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The 'Keffals Catboy Ranch' Controversy Involving Twitch Streamer Keffals Explained
Depending on how much online culture you consume, some words from the following phrase may make sense to you. For most, it will seem like three random words that do not seem to make a phrase at all, instead being akin to some bad translation of a phrase from another language.
If none of it makes sense, don't worry, we'll explain "Keffals Catboy Ranch" and why it's recently erupted online to become a prominent source of drama amid the ongoing "Vaush opens explicit folder on stream" debacle.
Who Is Keffals?
Before elaborating on the controversy, here's a brief explanation of content creator Keffals in case you're unfamiliar with her and what she's known for online.
The first word of the phrase, "Keffals," refers to transgender internet personality, Twitch streamer and activist Keffals, who has become quite a well-known name online in recent years, particularly during the "#DropKiwiFarms" campaign in 2022.
In the context of the previously mentioned "Catboy Ranch," Keffals was the one running an account on social media with that name, as well as making it the official name of her Discord server.
What Does 'Catboy Ranch' Mean And Why Are People Upset About It?
In this context, "Catboy Ranch" would refer to a place in which catboys are raised, which was also the name of a Discord server hosted by Keffals.
Online, the term "catboy" is often given to lithe or feminine males who dress like cats, either with cat ears, cat collars, tails or cross-dressing — though it varies somewhat from platform to platform.
The primary crux of the ongoing drama is that this "Catboy Ranch" has been accused by some of allegedly being a haven for groomers and another example of Discord child grooming.
However, Keffals argues that Catboy Ranch is a community for her Twitch fans where anyone who's trans can find people to talk to and not feel alone, as she stated in a March 2022 tweet about the Discord server.
What Happened And How Did This Drama Initially Spark?
Back in 2022, the lolcow website known as Kiwi Farms created a thread on Keffals and the Catboy Ranch while explicitly calling out Keffals for alleged grooming behavior.
In the words of those on the site and Keffals herself, she had purportedly helped minors obtain homemade hormone replacement therapy (HRT) medication and supplies so that these individuals could start their transitioning process outside of medical and physical attention from their parents or doctors.
While Keffals said she did this attempting to save lives and help those affected by laws that banned minors from receiving gender-affirming care, others felt this could be problematic for certain reasons.
What Is The Problem?
As a response to the scrutiny, Keffals has maintained the position that helping minors get HRT will help save their life, as waiting too late for them to start their transitioning process when they need it can cause issues to take place, ultimately ending in loss of life.
The issue, however, that many have pushed back with is that the "do-it-yourself" medicine was purported to be contaminated on multiple occasions and had no medical licensing or quality control, which could potentially be fatal as well.
Why Did The Controversy Resurface In 2024?
Jumping up to 2024, these callouts were then picked up by larger creators online this month, causing the entire situation to grow and for more people to be aware and scrutinize Keffals over Catboy Ranch.
This primarily resurfaced as part of the Vaush opening his folder controversy earlier this month that led to many people denouncing Vaush for allegedly having images depicting lolicon in his possession.
During this, Keffals made many statements and videos defending Vaush, which brought her back into public attention.
Keffals has nuked all her tweets about Vaush. pic.twitter.com/HLeX8VAxpx
— Jesska Pizzle (@JesskaPizzle) February 14, 2024
What Will Happen With This Whole Situation?
For now, it's entirely speculation as to what will happen. Until and if any legal proceedings or filings come out, everything is strictly in the court of public opinion, which Keffals has navigated several times in the past (including this very issue after it was raised by some two years ago).
The main difference this time, however, is that there are more creators with bigger audiences that are paying close attention, with in-depth videos expected to be released soon that could cause the drama to spread further.
For the full history of the Keffals Catboy Ranch, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.