Twink Death

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About

Twink Death, also spelled Twinkdeath, is a slang term used to describe the point in time when a person who used to be a twink can no longer be considered one due to aging or becoming masculine. Used in discussions on 4chan since the mid-2010s and analogous to the similar term "gay death," the slang expression achieved mainstream recognition in December 2022 as it spread on Twitter.

Origin

The term "twink death" has appeared in conversations on 4chan's /lgbt/ board since at least the mid-2010s and has been used to refer to a period of time when a former twink (a homosexual male with attractive, boyish qualities) is no longer considered one due to aging, becoming more masculine or otherwise losing their boyish appearance. For example, on December 10th, 2016, an anonymous user started a thread in /lgbt/^[1] in which they discussed using medication to "push off twink death" (shown below, left). On November 23rd, 2018, a 4chan^[2] user described "twink death" as a consequence of testosterone levels increasing over age (shown below, right).

Spread

The term saw an increase in prevalence on the /lgbt/ board in 2020 when it appeared in multiple threads, including opening posts. For example, on April 24th, 2020, a user started a thread^[3] about "accepting twink death" (shown below, left). On May 7th, 2020, a user inquired^[4] how much time he had left until twink death (shown below, right).

The term became even more widespread in late 2022 as it spread to Twitter and Reddit. For example, on January 20th, 2022, Redditor VoelsprierPoes made a post titled "Twinkdeath and it's consequences" on the /r/feminineboys^[5] subreddit, where it gained over 180 upvotes in one year. On May 4th, 2022, Twitter^[6] user @gaypilled posted a screenshot of a 4chan thread, commenting, "how it sounds hearing people complaining about twink death." The tweet gained over 110 retweets and 2,000 likes in six months (shown below, left).

On November 29th, 2022, Twitter user @wholesomeduos posted a Catboy artwork originally created by @sssamico, commenting, "twinkdeath." The post (shown below, right), gained over 1,000 retweets and 13,200 likes on Twitter in one month, helping to popularize the term.

In December 2022, the term saw active use on Twitter, inspiring additional memes and discussions.

Twink Death Is A Terrifying Thing

On February 6th, 2023, various Twitter users began to post images of various celebrities showing their twink-looking younger selves and their older current selves, alongside a caption that read "twink death is a terrifying thing. The earliest known post using the format was a tweet^[7] by @thenorthmens, gathering over 110,000 likes in nearly three days (seen below, left). On February 8th, Twitter^[8] user @ElectionLegal posted a set of pictures featuring Alex Jones with the same caption, gathering over 50,000 likes in a day (seen below, right).

On February 8th, 2023, Twitter users @Baileymoon15^[9] and @not_a_heather^[10] posted tweets following the format, gathering over 2,000 likes each (seen below).