Leftists Have a Problem with the Gender-Swapping Snapchat Filter

From cat ears and face swaps to complete face-tunes that remove wrinkles, improve skin and even adjust the shape of eyes or noses, Snapchat’s many filters are nothing new. In fact, they recently began to get stale, as the puppy ears and huge, almost alien eyes began to lose their charm with users. A new filter that swaps gender has helped the network make a comeback; downloads have surged as former users return to the Snapchat fold.

The filter creates a feminine or masculine look based on the user’s initial features. With the push of the button, a man can see what he would look like as a woman – and vice versa. Suddenly, gender swap selfies and photos surged on the site – and spilled over onto Facebook, Twitter and other sites as well. This is a Snapchat branded filter, meaning it is prominently featured on the home page and that it gets a lot of attention.

While most people enjoyed throwing a quick filter over a photo and seeing what they would look like as the opposite gender, the trans community was not so pleased. Filters that make the user look old, look like a baby or even an animal are fine – but the one that allows users to change the gender of an image is definitely not ok with the trans community.

Outrage over the filter stems from the use of “gender swap” in a casual, fun way. There is also a problem for trans activists with the way that male and female are defined. The app uses traditionally accepted features to accomplish the swap. The male filter enlarges features, cuts hair length and adds facial hair. The female filter lengthens hair, creates refined features and adds makeup in varying degrees. The app uses two genders – and the traditional stereotypes of those genders – to achieve a recognizable gender swap. Trans individuals are outraged, because only two genders are represented, because the features are definitively male or female and because the switch is so easy – you just choose an image and press a button.\

One LBGT organization spoke to Mashable and explained the issue they had with the new filter: “assuming gender is a binary between men and women and more specifically, physical characteristics of how men and women should present themselves.”

Other issues with the filter mimic outrage over cultural appropriation, which is behind the changing of sports’ teams names and mascots and that crops up reliably every Halloween. “My gender is not your costume” said one user, according to Breitbart.

Snapchat states that the filter, as all of their filters are, is designed for fun and self expression, not for gender appropriation or to make a definitive statement about gender. Users continue to return to Snapchat in droves thanks in part to the new app — and in part from curiosity over the controversy. Apparently, angry leftists haven’t been able to stop them.

~ Liberty Planet


Most Popular

These content links are provided by Content.ad. Both Content.ad and the web site upon which the links are displayed may receive compensation when readers click on these links. Some of the content you are redirected to may be sponsored content. View our privacy policy here.

To learn how you can use Content.ad to drive visitors to your content or add this service to your site, please contact us at [email protected].

Family-Friendly Content

Website owners select the type of content that appears in our units. However, if you would like to ensure that Content.ad always displays family-friendly content on this device, regardless of what site you are on, check the option below. Learn More



Most Popular
Sponsored Content

These content links are provided by Content.ad. Both Content.ad and the web site upon which the links are displayed may receive compensation when readers click on these links. Some of the content you are redirected to may be sponsored content. View our privacy policy here.

To learn how you can use Content.ad to drive visitors to your content or add this service to your site, please contact us at [email protected].

Family-Friendly Content

Website owners select the type of content that appears in our units. However, if you would like to ensure that Content.ad always displays family-friendly content on this device, regardless of what site you are on, check the option below. Learn More