The Great Strike Witches Re-posting reminded me that, given some contexts, I have a fondness for the term “trap.”

Well and good? I don’t know. Every once in a great while I come across an expression of outrage at that term. “Trap,” say these commenters, is insensitive toward transgendered people, or at least dedicated transvestites.

Barring irreconcilable ridiculousness, I’m inclined to concede to offended parties. Whatever anyone’s intention, they were offended. Someone felt bad, and that’s bad, I guess. And I get the criticism. The term might imply that a man dressed as a woman (or a boy dressed as a girl, as is most often the case when we’re talking about moonstuff) is somehow out to catch heteronormative males in his web. Which…yeah. You can see the problem.

I’m going to ask for your help on this one, blogotrons. I know how I define “trap” — it is, in my mind, a trope present in anime and manga (et al.) that’s so far removed from reality that it has no real-world analogue, and thus doesn’t comment directly upon anyone’s experience. I wouldn’t call Shuichi Nitori from Houro Musuko a “trap;” he’s too plausible. He has problems. But Know Your Meme disagrees with my usage. Oh, and I’m a straight white male. Enfranchisement helps my material situation, but it means I’m not the best person to ask about these things.

Give me some definitions of “trap.” Whether you’re outraged at the term or you regularly encounter crossdressing shotas in your porn (or both?), tell me how traps make you feel.