An Open Letter To TikTok

Dear TikTok,

Don't you think your reputation was bad enough before what with people spreading the rumors that your app is being used to gather data about people to manipulate US elections? I'm not here to debate if that one is true or not, of course. All social media gathers data on people. I find the panicked messages from well meaning friends to be going into the "tin foil hat" territory.

But instead of doing something to debunk this conspiracy theory, instead you chose to do something that is frankly rotten and underhanded bullying. You purposefully chose to hide content made my LGBTQA, disabled, "disfigured" (and I put that in quotations since apparently to you even just squinting is a disfigurement), and fat content creators. In other words, people that are not "socially acceptable." You say you do that to prevent us from being bullied.

How about you just remove the bullies instead? Is that really so hard to do?

What you're doing is victim blaming and victim blaming is a type of bullying. Trust me, I know it well. I've been bullied my entire life. I've always been fat and "weird" and always will be. In school my teachers always told me that I "deserved" to be bullied. That I was "asking for it" because I "didn't try hard enough to fit in." I went home every day a little bit more depressed, a little bit more suicidal. It was so bad that when I started getting repeatedly sexually assaulted in jr. high, I never told anyone because I thought they wouldn't believe me because "fat girls don't get sexually assaulted."

So yeah, I'm well versed in bullying. And what you're doing IS a type of bullying.

I don't need you to hide my content to prevent me being bullied. I want reactions, comments, duets. Sure, I'm going to get the "you're fat" comment. More recently I had someone belittle me for both my age and the fact I made a video with a puppet. You know how I handled that? I blocked her. And that's what I'd do with any bully. Report and block. Report and block.

In one regard you're already a step above other social media platforms when it comes to cutting off bullies. The fact that I can set my DMs so only people I mutually follow can message me is amazing. Far better than what Instagram and Facebook does. It's nice to know when I go to my DMs to view a message it's not going to be from an anti-vaxxer sending me death threats or a chubby chaser sending me perverted messages about what he'd like to do to me.

But by hiding me in the shadows, you're inferior to these social media platforms. Sure, I have to occasionally go private on Instagram to take a break from the anti-vaxxers' threats (boy, do they ever love to send death threats to us pro-vaxxers!) but at least when I chose to not be private I get tons of positive feedback from strangers. Be it a comment on how cute my dog is to them saying I have a nice singing voice. I like that. I like that a lot.

I don't need your bullying "protection." I need you to let me be seen. Yes, unlike many other cosplayers on TikTok, I improvise rather than script my videos, but I still put a lot of work into them, even if they might not look like it. I'm so proud of myself for learning how to do transitions now and use multiple effects in one video. I want these to be seen, to be dueted! Sure, I'm going to get bullied because of my weight. I know I'm going to get someone who's going to be nasty about someone "old" like me being on "a kids app." I'll even get the "You're not asexual, that's just an excuse because you're fat and no one wants you" comments from time to time. That's how my life is going to be, I'm used to it. But that's what you have the reporting feature for.

I'm sure some anti-vaxxers will be upset with my "Karen" cosplay, but seeing how you seem to have fewer of those child abusing nutcases on your app judging by the comments on videos by actual doctors, I'm not too concerned. And, again, you have that wonderful feature for DMs so they can't send me unsolicited messages anyway. (Really, every app should have this feature!) I can just block and report them.

Come on, TikTok, stop being a bully. Let us LGBTQA, fat, disabled, and "disfigured" creators be on the For You page. Give us our chance to shine.

And instead deal with the conspiracy theory that you're an evil vote manipulating corporation instead of bullying those of us who are not "socially normal."

Sincerely,

Jami JoAnne Russell