If you have ever played a competitive online game, you have surely encountered the phenomenon of “tea-bagging.” But where does this practice come from, and why do we actually engage in it? Find the answer here.
What is tea-bagging? Those who engage in tea-bagging in games mock a defeated opponent in a particularly humiliating manner. This practice is especially popular in competitive online shooters, such as Call of Duty. When an opponent is killed, the player uses their character’s crouch function and squats over the opponent’s corpse, simulating either stepping on them or repeatedly nudging them.
The term tea-bagging derives from the tea bag and is actually a sexual practice. The man places his scrotum on (or in) the face of his sexual partner. Hence, the comparison to the tea bag that one dips into hot water or simply lets rest and steep.
When did tea-bagging start in games?
This is how tea-bagging gained attention in pop culture: Before tea-bagging made its way into gaming, this practice was first presented to a larger audience in the movie The Pecker (via IMDb). In 1998, John Waters’ comedy depicts the act in a strip club for homosexuals – the scene can be seen on YouTube.
It is not precisely documented when a player first decided to drag their digital tea bag across their opponent’s face. However, we assume that this practice in video games can be traced back to the Halo series. At least it gained popularity here.
Tea-bagging can, of course, be practiced in any game that has a crouch function.
This is how tea-bagging came to games: Halo: Combat Evolved is the first title in the series and was released in 2001. The first-person shooter has a feature that was unique at the time. When a player dies, they still see their own screen for a few seconds before respawning.
This leads to other players having fun humiliating their opponents’ corpses through tea-bagging – as it is particularly amusing when the defeated player has to witness the humiliation.
At that time, it was only possible to play together via LAN. There was no online multiplayer yet. This changed in 2004 when Halo 2 was released, transforming the series into an online multiplayer shooter. Here, tea-bagging began to gain popularity and expand into other FPS shooters.
Tea-bagging as a sign of dominance
This is why tea-bagging is practiced in online games: Those who search Google for the phenomenon of tea-bagging come across numerous posts and articles on the subject. Many wonder why. In response, players often throw out “to demonstrate my dominance.”
In the end, most probably just find it funny. It somehow belongs to it and is meant to be taken as teasing.
Tea-bagging is seen as controversial: There are just a few reports (via Shacknews) that tea-bagging in games has already encouraged groups of young adolescents to carry out the act as bullying in real life. This is considered sexual assault with physical contact.
In video games, the victim of the tea bag may also feel uncomfortable. This happens especially when strangers begin to tea-bag.
Generally, it seems that the etiquette of tea-bagging suggests that tea-bagging is acceptable as long as it occurs in a group of friends and everyone is having fun. However, even if one has suffered from tea-bagging by a stranger and seeks revenge by performing tea-bagging on them, this practice is considered acceptable.
What do you think about tea-bagging in competitive online games?
Want to know more about games? Then check this out:
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- Where does the term tank in MMOs come from?
- Why did you have to queue for bosses in MMORPGs back then?
