Dreamsexual / Dreamgender

About

Dreamsexual and Dreamgender refer to a sexual orientation that regards sexual attraction and identification to Minecraft YouTuber and speedrunner Dream (real name Clay). The term surfaced among Dream's fandom in mid-2020, trending on Discord, Twitter and TikTok. Many onlookers of the phenomenon found the term cringy and even offensive to other LGBTQ+ identities.

Origin

The term "Dreamsexual" in relation to YouTuber Dream first surfaced in 2020 on Twitter. This first occurred on July 31st, 2020, when Twitter^[1] user lgbtizm tweeted, "lesbians who love dream team!" and attached two images of a Dream-based LGBTQ+ Pride flag, earning over 300 likes in two years (shown below, left). A few weeks later, on August 11th, 2020, Twitter^[2] user dreosquaredotca tweeted the flags made by lgbtizm, stating that they were "dreamsexual." The tweet received just three likes in roughly two years (shown below, right). On August 21st, 2020, Twitter^[3] user starryseon referenced the term "Dreamgender" in a tweet, however, it only gained eight likes in a similar timeframe.

Spread

Both terms were used on Twitter going into the remainder of 2020, however, none of its usage received virality. In December 2020, both terms received increased awareness. For instance, on December 11th, 2020, Twitter^[4] user softwilly tweeted, "i am dream gender dre/am dream/dream," and included a new Dreamsexual flag. The tweet received over 300 likes in two years (shown below, left). On December 28th, 2020, Twitter^[5] user aksually tweeted a Dreamsexual flag with the caption, "LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO WHAT IS THIS!!" gaining roughly 15,200 likes in two years (shown below, right).

On January 28th, 2021, a Redditor created the /r/dreamgender^[8] subreddit (since deleted). Months later, on June 11th, 2021, Instagram^[9] user non_haeretici_coalition posted a screenshot of the Reddit post, gaining roughly 1,500 likes in 16 months (shown below).

In early 2021, self-proclaimed Dreamsexuals started posting content to TikTok. One of the first known was uploaded on January 25th, 2021, by TikToker^[6] minecraft_lgbtq who made a Dreamsexual flag out of wool in Minecraft, only to burn all of it down. The video received roughly 704,700 plays and 107,700 likes in a year and a half (shown below, left). On July 9th, 2021, TikToker^[7] moth.ouma posted a video that showed a screen recording of a TikToker named murraysdad (since deleted), who claimed that they were Dreamsexual in their video. TikToker moth.ouma's video referenced turning into Millie Bobby Brown due to the actress' memetic-based and satirical homophobia. Over the course of 15 months, the video received roughly 2.1 million plays and 546,100 likes (shown below, right).

On April 26th, 2021, a new Dreamsexual subreddit was created called /r/dreamgendershallfall most likely for satirical reasons. On April 26th, 2021, Redditor /r/dreamgendershallfall^[10] tanky_Brit uploaded a meme using Wojak characters and Political Compasses to make a joke about Dreamgenders, gaining nine upvotes in one year (shown below). Another assumedly satirical Dreamsexual-based subreddit was created on September 7th, 2021, called /r/dreamgenderlove.^[11]

Various Examples

Flags / Templates

Search Interest

External References