Meaning
What does Trap mean?
Trap is used in internet slang, to refer to a person or character in fiction, with an ambiguous, undeterminable sex, as well as trans people.
Most of the times traps are men, appearing as women, because of their soft and feminine features.
Trap is considered a derogatory term by trans people. The term is not to be confused with the hip hop subgenre.
Origin
What's the origin of Trap?
The first ever appearance of the term was in 2004 on 4chan, when someone posted Captain Ackbar from Star Wars saying his most famous quote; “It’s a trap!” under a picture of a person with confusing appearance.
It immediately took off, becoming a widespread meme on the imageboards of 4chan, as well as other memesites.
Spread & Usage
How did Trap spread?
Trap became so big, that the 4chan community eventually even created the theme day Trap Thursday.
It got its definition on Urban Dictionary in 2007.
The phenomenon is commonly discussed on sites like Reddit, 4chan, as well as YouTube and Twitter, with even Barack Obama’s brother tweeting about it, in 2016, reflecting on the question “Are traps gay?”. He said yes.
External resources
- Urban Dictionary – Trap