Why is *traps are gay* used as a joke so frequently in online gaming.

[Maximo]

This a topic that has been running through my head for the last week a topic that I am... not very knowledgeable on as I have no transgender friends/family and my only experience is following transgender people in the gaming industry, media, and others who share their stories. Its something I have been noticing more and more as I get deeper into the Twitch community and VRChat in general is the phrase *traps are gay* and certain others like *traps should go to prison* or asking every female avatar if they are a trap and then making a grandiose statement and reaction when they hear a male voice.

"Trap" is an internet slang term used online for people who crossdress and androgynous anime characters. Frequently used on 4chan, the word is a taken from the popular Admiral Ackbar meme It's a Trap and used to express fear that someone is attempting to trick or confuse others sexuality through appearance changes."

It's a horrible derogatory saying to a transgender person yet it seems even streamers who I would consider more *progressive* than others go along with it or don't bother saying something to others, *it's just a joke* I can't be the only one that thinks it's a pretty awful thing to joke about let alone make up "scenarios" in VRChat even if it is fake for the sole purpose of making content out of it. Of course it's not just streamers but everyone on TwitchChat and VrChat laughing about it spamming *traps are gay*. I understand certain communities take phrases or certain symbols like Pepe on TwitchChat and can mean something else or invoke different reactions within that community but I can't help but feel really off put by it all among a sea of people that think its ok.

 

[carlosrox]

Cuz people on the internet can be real dipshits.

 

[stinkyguy666]

cause ppl aren't funny

 

[Deleted member 2793]

Because they know it's offensive and they're trying to be edgy, sadly. I try to think many of these are just stupid teenagers. But yeah, it's sad how some people still say this crap, doesn't help how much this trope is used too. :/

 

[Uzuki]

Welcome to Gamerworld. Population: 14 year olds & 20-30 somethings that act like 14 year olds.

You would be surprised that a lot of people lack empathy to those that they deem different from them. Especially if they are not people that they have to interact with on a daily basis.

 

[Ferrs]

Awful people that their priorities are to put memes in front of basic respect and tolerance towards others.

Sadly these awful people are a plague in gaming (and any kind of nerd) communities.

 

[VaporSnake]

I play online a lot, but I dont think I've ever heard or seen this one.

 

[SoyPrincess]

I don't mind, as long as everyone eventually reaches the correct conclusion that it's not gay >:)

 

[TheFireman]

I play online a lot, but I dont think I've ever heard or seen this one.

Click to shrink...

Yeah I've seen a shitload of bigotry in Siege, but I've literally never seen this there.

 

[L Corleone]

It's a meme.

 

[Yukinari]

Anytime i think about this meme now i remember how stupid TB is for thinking being a crossdresser and being trans are the same thing when they arent.

 

[Deleted member 2254]

Unfortunately, most of the Internet shittalk is composed of discrimination. The n word, the f word for gay, this whole "traps are gay" shit, a lot of racism-based memes (including the recent Knuckles one). It's like real life, but a lot worse, because in real life it's usually the "tough guys" who speak loudest, but on the Internet nobody knows who the fuck you are, so you can talk shit and (usually) face no consequence whatsoever. Say, in school stuff like that might get you suspended, beat up, etc..

And as we can see from our current political climate, people are absolutely happy to spit on minorities or "different" people, as long as they can take the blame for all of their issues it'll be alright.

 

[Not Spaceghost]

This shitty "joke" i am pretty sure is more of a reference to an incident causing totalbiscuit to go on a twitter meltdown where someone asked him if traps were gay before he exploded rather than some standalone thing

 

[Alvis]

It's not done with bad intent, but yeah, it has to go.

 

[Richter1887]

The whole word "trap" turned into a transphobic word. I blame 4chan as they used to post picturea of women then later show that they have a penis. It is disgusting and really transphobic.

 

[SoyPrincess]

"Trap" is also the only word to describe a trans person that exists in the Dark Souls orange soapstone vocabulary, so in many cases it's the only word available.

 

[ethranes]

Think it started with Poison in SF4

 

[Sinfamy]

Virtual crossdressing.

 

[Deleted member 19218]

I can answer this.

On 4chan, quite often a user would start a thread with the purpose of showing someone who is cross dressing. NOT a transgender person. They call cross dressers "traps" over there.

Usually someone comes in and says "traps are gay" and then a debate bursts out with people saying it's not because the men are pretending to be ladies but guys are saying it's still a guy under those clothes.

This is what happens there, it doesn't reflect my view in anyway but that is what they talk about over there.

 

[sephi22]

I think anime girls with penises (futanari) have become a popular internet fetish, and the whole 'Traps are gay'/'Traps aren't gay' meme/debate is about people trying to validate/invalidate their/others love for futanari. In other words, 'I like futanari', 'okay, but that makes you gay because traps are gay', 'no traps aren't gay'. And streamers replying to chat asking 'are traps gay?' is a way of determining which side they stand on.

It's like a homophobic, transphobic version of do you like pineapple on pizza.

Also, a quick google search would've also answered this: http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/traps

"Are Traps Gay?"
"Are Traps Gay?" is a satirical debate within otaku and alt-right online communities, attempting to determine if being attracted to a crossdressing man is an indication of homosexuality. This debate is often discussed alongside the discussions of anime and futanari character design

Click to shrink...

 

[Deleted member 31092]

It was born on the hentai community because people argued if being sexually aroused by males dressed as girls is heterosexual or not. Some argued that it was 100% heterosexual and in response the meme "traps are (liked by) gay" was born.

 

[Deleted member 8001]

It's sad how this word was twisted into referring to trans people.

 

[Maximo]

This shitty "joke" i am pretty sure is more of a reference to an incident causing totalbiscuit to go on a twitter meltdown where someone asked him if traps were gay before he exploded rather than some standalone thing

Click to shrink...

Someone asked *Are Traps Gay* at CoxCon a meetup I believe Dodger,Jesse, Laura,Total, Ect were there when someone during question time asked if *traps were gay* and they had them thrown out. Don't know about any other incidents, he appears to be against it.

 

[Quad Lasers]

I don't think this is nearly as prevalent in online games as you think. I mean, people are garbage in online games, but this seems more specific to the brand of 4chan memelord dipshits that would be mucking around in something like VRChat.

 

[Deleted member 18347]

It's a meme.

Click to shrink...

This. I think it started first as some sort of joke question "are traps gay?". This even led to some "serious" discussions online on the subject lol.

It's dying down now though, fortunately.

 

[KonradLaw]

It's popular because it riles people up.

 

[Nights]

Regardless if it's offensive or not, it confuses me why they care if it's gay or not. I can only assume because they'd be uncomfortable finding out that they're okay with feminine males. :v

 

[Blackbird]

You're not alone, it definitely feels uncomfortable every time i hear, this type of stuff should never be normalized.

The lack of empathy in the gaming community surprises me a lot.

Welcome to Gamerworld. Population: 14 year olds & 20-30 somethings that act like 14 year olds.

You would be surprised that a lot of people lack empathy to those that they deem different from them. Especially if they are not people that they have to interact with on a daily basis.

Click to shrink...

That summarizes it pretty well.

 

[Raina]

Jesus fuck. I promised myself I'd stay out of this thread for my own well-being but as a trans woman I am disgusted by some of the responses in this thread. This language is not acceptable. 'Trap' is a highly derogatory terms mocking a situation that trans women literally get murdered for. Don't defend it. Ever.

 

[SliceSabre]

It's a meme and just like every meme it gets played to death and I generally ignore it like I do most memes.

 

[massoluk]

I used the words a few times to describe incredibly pretty male cosplayers. Sorry, didn't know there is some negative implication. I won't be using it any more, just in case.

 

[Deleted member 31092]

By the way the opposite meme exists too: "the dick only makes it better". It's like yin and yang, they are always both present.

 

[Not Spaceghost]

Someone asked *Are Traps Gay* at CoxCon a meetup I believe Dodger,Jesse, Laura,Total, Ect were there when someone during question time asked if *traps were gay* and they had them thrown out. Don't know about any other incidents, he appears to be against it.

Click to shrink...

Oh huh never mind then, i guess i was misremembering or confusing it with another incident.

 

[Potterson]

I don't hear/see it in online games, like, at all. But I just play R6, PUBG and fighting games mostly... Still, it's a shitty meme. I don't get how people even come up with stuff like this.

 

[Deleted member 5086]

This is the first I've heard of it (thankfully), but I'm not surprised. The gaming community can be pretty awful when it comes to women and minorities.

 

[psychowave]

Jesus fuck. I promised myself I'd stay out of this thread for my own well-being but as a trans woman I am disgusted by some of the responses in this thread. This language is not acceptable. 'Trap' is a highly derogatory terms mocking a situation that trans women literally get murdered for. Don't defend it. Ever.

Click to shrink...

"but it's a meme!!" "but it used to refer to men who crossdress, which was totally fine and not transphobic!!"
Gross.

 

[Ferrs]

This early and some people are already validating my first post.

 

[fhqwhgads]

That's gamer humour in a nutshell, take a phrase or joke that might be funny once or twice and then drive it into the ground until no one ever wants to hear it again. Bonus points for stuff like this and Ugandan Knuckles where it has unsettling connotations that make them extremely uncomfortable.

 

[Maximo]

Jesus fuck. I promised myself I'd stay out of this thread for my own well-being but as a trans woman I am disgusted by some of the responses in this thread. This language is not acceptable. 'Trap' is a highly derogatory terms mocking a situation that trans women literally get murdered for. Don't defend it. Ever.

Click to shrink...

Thanks for responding appreciate it, obviously no where near what you're feeling but even I felt uncomfortable making this thread dreading the possible replies even on Reset.

 

[Raina]

Thanks for responding appreciate it, obviously no where near what you're feeling but even I felt uncomfortable making this thread dreading the possible replies even on Reset.

Click to shrink...

You're welcome. I understand how you feel but I'm happy you made the thread. If we don't speak up about this, nothing will change. I'm just happy to know I'm not a lone voice.

 

[Ramstein]

Interestingly, I've only ever heard the exact opposite. That "Traps are NOT gay," as if to defend themselves for loving them.

I have a close transgender friend and I asked her what she thought about it and she didn't care either way about it. I specifically asked what she thought about me using it and she said she didn't think it was offensive. That's not to say I go throwing the word around like I'm shitposting on VR Chat. I simply don't think it's got such a negative connotation that some people put on it.

Yes it started as a "joke" and yes it's based on the misconception that trans-women are ultimately trying to "trick" men and have historically been persecuted by said men, but I'd like to think the context matters. I don't hate, I don't judge or discriminate based on race/gender/identity/etc. but I still say things that the bottom 90% of tumblr would vilify me for. Like when I would say "that's gay" as a kid; I didn't hate gays, I wasn't disparaging a gay person or even insinuating that things that are "bad" should have been associated with someone's identity/orientation, gay people weren't even part of my consciousness when uttering that statement. That was just how we said "that sucks" when our vocabulary was extremely limited. I think we're mosty past saying "that's gay" and are now onto the whole "trap" thing. Some transgender folk own it and use it. I'm not saying it's okay to say the N-Word because you might have the okay of a black friend, but just that I've seen people claim it's an utterly offensive thing while others disagree. And of all the examples I've seen in online gaming I don't think I've ever come across anything truly hateful. For the most part I feel people are just repeating it because it's become a meme. That's all we've become, a society of meme-parrots. Repeating the things we hear because others have gotten laughs with it. (i.e., Ugandan Knucles).

 

[Deleted member 8196]

Isn't "Traps are gay" a "meme" among Otakus and people who watch anime?
I've never heard that term outside anime honestly.

 

[Deleted member 5015]

I never heard this in any online game.

 

[bitSS]

Splatoon 2's community is different and weird. I think it is populated by children given the amount of silly drawings, but it's still a nice and positive community after all. Just yesterday I saw a post in the plaza that said "traps <3" and the whole drawing was hearts expressing love and support, I guess. I mean, great for that, but "traps" is still a very offensive term. Soon after Splatoon 2 was launched there was a time when the whole plaza was filled with drawings to show support for transgenders! It was heart-warming :)

 

[hotcyder]

I always thought it was about trappinguntil looking it up

The fact that people use the term 'trap' shows that they come from a totally insular world view that people would do such a thing to catch the protagonist of reality out, and not because I dunno - they're doing it for themselves? Absolute nonsense.

 

[newmoneytrash]

idk if you know this but a lot of gamers are homophobic

 

[Nights]

Splatoon 2's community is different and weird. I think it is populated by children given the amount of silly drawings, but it's still a nice and positive community after all. Just yesterday I saw a post in the plaza that said "traps <3" and the whole drawing was hearts expressing love and support, I guess. I mean, great for that, but "traps" is still a very offensive term. Soon after Splatoon 2 was launched there was a time when the whole plaza was filled with drawings to show support for transgenders! It was heart-warming :)

Click to shrink...

It's still very often this still for me. At least in the US, Splatoon 2 seems very pro-trans/gay/etc, which is very different from other online communities as far as I'm aware.

Edit: which is a good thing, I should add. Lol

 

[lvl 99 Pixel]

its a shitty meme that seems to be used by people who have insecurities
also, anime was a mistake

 

[Black Mantis]

This is a community that used "raped" as a term, this shouldn't surprise anyone.

 

[Ferrs]

Interestingly, I've only ever heard the exact opposite. That "Traps are NOT gay," as if to defend themselves for loving them.

I have a close transgender friend and I asked her what she thought about it and she didn't care either way about it. I specifically asked what she thought about me using it and she said she didn't think it was offensive. That's not to say I go throwing the word around like I'm shitposting on VR Chat. I simply don't think it's got such a negative connotation that some people put on it.

Yes it started as a "joke" and yes it's based on the misconception that trans-women are ultimately trying to "trick" men and have historically been persecuted by said men, but I'd like to think the context matters. I don't hate, I don't judge or discriminate based on race/gender/identity/etc. but I still say things that the bottom 90% of tumblr would vilify me for. Like when I would say "that's gay" as a kid; I didn't hate gays, I wasn't disparaging a gay person or even insinuating that things that are "bad" should have been associated with someone's identity/orientation, gay people weren't even part of my consciousness when uttering that statement. That was just how we said "that sucks" when our vocabulary was extremely limited. I think we're mosty past saying "that's gay" and are now onto the whole "trap" thing. Some transgender folk own it and use it. I'm not saying it's okay to say the N-Word because you might have the okay of a black friend, but just that I've seen people claim it's an utterly offensive thing while others disagree. And of all the examples I've seen in online gaming I don't think I've ever come across anything truly hateful. For the most part I feel people are just repeating it because it's become a meme. That's all we've become, a society of meme-parrots. Repeating the things we hear because others have gotten laughs with it. (i.e., Ugandan Knucles).

Click to shrink...

You have a trans woman here saying how offensive is it.

We are adults, not kids saying "thats gay", and with that we should be able to modify to vocabulary to be inclusive to everyone, not giving out because "it's a meme".

If some trans people want to own that phrase then cool, but that doesn't give the ok to non-trans to use it (same with what happens with the N word).