Alt TikTok

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Not to be confused with Alternative fashion.

Alt TikTok (or 2020 Alt) is an online subculture and internet community that emerged on TikTok in 2020.[1] Alt TikTok users (also described as alt girls, alt boys or alt kids) became closely associated with music surrounding the hyperpop and digicore scenes, particularly 100 gecs,[2] the subculture also led to a short-lived fashion style and internet aesthetic adopted by Gen Z during the COVID-19 lockdowns.[3][4] While "alt kid" might imply a general association with traditional alternative fashion, the subculture was more an offshoot of e-girls and e-boys. In 2023, the hashtag #altfashion on TikTok amassed over 1.8 billion views.[5][6][7]

History

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Around mid-2020, some of the users on TikTok began to group different content on the site into labels like "elite tiktok","deep tiktok", and "floptok", these categories acted as different "sides of TikTok", which deviated from mainstream lip syncing, online trends and dance videos. Alt TikTok became one of the many subcultural communities to emerge during this period, initially referred to interchangeably with "elite tiktok",[8] the movement quickly identified itself with alternative and queer users, in contrast to "Straight TikTok" also known as the "straight side of TikTok", which was seen as the mainstream and heteronormative side of the platform.[9]

Alt TikTok was accompanied by memes with surrealist or supernatural themes (sometimes being described as cursed), such as videos with heavy saturation and humanoid animals.[10] One of the popular videos from Alt TikTok, gaining 18 million likes, shows a llama dancing to a cover of a song from a Russian commercial by the cereal brand Miel Pops, later becoming a viral audio.[8][11] Some Alt TikTok users personified brands and products in what some referred to as Retail TikTok.[10] In 2020, Rolling Stone described Alt TikTok as "one of the primary countercultures on the app."[12]

Alt subculture

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See also: E-kid
An E-girl with typical fashion and makeup

In 2020, Alt TikTok was one of many subcultural communities to emerge out of TikTok, alongside Deep TikTok (aka DeepTok) and Flop TikTok (aka Floptok).[7] The alt kid subculture emerged out of Alt TikTok primarily amongst young Gen Z women, influenced by online fashion and aesthetics penned by e-girls and e-boys, the movement was accelerated by the COVID-19 lockdowns, while the subculture itself stood in opposition to mainstream "Straight TikTok" and the VSCO girl movement, primarily adopting aspects of queer and alternative culture.[13][14][4][15]

While the phrase might imply a general association with alternative fashion or alternative culture, it is more accurately understood as a specific internet-driven outgrowth of online aesthetic youth subcultures like e-girls and e-boys, the alt subculture's visual style blended influences from goth, punk, emo, and grunge, often expressed through fashion, music taste, and online presence.[16][17][18]

Style and music

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The style of alt-girls is reminiscent of a myriad of previous alternative fashion trends, often blending these influences with online aesthetics.[19][3] In 2020, TikTok alt-girls were teens ranged from 13-16, who tend to wear friendship bracelets, goth boots and Doc martens, bunny and frog hats, piercings, split-dyed hair as well as iconography lifted from Monster Energy and Hello Kitty.[20][19] Some alt-girls displayed a love of cosplay.[21][22] While drawing from Japanese anime and manga particularly Danganronpa and Haikyu!! which originally gained traction on the app through Anime TikTok (aka Anitok).[citation needed]

Alt TikTok has been noted for being primarily influenced by queer and alternative culture, positioning itself in contrast to "Straight TikTok" that focused on mainstream dances and music.[13][23] Alt kids frequently intersected with the e-girls and e-boys subculture, in terms of music, style, visual media and aesthetics.

Additionally, several musicians and artists were closely associated with the alt subculture, particularly those in the hyperpop scene. While alt tiktok users became important in the wider popularization of artists like 100 gecs.[24] Notable prominent artists associated with alt tiktok included Girl in Red,[6] Freddie Dredd,[12] Yungster Jack, David Shawty,[1][25] WHOKILLEDXIX, and 645AR. Alongside YouTubers turned musicians such as Wilbur Soot's "I’m in Love With an E‐Girl" and Corpse Husband's "E-Girls Are Ruining My Life!".

Legacy

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In 2020, Pitchfork claimed the alt tiktok as having an influence on wider music trends, stating: "Alt TikTok’s music is now a hot zone for major record labels, pushing it even further into the mainstream".[6] After the COVID-19 Lockdowns, Alt TikTok alongside its subculture fell out of prominence, and was taken over by other Gen Z-related internet aesthetics, developments and online trends.[1]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c Zhang, Cat (2021-12-14). "The Year in Music on TikTok 2021". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2025-07-06.
  2. ^ Kornhaber, Spencer (14 February 2021). "Noisy, Ugly, and Addictive". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on 3 March 2021. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
  3. ^ a b Fox-Suliaman, Jasmine (2022-08-31). "Alt-Girl Fashion Has Gone Viral on TikTok—Here's What You Need to Know". WhoWhatWear. Retrieved 2025-01-28.
  4. ^ a b "I Lost My Job to COVID—But Found My Personal Style Again". FASHION Magazine. 2020-09-21. Retrieved 2025-07-06.
  5. ^ "Hip-hop's hottest alt-girl CLIP on her upcoming EP, Perception". The Face. 2022-08-26. Retrieved 2025-07-06.
  6. ^ a b c Zhang, Cat (2020-09-25). "Why Cringey Remixer Tiagz Is the Most Hated Producer on TikTok". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2025-07-06.
  7. ^ a b Lorenz, Taylor (2020-06-10). "What Is Elite TikTok?". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-07-21.
  8. ^ a b "Mi pan, su su su: how a dancing llama and a nonsensical song captivated TikTok". The Guardian. 2020-08-05. Retrieved 2022-02-20.
  9. ^ Sung, Morgan (2020-06-21). "The stark divide between 'Straight TikTok' and 'Alt TikTok'". Mashable. Retrieved 2022-02-20.
  10. ^ a b "What Exactly is Elite TikTok?". finance.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2022-02-20.
  11. ^ "🥝 on TikTok". TikTok. Retrieved 2022-02-20.
  12. ^ a b Leight, Elias (2020-08-06). "Alt TikTok Is Music's Latest Scene, and Straight TikTok Has Noticed". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2020-08-09. Retrieved 2025-07-21.
  13. ^ a b "What is Alt TikTok and how is it different to Straight TikTok?". Metro. 2021-06-19. Retrieved 2025-07-21.
  14. ^ Dazed (2024-10-24). "The Black creatives to follow for alt-girl beauty inspiration". Dazed. Retrieved 2025-07-06.
  15. ^ Roque, Valentina (2022-09-16). "Alt-Girl: The Trend Is Here, But Are We Ready For It?". MALVIE Magazine. Retrieved 2025-01-28.
  16. ^ "Straight TikTok versus Alt TikTok: what makes them so different?". www.diggitmagazine.com. 2020-11-29. Retrieved 2025-07-06.
  17. ^ Sung, Morgan (2020-12-19). "7 trends that shaped TikTok in 2020". Mashable. Retrieved 2025-07-06.
  18. ^ "Introducing the alt girl: What is an alt girl and how can I tell if I am one?". The Tab. 2020-12-16. Retrieved 2025-07-06.
  19. ^ a b "What It Means To Be An 'Alt Girl'". YourTango. 2022-10-04. Retrieved 2025-01-28.
  20. ^ "Why Alt Girls Are TikTok's Newest Fashion Inspiration". Nylon. 2020-08-14. Retrieved 2025-01-28.
  21. ^ Dazed. "Black Alt-girl beauty inspo". Dazed. Retrieved 2025-07-06.
  22. ^ Dazed (2023-09-04). "How the Mallen streak became a sign of feminine transgression". Dazed. Retrieved 2025-07-06.
  23. ^ Sung, Morgan (2020-06-21). "The stark divide between 'Straight TikTok' and 'Alt TikTok'". Mashable. Retrieved 2025-07-21.
  24. ^ Kornhaber, Spencer (14 February 2021). "Noisy, Ugly, and Addictive". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on 3 March 2021. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
  25. ^ Zhang, Cat (19 November 2020). "Is Glitchcore a TikTok Aesthetic, a New Microgenre, or the Latest Iteration of Glitch Art?". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 8 March 2022. Retrieved 30 March 2022.