People Are Debating Whether Teabagging In Video Games Is Sexual Assault

Teabagging in video games is nothing new, but now people are now debating over whether or not it counts as sexual assault.

For the uninitiated, the gaming trend sees a player's character standing over another, often an opponent, and moving up and down on their face or body.

The name is a reference to the sexual act of teabagging, which is by definition 'the act of placing one's testicles in the mouth of another person, often repeatedly raising and lowering it like a person dipping a tea bag'.

While 'tactical squatting' as it's also known has been around for some time, it rose to viral fame thanks to a feature in 2001's Halo: Combat Evolved that allowed players to see the surroundings of their dead avatar after they'd been killed.

During this time, players would often teabag the dead corpses of their opponent as a way to taunt the person they'd just defeated.

So, now we're all up to scratch on the world of virtual teabagging, let's jump to the present day where people on social media are arguing over whether or not it counts as sexual assault.

As reported by FragHero, the conversation kicked off when screenshots of a Discord conversation were shared on Twitter.

The first shared message reads: "Yep and then we get into games where people think it's okay to tbag and that's it's funny, when really it's sexual assault. Ugh we live in a gross world, I just want to beautify it."

Another stated: "If tbagging is sexual assault then I'm a repeated sex offender," which was met with the following response: "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."

The publication stated that while teabagging in a virtual form may feel humiliating to some, it's difficult to compare it to an act as severe as sexual assault, and this is a sentiment a majority of those commenting on the conversation agree with.

Sharing screenshots of the exchange on Twitter, one person wrote: "As someone who was a victim of r-word, teabagging in a video game is not sexual assault. Please do not speak from our behalf if you did not go through the same stuff."

Another said: "You’ve gotta be a different kind of special to believe that teabagging in a game is sexual assault," while a third pointed out: "How'd the person do the mental gymnastics to excuse killing in a video game but not the 'sexual assault' of teabagging?"

If you have been affected by any of the issues in this article and wish to speak to someone in confidence, contact the Rape Crisis England and Wales helpline on 0808 802 9999 between 12pm–2.30pm and 7pm– 9.30pm every day. Alternatively, you can contact Victim Support free on 08 08 16 89 111 available 24/7, every day of the year, including Christmas.

Male Survivors Partnership is available to support adult male survivors of sexual abuse and rape. You can contact the organisation on their website or on their free helpline 0808 800 5005, open 9am–5pm Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays; 8am–8pm Tuesdays and Thursdays; 10am–2pm Saturdays.