TikTok 'mascara' trend: young people have used codes to talk about sex for generations

By Hannah Charnock, Lecturer in British History, University of Bristol

Social media has long been a place for makeup enthusiasts and beauty gurus to discuss trends, but that’s not why TikTok users are currently talking about mascara. Young people are using “mascara” as a code word for talking about sex, relationships and assault.

Posts tagged with #mascaratrend generally feature young women using the term “mascara” and associated metaphors to refer to romantic or sexual partners. For example:

I found the best mascara ever but…

Read complete article
© The Conversation - Friday, February 10, 2023

~	King Mwamisyo: Four years on, DRC’s state of siege continues to be a tool to crush dissent

~	Syria: A year after Assad’s fall, the rights of survivors and families must guide transition

~	The crisis of unsafe abortion in Malawi: When human rights are denied, women and girls die

~	US: Close Fort Bliss Immigration Detention Site

~	View from The Hill: in awkward timing, government ends energy rebate as it defends Wells’ spendathon

~	Premier League football matches can be crime hotspots – but community sports centres have the opposite effect

~	Terror threat in Nigeria: what the killing of a general tells us about the fight against ISWAP

~	Telling people to use antibiotics responsibly isn’t enough. What will work instead

~	South Africa and Pakistan: countries brought to their knees by elite capture and economic paralysis

~	Africa’s power grabs are rising – the AU’s mixed response is making things worse