Viral “Super Straight” TikTok trend slammed for spreading transphobia on app
TikTok: kyleroyceTikTok and Twitter users are calling out a transphobic TikTok trend in which people label themselves as “Super Straight,” with the trend gaining traction on various different social media platforms.
Video-sharing app TikTok has become one of the most popular social media apps, with users flocking to the platform to upload and few the short-form video content that is often the source of huge internet trends that can make their way of TikTok and onto other platforms.
With the app’s clever algorithm, people are constantly recommended new things on their ‘For You’ page. This means that once a trend begins, it can blow-up very quickly.
This was the case for the “Super Straight” trend. It was originally started by TikTok user Kyle Royce, who made a now-deleted video informing viewers that he had “made a new sexuality.” He explained, “now, I’m super straight. I only date the opposite gender, women, that are born women. So you can’t say I’m transphobic now because that’s just my sexuality.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8vQhkPnEE4
The video started to pick up traction on both TikTok and other social media sites like Twitter, with some supporting the ‘new sexuality’ and making a black and orange flag for it.
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However, as the term blew up many TikTok users called out the original video and those calling themselves “Super Straight” for being transphobic. Many called it a “mockery of the LGBTQ+ community” and explained that the term only serves to “invalidate trans people.”
Make this make sense??? there is so much wrong with this- just say you’re transphobic and leave…and don’t make up terms like “superphobic” and say you go through more???
also- definitely NOT a part of the LGBTQ+ community#superstraight is absolute bullshit pic.twitter.com/alq7uvTDzp— misty (@misteevious) March 6, 2021
Some have also suggested that the trend was intentionally fuelled by forum sites that pushed the “Super Straight” trend after the original video was posted in order to cause offense online.
Countless people have expressed their discomfort with how widespread this trend has become, as it is generating a significant amount of hate.
It’s unclear if TikTok has anything in place to prevent the spread of the trend, but for the time being the term “Super Straight” is continuing to gain traction on social media.