Blahaj is innocent! The trans community just adopted him because he has a pink mouth, white underbelly and blue surface. These resemble the colours of the trans flag. To the best of my knowledge, Ikea is not behind this. They might be capitalising on it now, but it's not really much different than when Subaru noticed that a not-insignificant number of their customers were lesbians and started marketing specifically to them.

There's quite a bit of misinformation and assumptions on the trans-shark connection. The real deal of Blåhaj is actually rooted in the tragic rejection many of us face. I would argue actually that it is a currently developing piece of our culture and heritage. Blåhaj became popular with the trans community because it's a cheap stuffed animal from a cheap furniture store. Since so many of us get rejected and have to start our lives over sans financial supports, housing, or furniture, many folx have found themselves getting some basic furnishings at IKEA. So as they get the stuff they need, they pass by a bin of cute plushie sharks that are cheap. Small comforts like this can make a big difference in such a difficult time. It's a symbol of starting new, healing, and growing.

its existence is resulting in increased deforestation around the world

as much as I hate to defend a massive corporation, I don't think this is actually true. IKEA claims to use 99.9% FSC-certified wood, so it's coming from forests where the trees are planted at the same rate that they're harvested. it makes sense for companies to do this even from a profit-driven perspective, since it would be quite bad for their business if there weren't enough trees

the main cause of deforestation is agriculture, especially animal agriculture. 80% of de-forested land in the amazon rainforest is being used to rear cattle

buy your blahaj from AliExpress. not only does it come with more stuffing and a zipper, but you're helping china export shark-shaped socialism

Counterpoint: I'm hugging one right now and it's great.

I'm cis though.

I bought mine for the meme and quickly found out the toothy friend is just amazing for emotional support. You get a decent-sized plushie for a good prize and the overall shape is very huggable, just works very nicely as a comforter. Mine got me through a lot of rough patches in that critical timeframe before i could start HRT, the one where every day is a war against your own body and the wait list simply crushes you.

Also sharks are misunderstood, stigmatized beings. They are often portrayed as predatory monsters, but actually play a vital role as a keystone species in marine ecosystems, exactly like trans folks.

This is only somewhat related, but during my recent visit to the USA I learned that one of my cousins who I hadn't seen in four years is trans and communist in pretty much the exact same way as me, with a lot of other similarities, too. It owns a blåhaj which it named "Kaworu" after the Evangelion character. That was my first time seeing a blåhaj in person, and the first time I experienced being physically proximal to a person I could actually relate to. It's very lonely being this closeted with no-one like me nearby. Maybe I'll get myself a blåhaj and name it "Shinji" to keep me company until the next time I see my cousin. God willing that won't be another four years.

This is a pretty weird take, like trans people can only like things that are totally ethical? And then like oh but the microtransactions website that couldn't even pull off an nft is ok?

holy purity test batman

Potential struggle-session topic: If you're going to complain about misrepresentations of Sweden, please use the å: Blåhaj (and not say "blah hadge"; "blaw high" would be much better). :cat-trans:

Aside from the comments on sustainable lumber that ikea may or may not use, most blahaj i've seen ppl buy have been much cheaper aliexpress knockoffs. Hmmm proof of the sino-transgender agenda?

While I'm not saying Ikea is great, I'll just take the moment to say wood is the most sustainable material. It locks carbon in and regrows with ease. We just need to make sure it has room and freedom and regrow, and that we harvest them with genuine care and responsibility for the future (which obviously nobody is doing in capitalism).

Trans people are relatively more left wing and Sweden is a socialist country. Ikea is also providing revolutionaries all over the world with critical supplies like durable marble tables and comfy yet affordable sofas for the meeting room

From what I remember, it goes like this: Shark is cuddly, you can use plausible deniability since sharks are "cool" and often considered a "boyish" animal (for those closeted), and its colors match the trans flag.

I hold no love for the corpo and their trying to capitalize on the phenomenon is distasteful to say the least, but in a cishetero world that denies softness (physically and emotionally) I think it's a small comfort.

You're mixing up cause and effect. It's not that trans people like the shark, it's that the shark turns you trans

I think a big part of it is having a cheerful, fun shared symbol that a marginalized group of people can share to feel a sense of connectedness. It's a token of membership in the group that helps people who often feel extremely isolated and besieged by a hostile society remember that there are other people who share there experience and who support them. As a stuffed animal Blahaj is literally an object for providing emotional support, both in normal times and in times of distress. While the adoption of this particular shark was likely arbitrary, it has proven to be an extremely powerful unifying symbol.

okay I'm taking off my Anthropologist hat now. Back to shitposting.

Well, TIL what blahaj actually is.

Idk I just thought the shark plushy looked cool as a kid and asked for one and then it ended up being a trans thing

I choose to believe that it is because trans people, like sharks, grow rows of teeth

it's funny you say that because neopets was bought by doug dohring before it blew up, who has donated millions to the church of scientology. he sold it to some other company a few years after though.