7 of the loudest, proudest LGBT+ TikTok trends that gave us queer joy in 2021

.pn-single-post-wrapper__content-main a { background: linear-gradient(to right, rgba(139,201,125,0.4) 0, rgba(139,201,125,0.4) 100%); background-position: 0 -0.1em; background-size: 0 100%; background-repeat: no-repeat; }

TikTok has been our saviour in the hellscape that was 2021.

It was a year of more lockdowns, new variants and Nicki Minaj feuding with the UK’s chief medical officer. But despite all the horrors of 2021, it was also the year that gave us more TikTok trends than we knew what to do with, frankly.

Here, we round up seven of the best.

1. In the Heights @donniefitzzz

#questioninggender #genderfluid #idkifimtrans #lgbt #bi

♬ Gender Crisis – Donnie Fitz

Lin Manuel Miranda’s hit musical exploded onto cinema screens this summer. Along with it came an explosion of gender euphoria on TikTok. Users combined a clip from the song “Blackout” with a blue and red filter, allowing them to play with gender presentation with a literal blink of the eye.

User @donniefitzzz, who uses any pronouns, went viral with their video. Entranced by the transformed face smiling back at them through the phone screen, they summed up their response succinctly: “Feeling a lot of feelings”.

2. Doja Cat’s ‘Kiss Me More’ var unruly = window.unruly || {}; unruly.native = unruly.native || {}; unruly.native.siteId = 1068722; @avocado_queen123

@club90sla no caption needed

♬ original sound – avocado_queen123

The hit song by Doja Cat and Sza went viral when LGBT+ TikTokkers used the sound for their distinctive dance.

A couple of minutes in, Sza begins her iconic featured verse. To many LGBT+ users of the app, the bell which sounds in her verse is a signal: an arm is raised and a limp wrist dropped. This video at an LA club went viral with over 11 million views as partygoers followed in sync, before going wild. 

3. RuPaul’s ‘Blame it on the Edit’ @rupaulofficial

#BlameItOnTheEdit #MamaRu #dragrace #rupaul #lacefront #newmusic #newalbum

♬ Blame It on the Edit – RuPaul

This all started off with RuPaul’s iconic blurry video going viral. To the sounds of her latest musical effort, “Blame it on the Edit”, a less-than-flawless transition sees RuPaul donning her drag. The video ends on a glitching, slowed down video of her batting her eyes under layers of filters. Hilariously, the video was duetted by a number of drag queens. This included Aquaria, from the US edition’s tenth season.

4. Stemmes  @heydibaby1

I wanna see some ass