TikTok, a Chinese video-sharing social media platform, is now facing another set of new backlash from users, especially in India. A new video filter on the platform has been trending for quite some time now in the country. TikTok's 'darkened skin' trend currently used by thousands of Indian TikTok users faced backlash after it was accused of promoting colorism.
This TikTok filter trend in India receives backlash; But why?
If you have been using TikTok due to Coronavirus lockdown, you might already have seen filters of 'darkened skin' on the app.
The said viral filter called 'darkened skin'-- with applied music from Tamil film called 3, with lyrics about a "white skin girl" with a "black heart"-- is when a user digitally darkens his skin while looking sad. After a few seconds, the filter will turn the user into a person with a lighter skin tone while looking happier after the transformation.
According to BBC, the filter is now under scrutiny after some users reported the filter as offensive to darker skin-toned people. This was when the complaint became an issue of promoting 'colorism.'
Colorism is when a person judges another person through his skin color-- specifically for darker skin-toned people. As explained via The Guardian, this term of discrimination is somehow similar to racism. However, colorism is much distinct to the belief that white or lighter skin-toned person is much preferred than a dark skin-toned person.
Due to this issue, several TikTok users debate whether this issue should be treated as colorism or just a simple filter on the app.
What does the 'darkened skin' filter mean?
Since April, the trending videos of 'darkened skin' filter has been one of the viral posts of TikTok in India. Some were already deleted due to the controversy, but many others are still available on the app.
Radhika Parameswaran, a professor at Indiana University and commentator on colorism, said that the trending filter had its misconception. First, the song that was usually lip-synced along with the TikTok filter has nothing to do with colorism.
"The song did not explicitly refer to dark skin, but nevertheless, Kolaveri Di's catchy tunes and lyrics become creative fodder for these youths to stage their playful and dramatic performances of skin color mutating from dark to light," she said.
The first man that posted the filter had also clarified that no discrimination was represented on the said filter.
"Guys this video is not to hurt anyone. I truly agree color shouldn't matter! Colorism shouldn't be celebrated! It was in trend so we did it," said TikTok user @nikhilsoni123.
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TikTok deletes the videos
TikTok already removed some of the trending 'darkened skin' colors and said that they do not tolerate any violation of their guidelines-- which may point out to the said controversy.
"TikTok is a platform for positive, creative expression," a spokeswoman said. "Keeping our community safe is a top priority: our community guidelines make it clear what is not acceptable on our platform, and any content or account that violates these guidelines will be removed."
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