Republicansona / Republican Makeup

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Part of a series on TikTok. [View Related Entries]

About

Republicansona / Republican Makeup refers to a trend on TikTok in which users apply specific makeup and dress up in order to look like a stereotypical Republican, often inspired by the appearance of Fox News newscasters. Although the concept of "Republican makeup" has been used since at least 2012, the TikTok trend was popularized in February 2021.

Origin

The idea of "Republican Makeup" has been discussed in the media several times throughout the 2010s. For example, on August 23rd, 2012, HuffPost^[3] published an article questioning why Fox News anchors wear so much makeup. On February 20th, 2017, The Guardian^[4] published an article to its fashion section titled, "Why do all the women on Fox News look and dress alike? Republicans prefer blondes" covering the subject.

On February 7th, 2021, TikToker^[1] @juulduc uploaded a video with the on-screen caption "transforming into my republican-sona" set to "God Made Girls" by RaeLynn.^[2] In the clip, she applies makeup while lip-dubbing to the song, describing each technique via on-screen text as she goes, including using "lots of bronzer" and "so much mascara" (shown below). At the end of the video, @juulduc strikes a pose next to on-screen text reading, "I ❤️ serving men." The video garnered over 204,000 views in one week and is the earliest known video following the trend.

Spread

Over the next week, TikTokers began posting videos showing off their Republicansonas in similar videos using the same sound and the hashtag #republicansona.

For example, on February 12th, 2021, TikToker^[7] @not._rylie uploaded a video referencing the trend, garnering over 314,000 views in four days (shown below, left). On February 13th, TikToker^[8] @zorbeez performed the trend, garnering over 700,000 views in three days (shown below, right).

On the same day, TikToker^[11] @froggygrl also performed the trend, garnering over 1.6 million views in three days (shown below). This is the most popular video following the trend as of February 16th, 2021.

On February 15th, Mashable^[5] published a piece covering the trend, followed by The Daily Dot^[6] on the 16th.

Liberalsona

The trend inspired mild retaliation from Republicans on TikTok, who made makeup videos transforming into their "Liberalsonas" in response to the trend.

For example, on February 13th, TikToker^[9] @syd.thekiddo uploaded a Liberalsona video to her profile, garnering over 433,000 views in three days (shown below, left). On February 14th, TikToker^[10] @lol.itz.carly uploaded a similar video, gaining over 170,000 views in 48 hours (shown below, right).