What Is Something That Isn't Racist But Still Feels Racist To You?

About

What Is Something That Isn't Racist But Still Feels Racist To You? is a question that went viral on Twitter, asking users to respond with examples of benign behavior that users associate with racists or bigots. The question inspired several variants, including "What Is Something That Isn't Gay But Still Feels Gay To You?" and "What Is Something That Isn't Asian But Still Feels Asian To You?" These variants use the phrasal template What's Something That Isn't X But Still Feels X to You?

Origin

On November 9th, 2020, Twitter^[1] user @abcdrih tweeted, "what’s something that ISN’T racist but still FEELS racist to you?" The tweet received more than 33,000 retweets and 13,000 likes in less than three days (shown below).

In their first answer, @abcdrih tweeted,^[2] "I'll go first, white men in flip flops." The post received more than 15,000 likes and 650 retweets in less than three days (shown below).

Spread

Over the next few days, people on Twitter quote tweeted the questions and provided an answer. Twitter^[3] user @MitchellCClark tweeted, "when the Black family loses on Family Feud." The post received more than 26,000 lies and 5,200 retweets in less than one week (shown below, left). Twitter^[4] user @RAGGEDROYAL tweeted, "when the only black chef gets sent home on Chopped." The tweet received more than 13,000 likes and 2,600 retweets (shown below, center).

Within days, people began posting variations of the question. For example, writer Jonny Sun tweeted,^[5] "ok since everyone else is asking with their own variations.. what’s something that ISN'T asian but still FEELS asian to you?" The tweet received more than 1,300 likes and 400 retweets in less than 24 hours (shown below, right).

Various Examples

Search Interest

Not available.

External References