Don't Do The TikTok Silhouette Trend Before You Read This
Viral TikTok strikes gold again with another viral challenge. The #SilhouetteChallenge has people all over the world celebrating body confidence and body positivity. In the viral trend, users combine Snapchat's vin rogue filter and strategic lighting to show off their curves and silhouette, according to Complex. The filter gives the video a sultry red glow and casts their body in darkness as they dance in their doorway. It's more than just posing. The #SilhouetteChallenge creatively blends two songs together — singer-songwriter Paul Anka's classic hit "Put Your Head on My Shoulder" and singer, rapper Doja Cat's single "Streets" — and encourages people to show off their own duality between casual/cool and sexy/sensual (via Vulture).
Doja Cat gave the challenge her stamp of approval and even blessed her fans with her own version of it (per NME), which she posted on her socials and captioned with a cheeky "k i did it." ThisTikTok trend has empowered people, especially women, to feel confident in their skin while also having fun. But of course, with the good and empowering comes the bad and disturbing. Before you participate in the TikTok silhouette trend, there's something you need to be aware of.
People have figured out how to remove the red filter, which is a serious violation
There's a disturbing amount of videos on YouTube detailing how to edit the red filters so the TikTok user's body is exposed, according to BuzzFeed News. This TikTok trend was aimed to promote body positivity, but these voyeurs, hackers, and the platforms enabling their repulsive behavior have managed to violate the TikTok creators' autonomy and privacy.
In fact, despite the clear invasion of privacy, YouTube has not removed these creepy tutorials, which they profit from considering the amount of views that each tutorial continues to rack up, per Rolling Stone. These tutorials aren't limited to YouTube and have been shared across various social channels including Twitter and Reddit, although some have been taken down by the respective platforms.
With the uptick in red filter removal tutorials, fellow TikTok creators are warning people about the dangers that lie ahead with the #SilhouetteChallenge trend, with one user stressing, "Just make sure you're being cognizant of what you're wearing before you do all the editing for the final product" (via Buzzfeed News).
Word of advice? If you plan on participating in the #SilhouetteChallenge, protect yourself and be mindful of how you style your video, although it's sad you have to worry about this in the first place.