Superstraight

[[File:SuperStraight.png|thumb|right|165px|A common variant of a "superstraight" pride flag. The coded [[Nazi]] [[Alt-right glossary#1488|symbol]] and porn-site color scheme are [[Bullshit|totally accidental]].]]
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"'Superstraight'" is a [[sexual orientation]] invented by [[alt-right]] [[troll]]s to describe [[heterosexual]] individuals whose attraction does not include [[transgender]] people. It is an example of a [[4chan]] "[[meme]]" intended to act as a shield for [[transphobia]], and has created division within the [[LGBTQ]] community. The meme spread throughout [[social media]] in March 2021, finding notable support among [[TERF]]s and other [[transphobe]]s.<ref>"[https://www.insider.com/super-straight-flag-meaning-tiktok-superstraight-ss-movement-origin-2021-3 A social-media trend has people identifying as 'super straight.' The transphobic campaign was meant to divide LGBTQ people.]", ''Insider''</ref><ref>"[https://www.dailydot.com/irl/4chan-trolls-super-straight/ Transphobic trolls try to pass off ‘super straight’ as a new sexual identity]", ''The Daily Dot''</ref><ref>"[https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2021/03/08/super-straight-4chan-neo-nazi-kiwi-farms-trans-rights-transphobia/ Transphobic trend ‘super straight’ has links to the far-right and neo-Nazis]", ''PinkNews''</ref>

==Genesis of the Superstraights: Kyle Royce==
Although the notion of heterosexual men not wanting to date trans women is not a new concept, the term being discussed seems to have appeared in common internet parlance in early 2021.<ref>[https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/04/how-super-straight-started-culture-war-tiktok/618498/ "The Sexual Identity That Emerged on TikTok"]</ref> In this specific case, Kyle Royce, the possible propagator of the "superstraight" idea (or, at the very least, the most newsworthy "superheterosexual"), [[Anecdote|anecdotally]] refers to instances of being called transphobic for not wanting to date trans women. To address these remarks, Royce posted a video, circa early 2021, by stating the following:<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8vQhkPnEE4 Kyle Royce on Youtube]</ref>

{{cquote|Yo, guys, I made a new sexuality now, actually. It’s called “super-straight,” since straight people, or straight men as myself — I get called transphobic because I wouldn’t date a trans woman.}}

The issue with this first statement is the fact that Royce claims that he "made a new sexuality". He forgets, or does not understand, that sexuality is not invented. Rather, it seems Royce believes that people identifying qualities or aspects of their own sexuality is equivalent to creating a sexuality. Heterosexual could be seen in a context as a broad category of sexuality and while meaning "I am attracted to female-identifying individuals" or "I am attracted to [[cis]]-female individuals" or something else. Who knows. It further demonstrates that Royce forgets that American society, only within the last two decades or so, has begun to openly discuss qualities that make someone [[LGBT]]+. Different labels or terms for different groups of sexuality may appear odd to people who either do not confront these ideas regularly or discuss them regularly. However, Royce has more to say on the matter:

{{cquote|You know, they’re like, “Would you date a trans woman?” No.}}

Who Royce would wish to date is his business alone. However, Royce turns this discussion into a transphobic micro-rant:

{{cquote|“Why? That’s a female.”

No, that’s not a real woman to me. I want a real woman. “No, you’re just transphobic.” So 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, you know.}}

It's hard to know where to start during a road-kill autopsy. First, Royce could have just said that he is not comfortable dating a trans woman. Instead, he takes the time to justify his belief by highlighting a view that insults and delegitimizes someone's sense of self. Then, to reassert the claim that he is not transphobic — which his statement is, by and large — Royce applies his flimsy understanding of [[sexuality]] (or his flimsy defense) as a salve against protestations of his  feelings toward members of another gender/sexual-orientation group. Ultimately, Royce uses his "coming-out" video to lambast both non-heterosexual sexual-orientations and insult transgender women.

Furthermore, this argument is essentially [[self-refuting idea|self-refuting]]. The whole idea behind SuperStraight is that trans women supposedly aren't "[[No true Scotsman|real]]" women. However, by saying that not being attracted to trans women makes him something other than straight, he is essentially admitting that trans women ''are'' women.

Because he spread views that demonstrated [[Hate speech|hateful verbiage]] — whether he intended for his video to be satirical or genuine — Royce's video was removed from Tiktok, only to become the source of inspiration for shitheads-the-lot-of-'em and [[Neo-Nazi|Nazis]] to propagate the fuck out of the idea of "superstraight persecution".<ref>[https://www.vice.com/en/article/5dp793/superstraight-sexuality-movement-transphobia-reddit-tiktok "Inside the ‘Super Straight’ Movement That Got Banned on TikTok and Reddit"]</ref><ref>[https://www.insider.com/superstraight-reddit-sub-subreddit-banned-super-straight-hate-2021-3 "Reddit bans transphobic 'SuperStraight' subreddit for 'promoting hate'"]</ref><ref>[https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2021/03/11/super-straight-movement-4chan-nazi-ss-flag-reddit-subreddit-superstraight/ "Reddit finally clamps down on transphobic ‘super straight’ trend after neo-Nazi links emerge"]</ref>

==Irony==
{{main|Irony}}
Funnily enough, this meme seems to have been predated by a 2017 standup routine performed by transgender comedian Robin Tran, in which she coined and used the phrase "super straight" to mean ''exactly the opposite'' of what the transphobes later used it to mean: 

{{cquote|So apparently, most doctors would say that if you're a man and you're attracted to transgender women, that ''doesn't'' make you gay. But I think that we should take that a step further. I think that if you're a guy and you're attracted to transgender women, not only are you not gay, I think that means that you're ''super straight''. It's like: "Yo, Kevin, do you like transgender women?" Kevin's like "What? Do I like transgender women? Dude, as long as she's a girl, I don't give a fuck what kind… I'll eat a girl's pussy, I'll suck a girl's dick, dude: I don't give a fuck; she's a girl!"|||Robin Tran<ref>[https://twitter.com/robintran04/status/1368313128417521664 They stole my “super straight” joke from my standup in 2017! This is about men who love trans women. Tell the world!] by Robin Tran (1:30 PM · Mar 6, 2021) ''Twitter''.</ref>}}

==References==
{{reflist|2|80%}}

[[Category:4chan]]
[[Category:Alt-right]]
[[Category:Neologisms]]
[[Category:Right-wing troll campaigns]]
[[Category:Sexism]]
[[Category:Transphobia]]

Categories: 4chan, Alt-right, Neologisms, Right-wing troll campaigns, Sexism, Transphobia