Tag Archives: youth commentary

TikTok, Fetishization, and the Weaponized ‘Oxford Study’

Leave a reply

By Yullianne L.

Picture this: you’re a young Asian woman on TikTok, vlogging GRWMs and lip-syncing to songs. Everyone is supportive of your platform—until you show your white boyfriend.

Suddenly, your comment section is flooded with one phrase: “Oxford study.”

The phrase refers to an academic study out of Oxford University that examined how TV advertisements shaped perceptions of romantic relationships between white men and Asian women. The study concluded that Asian women are disproportionately sexualized and objectified—but it’s been misquoted online to claim that Asian women “prefer” white men.

That so-called “finding” has taken on a life of its own on social media.

This trend—an oversimplification at best and a dangerous distortion at worst—shows how the degradation and racialization of Asian women is normalized on TikTok.

The Oxford study didn’t prove desire or preference. It revealed patterns shaped by algorithmic suggestion and historical power dynamics. It showed how Asian women are often reduced to tropes of being submissive or exotic. These narratives didn’t emerge overnight—they’re rooted in media portrayals and colonial histories.

Nowhere is this more misleading than on TikTok, where the narrative has morphed into a toxic trend. Videos featuring Asian women and white men often go viral—not in celebration of love, but because they reinforce the tired “white savior/exotic Asian girlfriend” trope.

The comments that follow push these toxic narratives even further, turning actual people into caricatures for clout.

This dynamic is baked into the platform itself: TikTok’s algorithm rewards content that conforms to stereotypes while burying or punishing content that challenges racial or gendered norms. Meanwhile, Asian women who speak out against this fetishization are often labeled ungrateful, angry, or divisive.

The “Oxford study” has been weaponized to justify the very thing it tried to condemn: the ongoing objectification of Asian women, valued only through a white lens.

We need to call this out for what it is—not “preference,” but another face of misogyny, wrapped in pseudoscience and likes.

More Than a Tan Suit: How Racism Shapes Presidential Respectability

Leave a reply

By Diego G.

Evil comes in many forms: the removal of healthcare from vulnerable Americans, the erasure of marginalized and oppressed peoples, or—worst of all—a tan suit.

No matter the issue, few things stick out more to the American public than the face behind it.

August 28, 2014, was pivotal for this reason. During the then-age of flower crowns and UGG boots, a tan suit worn by President Obama was deemed a national offense. Ironically, that fashion “crisis” somehow overshadowed Obama’s actual press conference about military plans in Syria. Whether it was deemed “unpresidential” or just “inappropriate,” America collectively decided: we’ll talk about ISIS later.

The ecru suit—typically worn in warmer, semiformal settings—seemed to symbolize another unspoken taboo in American politics: non-whiteness, something that many may have subconsciously linked to being “unprofessional.” If it were truly about the suit, why didn’t Donald Trump’s navy blue attire at Pope Francis’s funeral draw similar outrage?

But it didn’t—just like the current administration’s bizarre AI-generated TikToks portraying Trump as a golden idol or Obama being arrested didn’t either.

Since then, Donald Trump has refused to lower the flag after Senator John McCain’s death, and built a reputation around erratic tweets and a shocking digital footprint. He’s become less a symbol of professionalism and more of a reality TV character. Yet, somehow, Obama’s tan suit lasted longer in the public imagination than many of Trump’s actual political scandals.

That begs the question: What makes a Black man presidential—if someone like Trump can act like an estranged Kardashian and still merit the title?

This isn’t to say Obama’s presidency was without controversy. But unlike international arms deals or scandals, the most iconic media frenzy of his term was…the color of his suit.

Systemic racism doesn’t always announce itself loudly. It hides in plain sight—beneath standards, between expectations, and along the blurred lines of who is deemed “professional” and who is not.

Yes, Black Americans are often told they must work twice as hard to be treated equally. But two times zero is still zero. Without respect, privilege stays intact. And suits are still expected to be black.

This Is Not a Genocide Olympics: A Ukrainian’s Call for Global Solidarity

Leave a reply

By Kate S.

As a Ukrainian, scrolling on social media and seeing users debate the war in my home country has been a pain and a struggle. The eyes of the world are on two most important conflicts, leading to a mass of disagreements between the countries: Should Ukraine or Palestine get more attention?

The history and reason behind the current events in Palestine and Ukraine are different, but one thing is certain: Both sides deserve support in equal measure, and bringing attention to a specific issue does not require eliminating the other.

Ukrainians and Palestinians suffer from constant attacks, the inability to get food, water, and medicine, people sleeping under bombs, not knowing when the opponent is going to strike. Lost hopes, lost lives that will be forever remembered, and children whose future has been violently taken. The pictures of destroyed cities make it hard to distinguish whether it’s the remains of Ukrainian land or completely ruined Palestinian homes where life was once thriving.

Seeing the pictures of destroyed Gaza and Mariupol, starving kids in Palestine, and bombed hospitals in Ukraine seems like a nightmare that you can’t wake up from. But what do people say lying in the warm beds with food on the table? “Ukraine gets too much attention,” or “the Palestinian issue is not that important.” Arguing who deserves more support and bringing race into comparisons divides the world instead of focusing on how to help civilians suffering in both countries. A TikTok influencer and reporter from Ukraine said, “This is not a genocide Olympics.” This is an issue that we let thrive in the middle of Europe and the Middle East after experiencing the most horrific wars and conflicts in the past. 


While governments stay neutral and justify the war crimes in Gaza, people from the active war zones understand the struggle and support each other. More than 300 Ukrainian activists, artists, and scholars submitted an open letter to support their solidarity with Palestinians, stating that civilians understand the pain while witnessing Israel targeting infrastructure and people in Gaza. If people who are suffering can stand for and support each other in the most difficult and horrific times, why can’t we?