Why All Roommates Should Try TikTok's Viral 'Boyfriend Pyramid'
Roommate relationships can be tricky to navigate, as living in close quarters with others, even if they're your friends, exposes you to unexpected habits and practices you wouldn't otherwise have to deal with. On the other hand, the relationships you build with the people you live with, especially during your college years, can produce strong, intimate bonds that are pretty unique.
TikTok's recent "boyfriend pyramid" trend speaks to the uniqueness of these relationships, prompting housemates across the app to lightheartedly rank their significant others — "Dance Moms" style. While the practice may seem mean-spirited at first, especially if you've tuned in for Abby Lee's ruthless rankings before, users are having genuine laughs with the trend.
The popularity of this fad seems to have kicked off with the boyfriend pyramid videos from @life_of_lexii, whose TikToks have garnered over a million views. So, should you and your roommates try out the viral "boyfriend pyramid" trend?
What is the boyfriend pyramid?
For the uninitiated, the boyfriend pyramid, as seen in videos from @life_of_lexii, is inspired by the weekly rankings featured on Lifetime's iconic reality show "Dance Moms." The series ran from 2011 to 2019 and followed the moms and young dancers of the Abby Lee Dance Company. The girls, ages 6 to 16, performed as a team and as individuals in dance competitions through the company, coached by the scrutinizing Abby Lee Miller.
Each week, Miller would gather the girls for a dramatic pyramid ranking based on the previous week's behavior, performances, and sometimes even the actions of the respective mothers. Similarly, the roommates featured in the viral TikTok video rank their boyfriends in a pyramid based on relationship efforts and interactions with the other housemates. While all the couples featured in the videos don't actually live together, the original video is titled "Ranking My Roomie's BFs" and has spawned similar boyfriend ranking TikToks from other groups of housemates.
While the "Dance Moms" ranking was controversial, to say the least, the TikToks take a more lighthearted tone, with one boyfriend being ranked at the bottom of the pyramid for "running around" the apartment in his underwear. As a defense, he explains in the post-ranking interview that the underwear was a gift from his girlfriend and had her face printed all over them. Boyfriends at the top of the pyramid are praised for acts of kindness, such as paying for drinks or waving to their girlfriends during their sports games.
Should you try the boyfriend pyramid?
If you've seen these videos on TikTok, you might be considering recreating the boyfriend pyramid for your own group of housemates. Before doing so, you should consider the types of things your friends would contribute and if any aspect could lead to trouble in relationships with friends or significant others. As seen in "Dance Moms," it's possible for the exercise to devolve into hurtfulness very quickly, so this is something you should keep in mind going into it.
Otherwise, if everyone in your group is down for lighthearted ribbing, the practice could be a fun way to highlight some of the things you appreciate from your partners. The structure is also great for those who were fans of the reality show it's inspired by, as seen in the video from @faithmcdonald206, who features Maddie Ziegler at the top of their pyramid as an ode to her continual favoritism on the show.
Overall, the pyramid ranking is supposed to be a fun, silly activity, so you'll want to avoid actually hurting any feelings.