Recently, a new trend known as “super straight” has been receiving an overwhelming amount of attention on social media, causing countless arguments over whether or not it is a valid sexuality or if it is yet another form of transphobia. It is simply unnecessary and should not be considered a real sexuality.

Those who identify as “super straight” describe it as when a heterosexual person is strictly attracted to cisgendered people, meaning transgender individuals are excluded. While everyone is allowed to have preferences, the manner in which the trend was created serves to solely to invalidate transgender people, and is nothing but useless and hurtful to those who are a part of the community. 

The common argument that defends “super straights” is that they shouldn’t feel forced to date someone who is transgender and that does not make them transphobic. 

 A Saugus student expressed their feelings, “If homosexual people are allowed to have pride, why can’t super straight people do the same?”

Those who identify as “super straight” may feel as though they are expressing themselves and are a part of a community that supports them in the same way LGBTQ+ individuals are.

The opposing argument is that identifying as “super straight” is essentially another way of being transphobic. Saugus student, Ava Gonzalez,  shares her perspective, “It’s just another excuse to invalidate transgender people, and I get that you have a preference (if you could even call it that), but transgender women are women and transgender men are men.” The real issue lies in the fact that people feel the need to clarify that transgender women are not “real women” or transgender men aren’t “real men.”

Despite what “super straights” believe to be true, transgender women are real women and transgender men are real men. An article written by Julia Serano explains, “Trans women are women. We may not be “exactly like” cis women, but then again, cis women are not all “exactly like” one another either.” Transgender women and men acknowledge their differences from cisgendered individuals, but cisgendered people refuse to acknowledge the many similarities. 

The belief that transgender individuals are still their assigned gender at birth is not only incredibly wrong, but it has been proven to be inaccurate. A paper written by Harvard proves that transgender people “appear to be born with brains more similar to gender with which they identify, rather than the one to which they were assigned.” 

Despite the obvious evidence, many continue to believe that being transgender is a choice. An article by Bazaar, Jennifer Wright explains that todays world would make her reconsider being a woman due to sexual assault and so much more, “But it hasn’t, because gender is not a casual choice or a nebulous “feeling”. If this were the case, it is guaranteed that countless women would prefer to be men because of the way women are treated. The reason they are not is because being transgender is not a choice.

These “super straight” individuals often claim they are a part of the LGBTQ+ community as well, which is false. They do not have to live with the same struggles that genuine members of the LGBTQ+ community live with on the daily. They did not have to fight for their right to get married or anything of the sort. Although many “super straight” people may act as if they are any different than heterosexual individuals, they aren’t and will never be part of the LBGTQ+ community. 

In an interview, a non-binary person tells VICE, “‘But to see straight people try so hard to be oppressed when they have never faced any discrimination makes me sick. I fear holding my girlfriend’s hand in public, but a cis-het man on TikTok goes on about how straight people are being oppressed.’” 

The level of hate the “super straight” movement caused skyrocketed overnight . Kyle Royce, the creator of the “super straight” trend received a lot of hate after voicing his opinions. An article on VICE states, “TikTok took the video down, banned Royce from the platform, blocked the hashtag #SuperStraight, and came out with a statement saying they ‘do not tolerate hate speech or hateful ideologies.’” Despite the attempt to remove anything related, “super straight” is still trending and causing damage.

This controversy has led thousands to wonder about the reasoning behind why this newfound sexuality has become so popular or why it was even created. People identify with these sexualities mainly because of the sense of comfort it can provide and having something to be proud of. While in reality “super straight” people are heterosexual, they feel as if they are included and a part of something important when identifying as “super straight”. No matter how comforted this may make one feel, it is hateful towards others and therefore should not be considered a real or acceptable sexuality.  

The creator of the “super straight trend”, Kyle Royce, explains his reasoning for creating it, “I created it because I was sick of being labelled with very negative terms for having a preference, something I can’t control, and getting labelled by the community that preaches acceptance with that sort of stuff. It was never meant to be hateful towards anyone.”

 Although he claims it is not meant to be hateful, all the trend has encouraged is hateful opinions against transgender individuals and members of the LGBTQ+ community. Heterosexual people have not faced any oppression whatsoever which is yet another reason why this was a purposeless trend. They are not viewed in a negative light while LGBTQ+ members often are labeled with derogatory terms. 

Transgender individuals deal with an overwhelming amount of hate, especially on social media, and trends such as these have taken it to an entirely new level. It has proven to be hateful and has done nothing but cause damage. Take into consideration what “super straight” truly represents before identifying as part of the community.

The opinions in The Scroll’s editorials are strictly the views of the writers of the staff or outside submissions. The views do not represent or reflect the opinions or policies of Saugus High School or the William S. Hart School District. The Scroll welcomes all reactions and outside submissions to share alternative views.