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

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

TikTok
Pixel-Shot/Shutterstock

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:

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