Oh! Stephco, Dec 22, 2022
This week on Tiktok, The Black Girl Follow Train took
off! In this video, I discuss why this
grassroots social media project was necessary, what I hope the participants
gain from it, and what I really think is the answer when it comes to Black
women's success as content creators. Thanks for watching!
0:00 Intro
0:48 What is The Black Girl Follow Train?
1:47 Difficulties of Black Creators on Social Media
3:50 Black Creators and Money on Social Media
6:09 Social Media Creators and Mental Health...and money lol
11:59 The Inevitable Pushback
14:46 I Didn't Participate...here's why
17:07 What Happens Next?
Edited by Azizi Powell
This pancocojams post presents three YouTube videos and excerpts of two online articles about the "Black Girl Follow Train", a TikTok trend that began in late December 2022.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to momtotheking, the creator of this Tik Tok trend, and thanks to the vloggers and Tik Yokers whose videos and TikTok clips are showcased in this post. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post.
-snip-
DISCLAIMER
The content of this pancocojams post is presented to document this TikTok trend. As a Black woman, I approve of the call for Black TikTokers to support each other. However, I disapprove of the use of the names "Karen" and "Becky" as referents for White women. I consider those names used that way to be pejorative.
I read several comments that used those referents in some discussion threads for this "Black Girl Follow Train" trend. However, I didn't compile those comments and they may not have been included in the YouTube discussion threads for the videos that are showcased in this pancocojams post.
****
SHOWCASE VIDEO #2 - Black Girl Follow Train On #Tiktok #Trending #blackgirlfollowtrain @Empressonyxx #Empressonyxx
Simply Ramona, Dec 30, 2022
****
EXCERPT #3 - BLACK GIRL FOLLOW TRAIN has been SABOTAGED… why am I not shocked?!
[WARNING - Profanity is used near the end of this video.]
Dumebi Lea, Jan 7,
2023
****
These excerpts are given in no particular order and are numbered for referencing purposes only. These excerpts don't include any photographs or Tik Tok clips.
EXCERPT #1
From
All Aboard! The #BlackGirlFollowTrain Trend Is Taking Over
TikTok
Pretty Honore, Jan. 10, 2023
…"What is the Black girl follow train on TikTok? The trend explained.
If you have ever been forced to type the phrase “for Black
girls” at the end of your Pinterest, YouTube, or Google search, this one’s for
you. You see, finding content that caters to women in the Black community can
be difficult given the massive amounts of information on the internet. This is
exactly why the Black girl follow train was created.
Started by TikToker @momtotheking, #blackgirlfollowtrain rose to popularity in late 2022. In her original video, she uses the text-to-talk feature to say, “This one’s for the Black girls.”
[…]
The #blackgirlfollowtrain movement has since inspired
several other hashtags like #blackwomanfollowtrain and #blackgirlfollowtrend.
According to the Karens of TikTok, BET, Black History Month,
and Affirmative Action have successfully eliminated the need for a trend like
#blackgirlfollowtrain. This prompted a number of responses from Black creators
who explained why they were both loud and wrong.
“The pushback that we’re seeing on the Black girl follow train has been very emblematic of white feminism,” TikTok user Victoria Alexander shared in a video with more than 150,000 likes as of this writing.
“Not feminism,” she added, “white feminism.”
“So, on this app, we’ll have Black women or women of color say that they don’t get the same PR or the same perks on this app that white creators have. And then some white creators will say, ‘Yeah, you know what, that’s right, and it’s not fair.'”
However, Victoria pointed out, this effort to amplify Black creators' voices has left some users “annoyed,” which, in and of itself is problematic.
“White women get to be the center of positive attention on this app all the time,” she went on. “When you’re used to being privileged, equality — or anything close to it — feels like oppression.”
We couldn’t have said it better."
-snip-
"Karen" is a female name that is widely used on social media as a pejorative referent for White woman (and sometimes also for White men.)
The bold font and larger font for the sections is is how this article was written online.
****
EXCERPT #2
From https://www.blackenterprise.com/blackgirlfollowtrain-is-full-steam-ahead-on-tiktok-some-users-are-trying-to-derail-it-calling-it-racist/
#BLACKGIRLFOLLOWTRAIN IS FULL STEAM AHEAD ON TIKTOK, SOME
USERS ARE TRYING TO DERAIL IT, CALLING IT RACIST
Stacy Jackson, January 6, 2023
"Black women creators are gracing the algorithm, and their
followings are skyrocketing.
A recent trend on TikTok, known as the #BlackGirlFollowTrain, has grown rapidly where Black women are following other Black women back on the app in an effort to support each other, build community, and find compatible content.
According to sources, @momtotheking is the creator of the trend that quickly became one of the top hashtags on the popular app, and Black women went digging to find her, to ensure their sis got her credit.
Although the movement has nothing to do with bashing anyone else, some white users were not happy about the trend, calling it racist.
One Black user, @thewokemama, posted a video showing a white user in tears, complaining about the Black women who have been banding together on the app.
“I have been seeing this trend on TikTok about skin color,” the white woman said in her video. “Join me if you’re Black. Join the Black girl train. What if I got on there and said join the white girl train?”
[…]
However, other white users have backed the trend against the
critics.
[…]
The original creator previously took to her page in December
to address the negative controversies that had transpired around the trend.
“So you’re excluding showing love and support to non-Black women and that’s uniting women,” one user replied , questioning one of @momtotheking ‘s videos about her Black girl trend.
“It’s simple to not put yourself in business where it [doesn’t] belong,” @momtotheking captioned a video responding to the user’s comment and reiterating her initial intentions to unite the Black women.
[…]
The hashtag has made such an impact on the app, other groups
of people have tried to inherit their own following trains such as the
#latinafollowtrain, #blackmenfollowtrain, and the #followtrain that has been
circulating for those who aren’t specifying a group.”
****
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