It's a TRAP!

[Bambi_Panda]

Yen Quest

Bambi_Panda

The trick is that it doesn't actually have the neutral connotation that you're implying. The OP is basically saying "it's ok if I use the N-word, because in my community of white people it isn't an insult, just a term for a person of color! Lol so it's fine to say" when the word clearly has a history and meaning that makes it not ok to use. People have a right to speak up when stuff like that happens, and OP (and everyone else in the thread) has the option to either 1. be respectful of that or 2. decide to not respect others.

Clearly you feel you have a right to put down people who are upset by the term "trap", but those people who are offended also have a right to tell others when they're being insensitive.

So what you're saying is that it is best to not bring up certain words due to differences in culture/moral/etc, simply because people have the right to behave whichever way. All I see here (at first) is an endless cycle of bickering from either side when I was only lurking at the time. Some people did take the disrespectful route at first (I'll admit that I was being rather insensitive with my post), but there are certain levels of when someone is considered as crossing the line, and that, is what I consider as important key in a discussion.

And what you're saying is that you have more of a right to determine what that line is than the people who are actually impacted by your action. And basically you want to be able to do whatever you feel like, but God forbid someone say anything about it (because then they're just bickering and being "easily triggered" wink . It's a good thing we have you as an arbiter of justice and line crossing then.

[Yen Quest]

Bambi_Panda

And what you're saying is that you have more of a right to determine what that line is than the people who are actually impacted by your action. And basically you want to be able to do whatever you feel like, but God forbid someone say anything about it (because then they're just bickering and being "easily triggered" wink . It's a good thing we have you as an arbiter of justice and line crossing then.

Lol, looks like I'm being taken as one of them tough-skinned, rudely blunt, on-the-high-horse-hoopla person right now. wink Dude, now that's rude. Two can play that game. emotion_donotwant

Surely, you know what I'm trying to get by my posts (cycle of back and forth, with no solution in sight - and then there's the whole context/intent of a discussion? ). :0

Anyway, let's get back on topic. It is as OP says, one can easily crossdress as the opposite gender and gets mistaken for whatever gender. I guess you could say the idea itself is similar to just having an avatar base opposite of real life's gender. In the end, it's all a matter of taste.

[Recca Hino]

Throttle Kitty

Anyways, yes, I use to cross dress my avatar all the time, but it got SOOO easy to do, now I just use the female avatar cause boobs. =3

You can put boobs on male bases. It all depends on the top. The problem is working those tops with arm mods. Some mods work others make the top disappear.

[Boobae]

Well, I just did my best to model my avi after my latest OC that I am obsessed with and...Idk...It's not perfect but I think it's cute, and somewhat passible.
(Though with the flat chest and all is clearly a femboy and not a complete pass but...yah ^u^ )

[Hurricane Deedra]

Yeah, "trap" is a really shitty term to use to refer to cross dressers or to people in the trans* community. If you didn't know it when you wrote this title, you know it now. You were educated on how the name is perceived in the trans* community, so if you already know the term is offensive and you continue to use it, that's your fault. You continue to repeat your mantra of, "I know this term is offensive, but I didn't mean it in an offensive way, so I can continue to use it." It's kind of like saying, "You're a f*****t," but saying, "I intended f*****t in an endearing way, so don't be offended by my use of the word!" Doesn't make sense. Just because you didn't personally intend to offend by using a term you didn't know was offensive at first, doesn't mean you can't change the title or the terminology now that you know you're being offensive.

I use a female base because it's the first base I chose. But feminine items seem overly repetitive to me. They're all the same frilly pastel sugar/lace bullshit over and over. Very often, new female items look almost identical to previous female items before it. I started using exclusively gender neutral and masculine items and never looked back. They just look better. They tend to fit my base nicely and male items in general seem to have better proportions to the avatar. They don't make hands and feet stupidly tiny.

[Recca Hino]

Kirottu

Well, I just did my best to model my avi after my latest OC that I am obsessed with and...Idk...It's not perfect but I think it's cute, and somewhat passible.
(Though with the flat chest and all is clearly a femboy and not a complete pass but...yah ^u^ )

I'd say you pass. Most people look at the arms or legs. I didn't start looking at the face until after it was mention on the comment of an Avatar I had in the arena.

You know since Gaia started as an Anime forum, and there are plenty of flat chested girls in various show's, ex; Aika Tsube in Gonna be the Twin-Tail!!, why don't they have flat chested items? They have enhancers, why not flatener?

[Sir Deranged Reindeer]

Just so you know, 'trap' is a transphobic slur, and you probably shouldn't use it... But yes, it's increasingly easy to crossdress on Gaia thanks to the mods. I prefer to make my avatar recognisably male though, even though I often dress him in feminine clothes.

[Ardee01]

I like to crossdress my avatar every so often when I run out of ideas for male avis or when there's a female-oriented item I like very much. But sometimes I'll make a distinctly male avi with feminine items just to experiment.

[Ven Loki]

PK Flash

❤ 目をキラキラさせて　僕に語った君の将来図は

'trap' is a derogatory slur though??

ただ聞いてるだけで　胸が熱くなり　泣きそうになった ❤

First and foremost, it (the title) is a Star Wars joke, though... Captain Ackbar would be disappointed.

Crossdressing avatars is super fun.
I love to do it both ways, male to female and female to male. I always try to find a way to hide the chins too ninja

[Ven Loki]

Hurricane Deedra

Yeah, "trap" is a really shitty term to use to refer to cross dressers or to people in the trans* community. If you didn't know it when you wrote this title, you know it now. You were educated on how the name is perceived in the trans* community, so if you already know the term is offensive and you continue to use it, that's your fault. You continue to repeat your mantra of, "I know this term is offensive, but I didn't mean it in an offensive way, so I can continue to use it." It's kind of like saying, "You're a f*****t," but saying, "I intended f*****t in an endearing way, so don't be offended by my use of the word!" Doesn't make sense. Just because you didn't personally intend to offend by using a term you didn't know was offensive at first, doesn't mean you can't change the title or the terminology now that you know you're being offensive.

You also need to be aware that language is always changing and HIGHLY subjective.

What may be an "offensive" term to you may not hold that meaning in other (cultural) circles.
Where I come from and in the circle of people I associate with, "trap" (in the sense of crossdressing) is a compliment and is not connected to transphobia in the slightest. It literally means "you are so good at crossdressing, you fooled me" where I come from.

Like how some people understand the victory sign as HIGHLY offensive (more so than a middle finger or saying "******** you" and others understand it as a symbol of achievement, acknowledgement, happiness, etc.)
Doesn't mean I will stop using the gesture unless I know the person I am talking to directly is from the community that finds it offensive, of course.

This website is international and people should understand that words have different meanings in different circles. If a word like that is used in an OBVIOUS positive way, people shouldn't get upset about it but rather learn from it that the "negative" term has a positive meaning in another place in this world.

Sure, people may find the thread title to be in bad taste. But I ALSO find it to be in bad taste to gang up on him and push your (I don't mean you personally but some of the people in here in general) negative views on him. It's bordering on harrassment in my opinion.

I am not sure if it was 100% intentional, but by the wording of the title, I assume OP used this joke: (OP, please correct me if I am wrong)



Which in itself has NO CONNECTION AT ALL to transsexual individuals.
It's a joke about hiding the true form of a thing and passing it off as something else.
And since this thread is all about little pixel dress up dolls, I think some people may be looking too deep into this and projecting their own views onto someone else's actions / words.

Ugh, sorry, I just finished writing a 20 page essay about cultural differences where exactly this was a subject of discussion and I couldn't hold back. xd
This thread does confirm some US-American stereotypes that I had to write about, so that's pretty funny.


Oh yes, and I totally forgot that some of the newer "female" items now give boobs to the male base.
That just makes it so much easier.
No annoying gender bender potion again and again which messes up your skin and eyes and hair rofl It's very convenient.

[Sir Deranged Reindeer]

Ven Loki Loraine

Like how some people understand the victory sign as HIGHLY offensive (more so than a middle finger or saying "******** you" and others understand it as a symbol of achievement, acknowledgement, happiness, etc.)
Doesn't mean I will stop using the gesture unless I know the person I am talking to directly is from the community that finds it offensive, of course.

That's two different hand gestures. '******** you' is the first and middle finger with back of the hand facing towards the person is the two finger salute. First and middle finger with palm of the hand facing forward is 'peace' or 'victory' in Japan (and now some other places due to pop culture, I guess?).

[Ven Loki]

Sir Deranged Reindeer

Ven Loki Loraine

Like how some people understand the victory sign as HIGHLY offensive (more so than a middle finger or saying "******** you" and others understand it as a symbol of achievement, acknowledgement, happiness, etc.)
Doesn't mean I will stop using the gesture unless I know the person I am talking to directly is from the community that finds it offensive, of course.

That's two different hand gestures. '******** you' is the first and middle finger with back of the hand facing towards the person is the two finger salute. First and middle finger with palm of the hand facing forward is 'peace' or 'victory' in Japan (and now some other places due to pop culture, I guess?).

I am talking about this gesture:



(Sorry, the only photos that had both hand positions in one, I know it's bad quality)

This is the "victory" sign as used in many parts of Europe (and apparently the USA).
I don't know how the Japanese use it, to be honest. I always thought it had the same meaning there as in the USA / parts of Europe from the way I saw it being used.

Palm outwards and inwards are just two variations of the same gesture where I come from.
No difference in meaning at all. Palm inwards is maybe a more "modern" / "cute" way to do the victory sign.
I really don't know if Churchill can be considered "pop culture" though xd

But the palm inwards is considered offensive in some countries.

Anyway, this was just an example I used, it's too OP too discuss this further in this thread.

[Boobae]

Recca Hino

Kirottu

Well, I just did my best to model my avi after my latest OC that I am obsessed with and...Idk...It's not perfect but I think it's cute, and somewhat passible.
(Though with the flat chest and all is clearly a femboy and not a complete pass but...yah ^u^ )

I'd say you pass. Most people look at the arms or legs. I didn't start looking at the face until after it was mention on the comment of an Avatar I had in the arena.

You know since Gaia started as an Anime forum, and there are plenty of flat chested girls in various show's, ex; Aika Tsube in Gonna be the Twin-Tail!!, why don't they have flat chested items? They have enhancers, why not flatener?

Hm, idunnoooo.

[Madam Ace]

I provided an alternate term for "trap" way back on page 2... Just saying.

Fishy drag: a type of drag where the goal is pass as another gender so well, the true gender identity of the wearer is ambiguous or "fishy".

Or the alternate definition, men who dress in drag so well they smell like fish. Because vaginas smell like fish, ha ha ha get it? emotion_awesome
(This is the joke definition I think.)