaming and remind the youth that no one goes to a party expecting to get assaulted or exploited.
Through these discussions, the youth told us that young girls attend LG parties because they are innocently seeking popularity, belonging and validation from older students in their school. On the other hand, we were told that older guys host/attend these parties to take power over younger girls and manipulate them for sexual purposes. Over time, we made it part of our workshop to constantly remind students that a guy who aims to take advantage of an intoxicated, younger female is not looking for a healthy or equal relationship but is acting out his sexual desperation in a harmful way. The exchange that happens at LG parties is sexual exploitation, and we make sure the youth leave our workshop knowing this.
Why men pay for sex
When speaking with older students in grades 10 – 12, we also knew it was our mission to prevent young men from becoming consumers of paid sexual services. Through trial and error, we figured out that an effective way to address this issue was to start a dialogue regarding why men pay for sex. Interestingly, we noticed that many of the reasons men pay for sex are similar to the reasons why adolescent boys attend LG parties. Desperation, need for power, low self-esteem and inability to maintain healthy or equal relationships were common themes that the students brought up in every session.
Uprooting the seeds of exploitation.
During these more mature workshops, we acknowledge that no young guy grows up thinking he will one day pay for sex, just like no young girl grows up thinking she will one day become a prostitute. However, participating in LG parties and other forms of “sex entertainment” can establish attitudes towards masculinity that make the male demand for paid sex seem normal or acceptable. It is important to reflect on why this happens because there are so many people who contract STI’s, obtain criminal records, encounter violence and devastate their families after getting involved in the sex trade. By teaching young men and women the connection between LG parties and exploitation while emphasizing the value of relationships based on equality and mutual respect, we can uproot the seeds of exploitation.
Example of LG parties in the media: http://www.chilliwacktimes.com/story.html?id=3082029
Amar Ghelani MSW, RSW
2010/2011 TCO2 Workshop Facilitator
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Thank you so much for this post, Amar — and for your work. I had never heard of “LG” parties before, and I agree that having such a term begins to normalize this behaviour (or is it vice-versa?). What’s more, I really appreciate you pointing to the social structures that blame victims and define both womanhood and manhood in narrow terms related to male power; I think your facilitating of this discussion is incredible and exposes and explodes these stereotypes. I also understand why you write that, in your experience, this behaviour is accepted in many schools amongst youth. Still, I’m afraid of people contributing to a moral panic that already villanizes youth as superpredators that are somehow deviant, involved in risky sex and drugs, and violent. I’m not at all saying that you’re contributing to this moral panic but I’m anticipating some of the ways in which stories about LG parties might be framed in the media. Thanks again!
Thanks very much Chris, for your critical and valuable comments. I think you bring up an interesting point about youth viewed as offender, as it is also relevant in a discussion about child pornography. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2010/09/29/bc-rave-rape-child-porn-charges.html