Twitter is currently kicking up a storm as the conversation has arisen that debates whether teabagging in an online setting counts as sexual assault.
The conversation began when screenshots surfaced of a private Discord server’s chat log. While the original post has since been deleted, duplicates have since been posted. One message reads that “iftbaggging is sexual assault im a repeated sex offender”.
Another user replies “I mean it is sexual assault. If I do not consent and someone rubs their genitals in my face that’s sexual assault. I wouldn’t be proud of being a repeat offender.
“You may think, it’s just a video game. Well, I grew up with a large crowd of boys who did that for fun, all the time to other people irl. It’s not funny. It’s disgusting.”
Is online Teabagging sexual assault?
For those not in the know, the act of teabagging in video games involves crouching over an enemy to simulate rubbing your crotch in an opponents face. It was a hugely popular act in ye olden days of Halo multiplayer superiority. While it’s less common now, it’s still a method used by some players to besmirch opponents. However, Gen Z players are now under the impression that teabagging is actually twerking. God, I’m old.
The debate has subsequently caused an onslaught of memes to arise from the comments. One user posted a crudely photoshopped image of the Valorant ban screen which reads “TBAGG DETECTED. A tbagger has been punished and your game has been cancelled. No win or loss has been credited for any players.” The caption says “Just watched a teammate of mine clutch a round and tbagg someone. Stay safe out there yall. Riot cracking down.” This is obviously not true.
While the act of teabagging in real life would absolutely constitute sexual assault, it’s difficult to justify the online act counting as the same severity. It’s never nice to be humiliated by an opponent, but to equate it to something as severe as sexual assault seems disingenuous.
Where do you stand on the debate that teabagging counts as sexual assault? Let us know across our social channels.
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Featured Image Credit: Rockstar Games