Fashioning Ethnic Pride: Women of Color and the Outfit Transition Trend on TikTok

Abstract

This study examines how women of color on TikTok engage with the viral “outfit transition” trend to assert ethnic pride, resist cultural assimilation, and build digital communities. Our research builds on literature exploring TikTok’s affordances and digital fashion culture, focusing on how women of color use the application to challenge aesthetic assimilation and celebrate ethnocultural identity. Using critical technocultural discourse analysis (CTDA) and digital ethnography, we analyzed 63 TikTok videos to explore how audiovisual features (e.g., audio, hashtags, and comments) enable marginalized creators to challenge western aesthetic dominance. The findings reveal that women of color strategically use TikTok to construct a subaltern digital commons, celebrating ethnic pride while fostering solidarity across diaspora communities. These creators promote cross-cultural engagement by inviting non-ethnic viewers to learn about and respectfully engage with their cultures on their terms. This study expands on studies of digital fashion culture to show how TikTok’s outfit transition trend functions as an online space to resist Eurocentric beauty standards while centering non-white femininities and cultural aesthetics. In addition, our analysis sheds light on how these creators navigate algorithmic biases that often limit visibility for marginalized groups. Women of color creatively rework viral trends to enhance their visibility, asserting control over how they and their communities are represented online. Ultimately, the study underscores TikTok’s potential as a site for community building and intercultural exchange, where women of color challenge colonial legacies in fashion while sustaining digital spaces for ethnocultural uplift.