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‘Are Traps Gay?’ Question Sparks Furor At YouTube And Gaming Event

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Ian Miles Cheong Contributor
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Coxcon, a U.K.-based gaming event taking place over the weekend, has become a lightning rod of controversy after an attendee was ejected for asking organizers an “offensive” question during a Q&A session. Someone asked the event’s founder, Jesse Cox, if traps are gay. The fallout from the question overshadowed the event in its entirety, which was to provide YouTubers and gaming streamers a platform to reach out to their fans.

In Internet lingo, a “trap” is a transgender person who manages to pass as a woman. To ask the question, “are traps gay?” is a popular, if politically incorrect, meme on social media—YouTubers and other streamers are often asked for their thoughts about it. Progressive “social justice warriors” consider the question, as well as the term “trap,” to be both offensive and bigoted towards transgender people.

At Coxcon, most of the panel’s audience reacted in laughter upon hearing the question. Their amusement at the joke was not shared by Jesse Cox, who responded in shock. When the question was once again repeated, he remained visibly offended.

Popular video game YouTuber John “TotalBiscuit” Bain, who is another of the convention’s organizers, escalated the issue by issuing a public condemnation of the person who asked the joke.

“We condemn the transphobic ‘question’ asked at the Coxcon panel,” he wrote on Twitter. “If anyone knows the identity of the person please inform a member of staff.”

Following his call for someone to snitch, Bain discovered the identity of the thought-criminal and removed him from the convention.

“The person has been identified and is being removed from the event,” wrote the YouTuber, who engaged with his detractors by telling them their opinions were “of no consequence.”

“We will not tolerate that bullshit in our event, ever,” he said.

Bain followed up by stating that he donated the cost of the ejected person’s ticket to a U.K.-based LGBT organization called the Albert Kennedy Trust, adding that “Internet edgelords are not welcome in the event we paid to host and if you think any other opinion matters you are delusional. Thanks.”

“Its not at all surprising that the kind of people that would oppose our action are the kind of people we wouldnt want here anyway,” he concluded.

In 2015, Bain, who now appears to be crusading for politically correct speech, mocked the concept of transgender identity in a tweet that—as many have pointed out—aged poorly.

John “TotalBiscuit” Bain’s criticism comes as a surprise to many on social media, who respected him for his willingness to “say it like it is,” and for his open support of the GamerGate movement for ethics in video game journalism.

Ian Miles Cheong is a journalist and outspoken media critic. You can reach him through social media at @stillgray on Twitter.

Ian Miles Cheong