Snapchat Gender Change Filter

About

Snapchat Gender Change Filter refers to a filter on Snapchat which allows users to see what they would look like as the opposite gender.

Origin

On May 9th, 2019, Snapchat introduced the gender change filter. YouTuber Davison (DavisonVideo) uploaded a how to video explaining the feature (shown below). The video gained 25,400 views in a day.

Spread

On May 10th, Twitter users began sharing photos of themselves using the filter. Many noticed that they look like certain characters or celebrities. Twitter user @ArabellaGolby^[2] tweeted, "So I checked out the snapchat man filter. Someone tell me why I look like a Dothraki?" (shown below, left). Other users noticed that they look like their siblings. Twitter user @DadBodGaming18^[3] shared a picture of himself and his sister with the caption, "Just did that woman filter 😂😂😂do I look like my sister?" (shown below, right).

Some Twitter users noted problematic aspects of the filter. Twitter user @Cassterix^[4] tweeted, "Snapchat have released a gender-flip filter and the cis in work are having a grand old time with it. Coolcoolcooooool, no I don't want to see what you would look like as a girl. No I do NOT want to see my photo gender flipped thanks, I have 28 years worth of those photos 🤬🤬" (shown below, left). Twitter user @catgraffam^[5] tweeted, "That snapchat filter that can swap your gender appearance sure is gonna make a lot of people realize they're trans huh" (shown below, right).

On May 10th, The Daily Mail^[1] reported that a man named Ryan Hill sent his girlfriend a snapchat of himself with the filter and the caption "I'm wearing your boyfriends shirt." The girlfriend then proceeded to get in a fight with him as the photo was so realistic.

Tinder Catfishing

On May 10th, cis men began posing as straight woman on Tinder using the snapchat filter and posting about it on Twitter. Twitter user @J_Askew^[6] tweeted, "So rather than going out, me & SJ decided to see how far Jess could go on tinder.. within an hour I was the most popular girl in Derby" (shown below, left). The tweet includes pictures of the fake profile and gained over 13,300 likes in five days. The next morning, @J_Askew followed up with a tweet saying, "Some right randy bastards on here" featuring a screenshot of a conversation had on the app (shown below, right).

On May 11th, @MohimenMahbuba^[7] tweeted their fake profile with the caption, "Used the Snapchat filter on tinder for 30 minutes, and in conclusion I hate men" (shown below, left). The tweet gained over 37,400 retweets and 95,100 likes in four days. The next day, @Cans4Hans^[8] posted photos of their brother's account saying, "My brother’s using the snapchat filter to catfish guys on tinder and it’s absolutely seen me off. HOW do these men think that is a real woman’s face??" (shown below, right).

Sting Operation

On June 11th, 2019, news reporter Ian Cull tweeted^[9] that a 20-year-old college student had posed as a 16-year-old female on Tinder with the intent of catching solicitors of sex with minors. During the operation, the student, known only as Ethan, lured a San Mateo, California police officer, Robert Davies, into a series of lurid text exchanges. Cull wrote, "He used Snapchat’s “gender switch” filter to pose as a 16-year-old girl online, and take down a police officer allegedly looking to hook up. He tipped off the PD, and the officer was arrested." The tweet received more than 26,000 likes and 8,300 retweets in 24 hours (shown below).

That day, the Bay Area NBC affiliate aired a segment on the story (shown below).

After Ethan notified Crime Stoppers, Davies was put on administrative leave and arrested. He currently faces charges of "contacting a minor to commit a felony."^[10]

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References