How IKEA’s Blue Shark Became a Transgender Icon
Newsweek has tried to get to the bottom of the Ikea Blåhaj mystery: How did this plush toy become a transgender symbol and meme?
Blåhaj’s [Swedish for “blue shark”] first links to the trans community can be traced as far back as 2020 when one Reddit post shared a cartoon featuring the shark with the caption: “Blåhaj is an ally.”…
Meanwhile, many people have shared how the plush has become the perfect gift for loved ones. One Twitter user wrote: “Just bought 4 mini Blåhaj for all the trans women in my life.”
Others say that its popularity among the trans community really gained steam in 2021 when the Swiss government held a referendum on same-sex marriage to amend the country’s Civil Code to legalize marriage between persons of the same sex…IKEA advertised its support for the legalization of same-sex marriage with an advertising campaign.
Emi, who is a trangender woman, told Newsweek that she credits the rise of the shark’s popularity as an LGBTQ+ icon to several factors, including the Swiss IKEA ad and the shark’s online popularity in the mid-2010s.
“It makes perfect sense to me because there was an incredible queer and trans scene on Tumblr back then,” said Emi. “In fact, Tumblr played a big role in me meeting queer and trans people, learning about my own gender and sexuality, and even buying my first breast forms and officially starting my transition.”