There’s a new trend spreading across social media where heterosexual men have been identifying as “Super Straight.” They claim this newfound sexual identity is for heterosexuals who only want to be with cisgender people.
Urban dictionary defines being Super Straight as “When you only are heterosexual but you are only attracted to the person that was born the opposite gender.”
So, to put it simply, they are heterosexual people who aren’t attracted to transgender people.
When you take the new sexuality at face value, there’s nothing wrong with only being attracted to cisgender people of the opposite sex. After all, the heart wants what the heart wants. Plus, a trans woman or man probably wouldn’t be interested in someone with such a narrow definition of sexuality anyway.
However, what we’re dealing with isn’t simply someone creating a new banner for a sexual preference. It appears to be an identity created to sow chaos and give people the ability to voice their transphobia while hiding under the guise of having a preference.
The identity appears to have started on February 21 when TikTokker Kyleroyce posted a video titled, “who else is super straight?” The video was later deleted by TikTokk, but then uploaded to YouTube.
Super straight original TikTok video
www.youtube.com
“I’ve made a new sexuality,” Kyleroyce said in his video. “Straight men get called transphobic because I wouldn’t date a trans woman. 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 is just my sexuality.”
He later explained his video to Insider.
“I created it because I was sick of being labeled with very negative terms for having a preference, something I can’t control, and getting labeled by the community that preaches acceptance with that sort of stuff,” Kyleroyce told Insider. “It was never meant to be hateful towards anyone.”
Now, Kyleroyce can date whomever he likes. There’s nothing wrong with that, but why does he make such a big deal about not dating trans women? Less than one percent of adults in the U.S. identify as transgender. Why is the fact that he’s not attracted to such a small percentage of the population such a major part of his identity?
He says he was “sick of being labeled” which probably means he’s been very vocal about not being attracted to transgender people.
After the initial video caught on, the identity was taken up by right-wing trolls on 4Chan who saw it as an opportunity to provoke the LGBT community.
What is super straight? This is a new sexuality that means that you are only attracted to cisgender women or men. T… https://t.co/quWh7GFJep— Super straight (@Super straight)1614992505.0
TikTokker ProcrasClass makes the point that only being attracted to cisgender people of the opposite sex actually makes you less straight.
To all the people who think #superstraight is a thing please what this tiktok
You may understand why superstraight… https://t.co/dWpAsLz6rx— that guy with a sombrero (@that guy with a sombrero)1615025581.0
This Super Straight identity sounds a lot like the Straight Pride movement that had its moment last year. These people took to the streets to proclaim their pride in being straight, just like the LGBT community does in their parades. However, the comparison falls apart pretty quickly.
LGBT people have historically been marginalized and faced prejudice, so having a pride movement was a way for people to stand up for who they are in the face of bigotry. The straight community doesn’t have to deal with the same kind of prejudice (to put it mildly), so to claim straight pride is tantamount to proclaiming your privilege.
Identifying as Super Straight pretty much does the same thing. It’s a way of taking a swipe at a marginalized community under the guise of proclaiming an identity. You aren’t fooling anyone.
Transgender people face tremendous hardships both economic and health-wise stemming from systemic discrimination. They are much more likely to be victims of violence and die by suicide than straight people. Kyleroyce may be “sick of being labeled with very negative terms” but his discomfort pales in comparison to the tremendous obstacles faced by transgender people.
Instead of punching down, maybe these Super Straight people could grow up to become Supermen that spend their time uplifting marginalized communities rather than ostracizing them.