In Summary: Superstraight and LGBTQ+

Trigger Warning:

This article mentions subjects that may upset various users and controversial topics. mentions of sex accrue in specific parts. Reader discretion is advised.

Hello! My name is Nickels and I'm a Transgender Omnigender they/them Asexual Polyamory Lesbian!

A little disclaimer before we start- I don't prefer one of the parties more than the other. all I wish for is to bring equality.

Now, let's get right into it!

Lately, I've been dealt with quite a common issue everywhere I go nowadays on Twitter. I'm assuming most who read this know what Superstraight is- so here's a quick explanation about where it originated from and how it developed:

The first known usage of the term was by TikTok user Kyleroyce on February 21, 2021, who claims to have created it, along with its flag. Yet, it is unknown if he was the first one to create it. Nevertheless, some people suggest that the term was originally created on 4chan, or at least was adopted right away by 4chan as an attempt to spread Nazi as a way of symbolizing rightist recruitment as well as drive a wedge between Trans people and the rest of the LGBTQIA+ community. We shouldn't forget though that there are a lot of claims of when it was originated and it is still unknown who was the first publisher of the new term; "Superstraight".

With time, Superstraights grew to be a controversial topic which set a lot of people to mild anger, and here are the reasons why-

First, we shall mention the fact that the place where the Superstraight term originated is still unknown to anyone. Knowing it might have been originated in 4chan for an attempt to spread Nazi imagery made a lot of people feel uncomfortable hearing this term.

Second, the Superstraights were trying to get their term among the LGBTQIA+ community. While knowingly that being Hetero isn't considered to be a part of the community, there should be no difference with Superstraights. After all, Superstraight is just a short term for a Hetero person with a preference-  just like gay is a short term for a guy who likes guys. Being straight was never a part of the LGBTQIA+ community, and so why would being superstraight a part of the community?

And the third reason, and the most common one- the Trans community.

Most Transgender people are claiming that being superstraight is Transphobic. Here is what I think of the matter;

We all should acknowledge that we can't force straight people to date Trans people. Everyone has their own preference. Having a preference in no way makes you Transphobic.

On the other hand, some Superstraights decide to ignore Trans people by all means. An example that happened to me just today;

In the picture above, there is a screenshot of a conversation I had just today where a Superstraight person misgendered me purposely. As a matter of a fact, quite a bit group of Superstraights decided to be completely ignorant towards Trans people. With that, they prove to the Trans community that they truly are Transphobic. This is one of the reasons that Transgender people aren't willing to accept Superstraight people.

But wait! There is a fourth reason-

The majority of the LGBTQIA+ community doesn't want the "Super" label to be attached to their sexuality terms (Supergay, Superbi, etc.). I've done research on the subject and have asked multiple people about the subject- I asked Twitter, friends, Discord servers the question:

❝How do you feel about having the "super" label attached to your Sexuality term? (Supergay, Superbi, etc.)?" 

 and here are some responses I've gotten from various people from the community;

❝Well, I feel like “super” just sounds really stupid. There was already Cissexual, Cisromantic, etc in existence, so why another by the same definition?" -Anonymous

❝it’s a campaign based on a false premise to promote anti-TRA sentiment. it takes advantage of the language minorities use to protect themselves to infiltrate their community and lock them out." -Anonymous

❝So this whole conversation breaks down into two separate issues. (tw for sexual stuff in the first paragraph)

First is the genital preference. In my opinion, it's perfectly okay for a straight woman or a gay man to not want to date a pre-op trans dude because they really find afab genitals icky and that kind of sex an important part of a relationship to them. Same with pre-op trans girls and straight dudes/lesbians. 
(you could even argue that some minority of people wouldn't be into post-op trans people bc they have some issue with the designer-made genitals for non-transphobic reasons but idk im not convinced) 
If this whole sexuality was about saying "hey I am attracted to one gender AND one set of bits", I'd be way more sympathetic.        ​
Second, and I think it's the bigger issue here, is using the word "super", as if suggesting you're somehow more straight or more gay or w/e for only dating cis people. Like, if you wouldn't date a trans girl who's indistinguishable from a cis girl with all her bits, you're probably setting that boundary because you don't think she's a woman and you've got some weird complex about it.
Also, even if you're not a transphobe and you just wanna make clear that you have a genital preference, it's just kinda cringe to define your whole sexuality around that... like, there's people who are only into short girls or only into brunettes or only into <insert any sub-category of people>, but they don't define their whole sexuality around it?? idk it seems dumb to me

Also also, having actually dated and met someone I love more than my life, I can tell you that your own perception of your "type" is absolute bs. You'll often fall in love with someone you never would've expected to. A lot of people are stealth trans and a "super straight" could fall for them by accident lmao it just how it be." -Aleks

❝I don't really like it because it means that everyone that is not "super" something is less worth and less valid and it's wrong. 

Although it might feel nice to be "super" it comes over others." -Anonymous

❝I feel like this whole Superstraight nonsense has a lot to do with how sexuality is being reframed.

In a lot of western countries, there's an ongoing move away from understanding sexuality in essentialist, pseudo-biological, binary terms. More and more we're realizing that sexuality is much more complex than that, and is in fact at least in part constructed in relationship to certain dominant societal standards. Queer people have been at the forefront of this shift. 

I believe this 'Superstraight' episode is a reaction to this ongoing shift. There are still a lot of people who are very hostile to it, and the construction of super-straightness can be a way of separating yourself from normative shifts in mainstream (hetero-) sexuality. 

I think the label 'Superstraight' gained more traction than its 'Superbi', 'Supergay', etc. equivalents precisely because trans inclusion in mainstream sexuality still has a longer way to go in non-queer spaces.

It was definitely also just a lot of 4chan edgelords trolling. But I do think the troll managed to gain such traction (even if just for a short period) because it feeds of the thinks I talk about above.

Anyway, this reframing of sexuality is far from over, so expect similar bs possibly on a greater scale in the future." -Camille

 The comments I've quoted are only a few of the responses I've gotten about the subjects. By that, we can conclude that the community does not want the "Super" label to apply to them.

After getting some opinions from the LGBTQIA+ community, I've decided to get even further and get the opinions of our fellow Superstraights about the following question:

❝How would you present your community to someone who knows nothing about LGBTQIA+ and knows only about the existence of Hetero?"

Here are some of the answers I've gotten:

 ❝Easy, I've created a nice "definition": males and females that date/like/love males and females. Nice and clean and also validates trans women/men.

I sent my opinion even if I'm biosexual(*), but that is basically almost the same thing, I reworked it."

❝I would have a difficult time explaining the difference between straight and superstraight to someone who knew nothing about LGBTQIA+.  Our sexuality comes from accepting trans people as their self-identified gender.  To understand superstraight, one must first understand trans."
❝In nature, males desire females to propagate and mix genes. If your desire is strong you only date the opposite sex and you're superstraight. In nature, individuals can also desire other things. Then you pick other labels to describe what you are and what you are attracted to."

*One more thing before we continue!

What is Biosexual, you may ask? Here's an explanation.

❝It is a new label that serves to define a category of heterosexuals.

Below we will explain what a biosexual is, why it is not transphobic and why we would like to be supported by everyone, willing to take a chance on spreading furthermore love. What is a biosexual?
The term is used by cis males and females who are not attracted to trans men/women or are unwilling to date trans men/women. The unwillingness to date trans men/women is not because there’s an inherent difference between cis males/females and trans men/women, rather it stems from issues of safety, trauma, oppression, or other personal reasons. Is this movement transphobic?
Absolutely not, we respect the rights of all transgender identifying people. In fact, the procedure takes into consideration males and females, not the genders women, men. We are happy to say that all trans men are men and all trans women are women. What tolerance do you have for extremists?

We have a zero tolerance policy for Nazis, fascists, bigots, homophobes and transphobes. Everyone is welcome in this movement but we do not approve any extremist measures to spread our message."

This movement was started by @biosexualpride on Twitter. I recommend you to check them out.

This term was created because the Superstraight term has too many stains on its hands which some are even unerasable. Therefore, the creation of a new term which is free transphobia and nazism.

But, can we fix that damage that was already done by the Superstraights?

Yes, but we need to take action. Here's a list of demands I got from several people from both parties:

Superstraight People Would Like To:

1. Not getting called a phobe by anyone in the community when we try to have a discussion about our boundaries. Having a preference has no relation to being Transphobic, and you can't make someone date a person that they don't get attracted to.
2. Basic: "My preference in dating is my own business and no one is supposed to question them." Just like us gays don't want to be questioned, but only accepted- they do too.
3. "It would be fair if the entire world started to use another name, like biosexual." From what I've learned, most people who identify as Superstraights also disagree with the term itself and want to be called by another term. This may not apply to everyone, though.
4. Don't equate sexual orientations with political stance or any kind of phobia. Sexual orientations aren't meant to have a political opinion glued into them. Everyone is different.

LGBTQIA+ People Would Like To:

1. Have the Superstraights change the name of their term. We feel like the "Super" label is putting people down.
2. Acknowledge that Superstraights are not a part of the LGBTQIA+ community. The community is based on people who aren't Hetero. You're very welcomed to be a term of your own, but SSLGBT will not ever work together.
3. Don't put the "Super" label on other sexualities that don't want to associate with them. Us LGBTQIA+ people don't feel comfortable having a label on us- we don't want a label that resembles Nazism from 4chan on our sexuality terms.
4. Be more sensitive. Trans suicide rates are getting higher and higher every day. Therefore, we wish for you to understand the pain we all are going through.
5. Stop the Trans discrimination. I see everywhere comments from Superstraights saying to get rid of the "T" of LGBT+. That's a part of the reason why we see Superstraights as Transphobic. Stop trying to take our orientation and distinguish it. The T will always be a part of LBGT+. As well as the fact that LGBSS isn't a real thing- for being Superstraight isn't pride. Being Superstraight is included as Hetero- therefore it does not relate to the community and you have no right of including yourself in.

Please make sure to read what's inside the book before judging the cover.

Making someone else feel bad about themselves because they're hurting us won't make us a better person. We're just going down to their level. They may be hurting us- but it won't hurt anyone if they won't be a part of the LGBTQIA+ community but they will be their own term.

Being a part of the community is about acceptance.

You don't need to understand it, just to accept it.

People get built different.