Latina Mom Pulls Daughter From School After Being Asked To Play ‘Seducing Hooker’

A Latina mom from San Antonio, Texas, was enraged upon hearing her 13-year-old daughter was asked to play a “seducing hooker” role while playing a game in class. Her seventh-grade teacher allegedly asked the students to play a game called “Bear-Hunter-Hooker,” and she was asked to play the latter. Mother Laura María Gruber says she “trusted” the school but immediately pulled her daughter out.

The Latina mom almost ‘crashed the car’ when she found out about the incident

Gruber, who is of Puerto Rican heritage, told New York Post she “almost crashed the car” when her daughter told her about the activity, which occurred back in September 2022. She said, “I picked my daughter and her best friend up from school, and my daughter said, ‘We played this game at school, Mom, and you’re going to be upset.'”

And upset she was— especially when hearing about the nature of the inappropriate game for children. “Bear-Hunter-Hooker” is essentially similar to the childhood classic “Rock, Paper, Scissors,” except it involves role-playing and is also reportedly an adult drinking game.

“Bear-Hunter-Hooker” consists of three players, with one acting like a ferocious bear, another shooting an imaginary gun (many questions here, too), and yet another player having to act like a “hooker” who “seduces” the hunter. The last pose involves the player placing a hand behind their ear and another on their hip.

The 13-year-old’s teacher asked the students to play as a “team-building activity” in their Social Emotional Learning class at KIPP Poder Academy. The teacher allegedly promised them candy in return.

She says the school has ‘zero boundaries’

Gruber says her daughter refused to play the game. Still, her child was “grossed out and embarrassed,” and the boys and the teachers were allegedly “laughing.”

The angered mother says the teacher in question is “pretty young,” adding, “you can imagine what kind of people are coming out of universities now to teach our kids.”

Since the incident took place last year, Gruber has worked to fight against anyone involved and get justice for the ordeal. For one, the Latina mom pulled her daughter out of school after just four weeks of attending, calling the institution “the ground zero for grooming” with “zero boundaries.”

After pulling her daughter out of the school, the Latina mom presented the issue to the school authorities. As per FOX News, the school admitted to the game, but “four levels” of administration denied it “sexualize[d]” children. This included the school’s principal and the regional superintendent.

Months later, the school finally sent a letter about the incident

Still, the Latina mom says that “all the progressive politicians and organizations” she sought support from didn’t listen. That made her lookout for “who’s really doing the work needed to stop the sexualization” of kids. Even more, the school allegedly did not let the other parents know about the incident until more than five months later.

The school sent a letter in February to the student population’s parents. It read, “This game was not part of any KIPP curriculum, and it was not appropriate for students. Any activities with actions or words like ‘hooker’ or ‘seduce’ should never have a place in our schools.”

They continued, “While the intent was never to sexualize a child, I recognize that the impact may have caused students to feel uncomfortable or traumatized.”

They also called the activity “degrading.”

So what did the school do? A child abuse nonprofit spoke to the school’s students after the fact, and the teacher will receive a retraining session.

The Latina mom says she ‘trusted’ the administration with her child

Still, it doesn’t seem nearly enough to Gruber. She calls the school system “especially predatory,” signaling that it should concern all.

The mother describes, “I wanted my child to go to this school for the diversity and trusted them. However, she says she didn’t realize there would be “sexual diversity” or sexualization of kids.

Undoubtedly, the “Bear-Hunter-Hooker” game is deeply inappropriate for children. However, it also points to harmful stereotypes that can impact kids in the long run. As a school with a high percentage of students of color, why are they asking a 13-year-old girl to “pose” as a “hooker,” a damaging slang word for a sex worker?

Latinas must deal with stereotypes on a daily basis, whether we’re talking about many of 20th century Latina movie roles being maids or houseworkers, or of course— the ubiquitous “spicy” or “fiery” Latina many of us have heard. Apart from how strange it is that a teacher would show students this game, why ask this student to play that role?

Each of the kids in the classroom now has one more dangerous cliché in their heads— subconscious or not.