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Gay TikTok has changed the queer culture online

Happy diverse people having fun using mobile phone outdoor in the city

TikTok is the newest form of social media. This platform allows users to create short videos, or “TikToks,” and share them with others on the app. 

The majority of these TikToks are either funny videos or music mashups, but there has also been an emergence in gay content. Gay people use it to connect with other members who identify as LGBTQ+, find love, and express their sexuality through comedic videos – often immensely confessional, hilarious, and unadulterated. 

But what exactly is this new phenomenon of “Gay TikTok”? Let’s take a look.

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Queer person streaming online makeup video tutorial with mobile phone indoors at home

Gay TikTok: The Safe Haven For Queer Kids Today

Compared to Facebook or Instagram, TikTok is a more casual platform with fun content. On gay TikTok specifically, it’s pretty joyous to watch others figure themselves out and cheer them on. Plus, you can go viral without your friends and family knowing, which means you can easily create a supportive community. 

Check the videos under #LGBTQ or the @LGBTQ account, and you’ll see kids sharing how they’ve dealt with the hardships of staying true to their identity, teenagers documenting the subtle hints they leave before coming out to their families, and millennials lip-syncing to songs about finally accepting their queer self. 

There are trends like Blue & Red, where a filter transforms your facial features from stereotypically masculine to feminine in a blink of an eye, often used as a way to see yourself in a new light. Users like @donniefitzzz are “feeling a lot of feelings” with #questioninggender and #idkifimtrans added to their caption of this trend.

There are also queer signals and gay TikTok songs that allow TikTokers to express themselves. The song “We Fell in Love in October” by Girl in Red indicates that you’re a woman loving women, the nail polish emoji (💅 ) shows your gay side, and the limp wrist move during the chime in Doja Cat’s “Kiss Me More” equals to a pride flag by now.

This niche language also overflows to “gay TikTok Twitter,” which is basically when people share TikTok content to friends on Twitter. Gay TikTok Twitter extends the community, reaching those who are only on other social media platforms.

Users are more comfortable on TikTok than anywhere else. So much so that gay TikTok has formed its own niche on the app. Nevertheless, TikTok isn’t a fault-free paradise. There is some content that is anti-trans or has been called out for “queerbaiting,” although the accusations do get murky since it’s hard to judge someone on their intention. 

Let’s talk about this a bit more.

Two gay guys pose shirtless and lick ice cream cone

Gay Guys on TikTok: Some Aren’t Even Gay TBH

Clout is everything, and it’s no different on gay TikTok. They have a name for it, too, thanks to Tayla Parx.

In her single “Homiesexual,” she said the lines, “And that’s just exactly why I only fuck with homies, I’m a homiesexual, but if I let you kick it, don’t go feeling special,” encapsulating the perfect term for the straight guys just having fun being a TikTok gay guy – breaking some barriers for clout. 

Take Connor Robinson (@connxr_r), for example, the 17-year-old TikToker with rosy cheeks and a six-pack. Aside from his thirsty videos and shirtless dancing, he has gained 1 million followers thanks to lewd content of grinding, soft choking, and getting pushed by his friend Elijah Elliot (@ohyeahelijah) against a wall. The fans know that both of them are straight, but that TikTok video got 2.2 million views and 31,000 comments nevertheless.

Gay guys on TikTok aren’t all straight, but they know that man-on-man action is a recipe for high traffic. So they take on the role of being homiesexual on TikTok – a modern-day norm that flips the idea of straight guys being attracted to girls flirting with each other on its head. 

Search #homiesexual on TikTok and you’ll see more than 40 million results. There are heterosexual men spooning, cruising each other, going in for a kiss, sharing a bed, admiring each other’s physiques, dropping towels in front of “boyfriends,” confessing feelings for “bros,” and many other ways that stimulate homoerotic, humorous situations.

These pretend-gay guys on TikTok are not afraid to be too close with their friends and are unbothered by the possibility of people thinking they’re gay – a progressive step for our society. To quote Mark McCormack, many TikTok influencers are having fun without shaming the queer identity. In fact, “It would seem ridiculous if you were not OK with it.”

Even Nick Toteda has been posting bromance TikToks on It’s Just Nick, saying that, “When I was in high school four years ago, maybe it was uncool to be gay, but maybe now being cool is gay. Just like when I was pretending to be straight to act cool, they’re doing the opposite now.”

Not everybody will agree with gay click-baiting or gay-for-views. But TikTok gay guys are happily accepted and celebrated on the app, and everybody loves a guy who can embrace his “softer” side.

Gay couple streaming online on social media app with mobile phone

Gay Couples on TikTok: Third-Wheeling Is Finally Fun

Gay TikTok couple content also redefined what it means to third-wheel – you can follow and support healthy love through a unique, two-way communication. “It’s called third-wheeling. I get a little bit of the affection,” TikToker Wade Klausen (@santa_klaus_) shared on his account.

Given the app’s nature, TikTokers often post casual videos of them doing trends, challenges, and bits of their life together, giving insight into their relationship more genuinely than if they were to post on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. Gay couple TikTok is basically behind-the-scenes of curated posts, so you feel like you’re actually part of their lives. For some inspo, check out Pierre Boo (@itspierreboo) and Nicky Champa (@nickychampa)!

It’s often fun and cute content, too, and rarely anything sad or heartbreaking – aspects of a relationship that most of us want to enjoy. This makes gay couple TikTok a place of good vibes and good vibes only.

Queer people having fun at Pride

The Gay TikTok Scene: Renewed Soul of The LGBTQ+ Community

They say that TikTok is turning everybody gay. The reality, however, is that TikTok is bringing out the tendencies and identities that were already within us – something that we just didn’t realize before. 

Either way, gay TikTok is breathing new life into the queer community. We’re excited for what generations of today have to offer, as it seems that they are much more inclusive and supportive than others were in the past.

Also, don’t forget that gay TikTok applies to other LGBTQ+ groups as well: lesbians, bisexuals, transexual individuals, and more. There’s no shortage of niche communities forming within the app! 

You can find your people, have fun, and be part of the supportive and loving gay TikTok community.

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