Hi EYD! Today's post is by Yuktha Suresh and covers a topic that all of us are probably familiar (if not too familiar) with - TikTok! Specifically, Desi representation and relatability on the platform. We hope you enjoy reading! If you would like to contribute, please email us at empoweringyourdesi@gmail.com or DM us @empoweringyourdesi!
So, I’m guessing we all have TikTok downloaded on our phones, (don’t even try to hide it, I know it’s there). We spend hours scrolling through mostly pointless videos to entertain ourselves during quarantine. I love the app, but one part about TikTok that has always confused me, though, is that all the “popular” creators.... are white.
All our life, the major influencers and celebrities have been mostly white, and sometimes we don’t even realize the absence of our people! When I first downloaded the app, my “ForYou” page was predominantly very white, whether it was dancing, singing, funny content, or mini vlogs.
I remember feeling angry when realizing that all these popular white creators gain millions of followers and show up on my page repeatedly, but I had to search up the hashtag “indian” to finally see a video of a brown boy….who was making fun of his culture.
These experiences often subconsciously create a thought in our heads that push us to want to be like “them”. The empty containers of Fair and Lovely or Vicco Turmeric, facial hair removal spray, eyebrow tweezers, and lighter foundation shades are just some examples of how I wanted to look like the average white girl so badly. So many Desi Queens like ourselves grew up not appreciating our chocolatey skin and gorgeous locks of thick black hair, and many still do not.
It wasn’t until very recently that I’ve been seeing more positive Desi representation on TikTok. The new trend where people flaunt their cultural wear by dropping on the chair and changing their clothes mid-transition is definitely one of my favorite trends on TikTok! People of so many different cultures are posting this trend and it makes my heart happy to see a little bit of spice on my ForYou page!
The Desi community on TikTok is also amazing because I see so many videos of our brothers and sisters hyping each other up, and meeting new friends in the process. Even though there’s a lot of proud Desi content on the app, it often gets clouded by the videos that bring down our culture. I’m sad to say I see so many videos where I see Desi girls and boys bring themselves down by saying things like “Us brown boys don’t like brown girls” or “Brown boys are wannabe white kids”. I see this a lot and I’m disappointed, because in a time where we want our kind to be represented the most, we can not divide ourselves.
I also see videos of our brothers and sisters falling into the trap of making fun of ourselves just to gain approval from others.
Making relatable content is one thing, but making fun of who we are in the process is unacceptable, and harmful to our identities!
I really hope that whoever reads this will make it a point to post positive Desi content, so that we don’t get washed out. It’s important to stay relevant. If we don’t, we get our culture stolen from us, for example, whitewashed Hinduism disguised as “manifestation”. Let’s make ourselves heard! Let’s build and connect as a Desi community by meeting new people and spreading love to all our brothers and sisters!
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