

After a few comments on the Bowser-ette thread , I thought that maybe we should have a thread discussing the transphobia of Traps.







Lets begin by answer the question most of you who are not anime fans are probably asking....what in the world do you mean by trap?



In this thread we aren't talking about devises used to capture animals like bears, or something like that:





Instead, this is about the term for certain type of character found in Japanese Anime (and to a degree in western media as well). A "trap," in this context, is a effeminate looking male character who either crossdresses or is indistinguishable from a traditional cis-female. They are called traps because they can fool people into thinking they are the sex they present as rather than the one given to them by society at birth. In particular, they tend to fool cis-gender heterosexual men into being attracted to another "male."



Here are a few example anime characters:







Astolfo from the game/anime series "Fate"





Tsubasa From the Anime "Ranma 1/2"





Hideyoshi from the Anime "Baka and Test"





Ruka Urushibara from the Anime "Steins:Gate"





Jun Watarase from the anime "Happiness"





Of course there are reverse traps, women who are mistaken for men, too. However, they are not nearly as common. Here are a few examples:







Haruhi Fujioka from the anime "Ouran High School Host Club"





Naoto Shiragane From the anime version of "Persona 4"





Ryuunosuke Fujinami from "Urusei Yatsura"





As you can see, mtf traps and ftm traps both look pretty similar.



So what is wrong about the term "trap?" Well, to start it is based on the transphobic belief that anyone with a penis is a man, no matter how they identify. Otherwise there would be no "trap" and no discussion on whether being attracted to a "trap" is gay or not. It also promotes a transphobic stereotype that trans people are trying to trick people. It does so by furthering the idea that trans people can't be trusted and will lie about everything. According to this logic, since trans people can't be trusted to tell the truth then they shouldn't be allowed to make decisions about their own body. In particular interest to those of us on this forum, it is also used by people to advance Blanchard's transphobic typology that claims that all trans people are either gay men trying to seduce straight men or that trans people are transitioing just to get off sexually (by being allowed to trick people into letting them go into the women's changing area for example). Furthermore, this stereotype is often evoked in gay or trans panic defense by those who kill gay or trans people. These people claim that they were so enraged because they were decieved that they lost all control and just killed the person.



Despite that, many people in the anime community try to defend it. Supposedly, according to them, the trap character is not about trans people but rather traps are really just a homosexual male wanting to seduce a heterosexual male into having sex with him or a hetersexual man trying to get access to changing rooms to peak at women or other such non-sense. Ignoring the fact that is exactly what is meant when people claim that trans people are being deceptive, that argument is flawed because most trap characters aren't trying to seduce anyone by tricking them and are either heterosexual cis-males who either just looks female or dress that way against their will, or the trap character is actually a transgender characters.



Lets examine some of the characters I have listed above as examples.



Astolfo is probably the most currently popular trap character in anime right now. Although he is portrayed as being ambigiously gay he isn't trying to decieve anyone into thinking he is a girl. Even his crossdressing has nothing to do with deception but rather because he likes cute clothing. Tsubasa is completely heterosexual and just crossdresses as a hobby. Hideyoshi hates being mistaken for a girl, and is usually forced to crossdress against his will.



Ruka and Jun, on the otherhand, are both actual transgender women. Ruka outright claims she wants to be a girl:





Me too Ruka. Me too. Me too Ruka. Me too.





And when Jun actually gained the body of a cis-girl due to a magical mishap, she started crying and thanked god then and there:







The reverse traps are in a similar boat.



Haruhi isn't trying to seduce anyone, but rather is just repaying a debt. Noato disguises herself as a boy because she feels that she will be taken more seriously as a detective. Ryuunosuke is forced to dress and act as a boy because that is the way she was raised and her father won't allow anything different.



The trope also is used to try and shame people who are attracted to trans people. Heterosexual men attracted to these trans women "traps", for example, are called often accused of being gay (as if that was a bad thing). It is a type of policing of other people's orientation.



Despite all this, many in the anime-fan community will still insist "trap" culture isn't transphobic. I believe that part of the reason for this is a misunderstanding of what transgender actually means (some argue crossdressers aren't transgender), but another part of it is that to a certain degree traps in anime are celebrated by the community. It is often seen as a beloved trope and appears to allow people to sympathize with the characters. Many of the transphobic properties of "traps" are viewed as community in-jokes and criticizing it feels like an attack on the anime community. In fact, some trans people (especially those who view themselves as anime fans) actually like the word and look at some "traps" as inspiration. So it isn't surprsing to me that many of these trans anime fans want to try and "reclaim" the word much like how the LGBTQ community as a whole has attempted to reclaim the term "queer."



Honestly, as an anime fan and a crossdreamer who wants to help other crossdreamer and transgender people of all stripes to be fully accepted I feel torn. I love many of these characters myself and even had an Astolfo avatar here on CDL for a short while. So, while I get why this term is problematic, and how it hurts people, I also know how loved the trope is in the anime community and why it is so hard for them to see it for its toxicity. I personally hope they can reclaim the word, but given the negative connotations have my doubts. Maybe a new word (possibly from the japanese language) can be coined and replace "trap" and that can be reclaimed instead.



So allow me to end this post with a few links on the subject and finally a link to a short video about Astolfo...cause I can! :P



Anyway a link to a blog on why the term "trap" can't be reclaim:

https://mattie.lgbt/2018/03/20/reclaimi ... ress-them/



Now a link from a trans woman on why she see the term as harmful:

https://tobiichi.wordpress.com/2013/10/ ... ther-name/



Here is a reddit link from a trans woman wanting to reclaim the term:

https://www.reddit.com/r/ContraPoints/c ... aragement/



And finally a link on one of the most popular traps, Astolfo: The reverse traps are in a similar boat.Haruhi isn't trying to seduce anyone, but rather is just repaying a debt. Noato disguises herself as a boy because she feels that she will be taken more seriously as a detective. Ryuunosuke is forced to dress and act as a boy because that is the way she was raised and her father won't allow anything different.The trope also is used to try and shame people who are attracted to trans people. Heterosexual men attracted to these trans women "traps", for example, are called often accused of being gay (as if that was a bad thing). It is a type of policing of other people's orientation.Despite all this, many in the anime-fan community will still insist "trap" culture isn't transphobic. I believe that part of the reason for this is a misunderstanding of what transgender actually means (some argue crossdressers aren't transgender), but another part of it is that to a certain degree traps in anime are celebrated by the community. It is often seen as a beloved trope and appears to allow people to sympathize with the characters. Many of the transphobic properties of "traps" are viewed as community in-jokes and criticizing it feels like an attack on the anime community. In fact, some trans people (especially those who view themselves as anime fans) actually like the word and look at some "traps" as inspiration. So it isn't surprsing to me that many of these trans anime fans want to try and "reclaim" the word much like how the LGBTQ community as a whole has attempted to reclaim the term "queer."Honestly, as an anime fan and a crossdreamer who wants to help other crossdreamer and transgender people of all stripes to be fully accepted I feel torn. I love many of these characters myself and even had an Astolfo avatar here on CDL for a short while. So, while I get why this term is problematic, and how it hurts people, I also know how loved the trope is in the anime community and why it is so hard for them to see it for its toxicity. I personally hope they can reclaim the word, but given the negative connotations have my doubts. Maybe a new word (possibly from the japanese language) can be coined and replace "trap" and that can be reclaimed instead.So allow me to end this post with a few links on the subject and finally a link to a short video about Astolfo...cause I can! :PAnyway a link to a blog on why the term "trap" can't be reclaim:Now a link from a trans woman on why she see the term as harmful:Here is a reddit link from a trans woman wanting to reclaim the term:And finally a link on one of the most popular traps, Astolfo:

EDIT: Oh and here is the know your meme link to the "Trap" article: