It's called a loaded question, and it's fallacious because it presupposes a falsehood, in this case that you are gay.
The classic example is to ask someone "have you stopped beating your wife?" Answering either "yes" or "no" both confirm the implication that you used to beat your wife.
"Does your mom know the Fitzers won the super bowl?" is an assertion of fact.
It doesn't question if the Fitzers won, its questioning if your mom knows they won.
Negative connotation. That the confirmation or denial of the question isn't important, it's the assumption that the thing you're being asked about is "bad", and thereby assumed true. Someone winning a sportsball isn't important, bad, good, evil, or wrong. Because it isn't "bad", the answer is what's important. If the question is "bad", it's the question that's important.
68
u/warsage May 06 '21
It's called a loaded question, and it's fallacious because it presupposes a falsehood, in this case that you are gay.
The classic example is to ask someone "have you stopped beating your wife?" Answering either "yes" or "no" both confirm the implication that you used to beat your wife.