TikTok (the social media platform, not the Kesha song) is the perfect balance if stupidity, humour, and pure light.
I mean, check out this genius:
But for all its fun and games, TikTok is actually pretty serious platform. Or, rather, it’s being used by Indigenous Australian teens for a pretty serious matter: calling out casual racism.
Teenagers like Eshia Anderson are using the social platform to share their experiences of race in Australia and make a statement about their Aboriginality. It’s pretty powerful and very important stuff.
Speaking to Buzzfeed, Eshia explained, “I heard the sound of the Australian national anthem when I was flicking through…I was going to skip it right away, but then it brought back a memory of how it was like in primary school.”
That memory, Eshia said, was of being sent to the school principal’s office after refusing to stand for the anthem.
“I laughed so hard and then I was like ‘I’m going to make a video on it for jokes’, and to see if any other Aboriginal people went through the same thing,” she told the publication said.
Eshia isn’t alone – she’s just one of many Indigenous people using TikTok to share their stories of discrimination, challenge stereotypes and highlight the ridiculousness of racial assumptions, comments, and judgements.
Lillyandra Laurie also spoke to Buzzfeed about her use of TikTok. The 17-year-old said she uses the platform to convey how she’s treated as the only Indigenous student at her school.
“I’ve put up with so much racism, it’s absolutely ridiculous,” Lillyandra said.
“But I just turn my pain into pride and strength, and I’ve decided to make my TikToks about my Aboriginality to hopefully direct other Indigenous kids because they have to always remember that they are strong, black and deadly.”
Michelle Laurie uses TikTok in a similar way.
“I like to convey messages through humour, and it is important for people to know about my culture,” she told Buzzfeed.
Some teens are even using the platform to reframe historical events like the colonisation of Australia from an Indigenous perspective.
Kaiden McNamara, an 18-year-old from Victoria, created this TikTok:
“I’m Aboriginal and I was just bored one day,” McNamara said. “And I thought ‘what kind of TikTok would blow up?’ And it went crazy with views, likes, comments and shares.”
The response to Indigenous TikTok’s has been strong across the board – other teens are resonating and engaging with the content. Michelle Laurie hopes sharing her videos will encourage other young Indigenous Australians to join the platform and be proud of their identities.
“I’ve just found that TikTok would be the perfect social media platform to start creating some Aboriginal pride and support on, and the response I got has been mind-blowing,” Michelle said.
While it’s a good thing these teens are doing, it’s also inherently sad – and I say that as someone with no Aboriginal descent. It’s sad that they still need to fight for their identities, shut down racism, and stand up for their culture. All of those things should be a given.
Should be but, sadly, they aren’t. So for now, TikTok is the way forward.
