The Right Way to Respond to a Thirst Trap

How to be classy and thirsty

When I first joined Twitter, I worried I was being kind of creepy.

I created an account because I wanted to connect with other writers and share my work with a new audience. But as I started looking around, I quickly realized that Twitter isn’t just a place for writers and bloggers. It’s also full of cute girls showing off their bodies.

A lot of those ladies got a follow from me.

Soon, my timeline was filling up with lewd shots, nudes, and the occasional hardcore image.

Some of those posts were so hot I wanted to like, share, and comment to let them know how much I loved their photos.

But I always held back. I never knew how much interaction was too much interaction. Is a thirst trap the kind of thing you’re just supposed to leer at respectfully before quietly moving on?

That’s the approach I took. I enjoyed and appreciated the nudes I came across but I never engaged with them beyond that.

I felt bad about it, though. I knew that if I was the one putting my nudes online or sharing porn I was creating, I’d want to get some enthusiastically positive feedback on them.

The last thing I’d want to see is zero likes and just as many replies.

After spending two years on Twitter, I think I’ve finally figured out the sweet spot. I have a better idea of how to react to someone’s flirty, dirty selfies without crossing any lines.

Sadly, I regularly see people taking things too far. So, I thought I’d share my tips for the right way to respond to a thirst trap.

Assess Whether It’s Even a Thirst Trap

A thirst trap is a nude, partially nude, or suggestive photo that’s posted with the purpose of getting some attention.

Before responding to it with something dirty, you have to ask yourself if it’s even posted to get attention. A girl posting a photo of herself in a swimsuit posing provocatively? Probably a thirst trap. A girl sharing a photo of herself in a swimsuit after beating her lap record? Probably not.

And if something is posted to get attention, you still have to ask yourself if it’s posted to get that kind of attention.

Sometimes, I’ll share informative articles about sex to promote my work and give out a bit of advice. In most cases, I’ll get some supportive feedback on them and it’s all good.

But every now and then, I’ll get horny guys doing their horny guy thing.

I once shared an article on how to have more comfortable and pleasurable anal sex (because, let’s face it, it’s not the easiest thing to accomplish). Almost immediately I got a couple of really personal comments from guys who seemed like they were trying to get me to talk dirty about butt stuff.

I was just a lady doing her job and here were some guys thinking I was inviting them to get filthy with me.

It’s not just on my stuff, either. I’ve seen it everywhere. A girl will make a dirty joke and someone takes it as their opportunity to make horny comments. Someone will share a very G-rated photo of themselves and she’ll get comments about her tits. If there’s an opportunity to be inappropriate, there’s a good chance someone will take it.

But we can do better than that. If it’s not a thirst trap, don’t act thirsty over it. It’s that simple.

Keep Your Comments Public

One of the problems with social media is that everything feels so personal and intimate when it almost never is.

So one thing to keep in mind with thirst traps is that they’re not really for you, even though they show up in your timeline.

When someone posts a thirst trap, they’re posting it for every single person who follows them. That’s a public display, not an invitation to get personal.

There’s a time and a place for sliding into someone’s DMs. Coming across their sexy photo isn’t it.

Private messages are great when you want to share something that’s difficult to talk about publicly or ask a very sensitive question.

They’re also fine when you get to know someone on main and have a lot of two-sided interactions going. DMing them can be a way to make that friendship official by taking it behind closed doors.

But there’s a reason lots of women close their DMs, and it’s not because too many people are being gentlemanly.

Sadly, some people use the private message option as an opportunity to say pervy things without the accountability or scrutiny they’d have to deal with if they did it in the main feed.

So if you want to say anything about a hot photo, make sure you leave all your comments on the thirst trap itself. Resist the urge to say something privately.

If you’re not comfortable sharing your horny reaction in public, it’s okay to just like the post and move on.

Keeping your comments public isn’t just the right thing to do, it also means they’ll be better received. A lot of thirsty comments are flattering when they show up in the responses but come across creepy when they’re sent privately.

Compliment, Don’t Flirt

Posting a thirst trap is a way to get attention — it’s not a way to fish for sex or land a date.

Because of that, the right way to respond to one is by giving out compliments, not by getting flirty.

Flirting is a back-and-forth, but a thirst trap is a one-way deal. It’s not meant to be transactional. It’s there to be appreciated and that’s basically all it’s for.

And a lot of people post thirst traps as part of their jobs. They’re porn performers. They’re sex writers. They’re audio porn creators or erotica authors. They’re OnlyFans girls trying to get more subscribers.

Posting sexy shots doesn’t look like work. But depending on the kind of content you create or the job you have, showing your ass, your tits, or your cock can actually be a way to build your brand.

In those cases, engagement is highly welcome and a big part of the reason people do it. But it’s not an invitation to take things further — unless “taking things further” means Venmoing them a tip or paying to access their private Snapchat.

So, compliment the photos. Show your appreciation. Just don’t treat it like an exchange.

Keep It Chill

When someone starts to cross the line between acceptably thirsty and being a bit much, it’s usually because they made it personal.

Instead of just reacting to it, they inserted themselves into their comments.

When you see a thirst trap, talk about the photo. Say something positive about the person’s assets and attributes. Praise the creativity of the shot they took.

But avoid talking about what you would do to the person who posted it. It’s not the right place to tell them what you would want to do to them (or have them do to you). Don’t tell them that you’d like to slap that ass, have them sit on your face, or stick your dick between those tits.

We’re all on the same page here. We all want to do things to those gorgeous tits. But let’s all be chill and keep that to ourselves.

Reply With Emojis or GIFs

One of my favorite ways to respond to thirst traps is with a GIF or some emojis.

It’s not a compromise — you can say a lot with emojis. It’s a great way to get your point across clearly without making it too personal or awkward.

Sticking to images is always a safe bet and it still conveys all the horny appreciation you feel.

Don’t Respond With a Thirst Trap of Your Own

Emojis and GIFs are fine, but you shouldn’t respond with just any image.

Sometimes when a lady posts a thirst trap, she’ll get a dick pic in response.

That’s not cool for all the usual reasons that sending an unsolicited dick pic is not cool.

In a way, it might seem like all you’re doing is trading a nude for a nude, but there’s a vast difference between someone posting their ass on main and you sending a photo directly to them.

When you follow someone on social media, you’re agreeing to see the content they post. You’re giving your consent to see what they share.

If my tits show up on your timeline, you can unfollow me. I won’t go chasing after you so you can see them after you leave. It’s not being forced on you without your consent.

And that’s the difference.

If I follow you and your dick shows up in my feed, that’s fine. It might even be the reason I followed you.

But if it shows up in my DMs or my replies just because you liked my nudes, that’s not a consensual interaction.

So, if a thirst trap inspires you to share your body in all its naked glory, go right ahead and do that. Just be sure to post it to your feed where it belongs.

When in Doubt, Lurk

Everyone wants good feedback on their posts, but they don’t need to get it from every single person who sees them.

If you’re not sure what the right way to respond is, it’s fine to just hang back and not do anything. Just enjoy what they’ve shared without replying. Maybe throw them a like.

Lurking also gives you a chance to take the temperature of the feedback. If you wait until there are more comments, you can see what kind of things people are saying and get a sense of the general tone of the responses.

It will also show you what kinds of comments get no action. Creepy comments get ignored, so look for ones that have no likes or responses and try to avoid sounding like them.

Let’s Get More Nudes Up in Here

There are a lot of times that I want to write dirty tweets, share funny but sexual stuff on social media, or post photos of my body but decide not to.

I want to share those things because it’s a way of expressing myself, but it’s also part of my job. I’m a sex blogger and I host a sex podcast. Posting dirty stuff is one of the ways I promote my work.

I always hesitate because I know it’s going to result in DMs that I don’t want to deal with. And frankly, I’m really tired of rejecting men who take my posts as an invitation to hit on me.

So, I end up sharing a lot less. Which really sucks because I love putting everything out there.

And that’s one of the big reasons we all need to get on the same page about how to respond to thirst traps. Because if we could all just act right, there would be a hell of a lot more people posting nudes and lewds and that would make social media much less of a garbage fire.

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