The Mycenaean

Kyle Royce, the proud founder of the “Super Straights”, is playing a dangerous game on Tik Tok. His comment section is filled with supporters and haters alike, as he veils his transphobic tendencies as a sexuality. (Screenshot courtesy of Ellie Bruno)

Tik Tok is volatile. The platform is a breeding ground for drama, viral conspiracies, and pasta recipes (for some reason). This plethora of information is staggering — within an hour you can scroll through makeup tutorials, popular dances, and suddenly end up in a dark side of the ‘For You Page’. 

Every day, millions of Tik Toks are shared, including one my friend sent me the other day. 

Posted February 21, it currently has two million likes, 8.2 million views, 132.5k comments, and 108.1k shares. Those numbers are staggering, which makes this particular Tik Tok even more concerning. 

Normalizing Transphobia

@kyleroyce on Tik Tok posted a simple video of himself in his car, proposing a new “sexuality” he deemed the “Super Straights” — meaning they only date the biological opposite sex, leaving no room for nonbinary and transgender people. 

Now, there’s nothing wrong with having a specific preference when it comes to dating: If you’re straight and don’t want to date an LGBTQ+ person, then that’s your choice. 

What bothers me with this video is the contradictory nature of Kyle’s argument, and the cult following of “Super Straights” he’s suddenly amassed. 

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“I get called transphobic because I wouldn’t date a trans woman… they’re [other people] are like ‘Would you date a trans woman?’ and I’m like ‘No’, ‘Why, that’s a female.’ Uh no, that’s not a real woman to me, like I want a real woman.”

That statement right there is contradictory to his entire argument. It’s not transphobic that he doesn’t want to date trans women, but saying they aren’t “real women” is the exact definition of transphobia. This whole idea of a “Super Straight” is just a veiled excuse to normalize transphobia. The movement doesn’t stop there though; Kyle and his followers don orange and black as their “flag” and claim to be members of the LGBTQ+ community, joking about how they’re “coming out” and “are full of pride”, when they’re actually minimizing a massive milestone that LGBTQ+ people face. 

“I love how you are using their logic”

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A lot of comments are defending this idea as a “sexuality”, joking that Kyle’s “using the skittle’s logic against them” (skittles, alphabet mafia, and others are all words for the LGBTQ+ community holding negative connotations). Preaching that we as the LGBTQ+ community have to accept these “super straights” because “love is love” and “everyone is equal” is absolutely ridiculous. You can’t make up a sexuality to justify the fact you don’t see trans women as real women, even though they are. 

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: Sexuality is not a preference. Sexuality is not a choice, either. Being a “super straight” is a choice. Invalidating trans people and ignoring their existence is a choice. Exploiting an oppressed group of people who still continue to struggle in modern society just to be accepted as a normal human being is. A. Choice. 

On Defense

As expected, Kyle got a lot of attention — not all of it good. The occasional comment calling him out was quickly drowned out, but he still continued to defend himself on the matter. He claims those who are attacking him are just throwing “transphobic” and “homophobe” around for no reason. Supporters add fuel to the fire, with their go-to line: “They’re just pressed you’re using their logic against them for once.” 

Sure, this seems like an insignificant issue compared to global pandemics and systematic racism, but this ideology has to be checked. Just because someone can put their opinions on Tik Tok with little repercussion, doesn’t mean it’s right. Justifying a hateful opinion with a sexuality, masking it as a condition, reaching a massive audience and gaining such traction is terrifying. 

I could write a whole lot more about the sheer rage I feel going through those comments on his videos. 

In all honesty, I’m scared to go through the #superstraight tags that litter Kyle’s Instagram and Tik Tok account. People who are close to me live in fear of not being accepted for being trans, worried about being kicked out of their own homes. I personally know the paralyzing fear and anxiety that shrouds the idea of coming out; so when I see people joke and minimize these struggles, it sparks an unexplainable anger. 

At the end of the day, Kyle Royce is starting a transphobic trend for the cisgender, heterosexual population that feels like they need to be victimized. It’s like a broken record at this point, even though we as society should’ve been past homophobia and its counterparts decades ago. They continue to push us into the closet, dehumanizing us, then turn around and claim they are the victims. Does it ever get boring for them?