- The trend involves a group standing in a circle, bopping, and shouting their main characteristics.
- Corporate accounts have begun posting playful videos that follow the trend.
A seemingly harmless TikTok trend that companies are jumping on could cause issues for employees, a lawyer has warned.
The trend involves a group of people — typically women — standing in a circle, bopping, and shouting two of their main characteristics. For instance, one might chant: "Hoop earrings and a shirt."
The trend is believed to have started in June when three friends posted a clip of their characteristic way of describing themselves, which was coined: "Boots and a slick back bun."
It was meant to be a lighthearted way for women to hype each other up. Then, several business accounts began posting videos of their employees doing the meme as a way to introduce their staff on TikTok.
One of those accounts was run by Australian brand Tbh Skincare.
On July 8, a group of women from the company featured in a TikTok where they chanted their attributes, including "itty bitty titties and a bob" and "Gen Z boss and a mini."
But while many considered it simple, lighthearted fun, the skincare company ran into trouble when its video spread farther afield.
It amassed four million views and traversed off-platform. The trend started being referred to as "Gen Z Boss and a mini," and misogyny directed at those featured in the clip ran rampant.
@tbhskincare I’m telling my kids this was Little Mix #bootsandaslickbackbun #workhumour #officelife #tbhskincare @maisieisobel_
♬ original sound - tbh skincare
An unwelcome audience
Andrew Tate reposted Tbh Skincare's video on X, claiming: "If you do not escape The Matrix, women like this will be your boss."
The video was then further shared on X and Reddit, finding a new, less appreciative audience who described it as "peak corporate cringe" and "humiliating."
Some told the women to "get back in the kitchen" and expressed wanting a return of "the gender pay gap."
The Tbh Skincare women didn't take the criticism lying down, posting two more videos. In one, they poked fun at the sexism they were encountering, chanting some of the comments they'd received, including "it's giving millennial core," "fire them all," and "make it stop, hate this."
Rachael Wilde, the company's cofounder and CMO, told Smart Company in a statement that they had found themselves "on the wrong side of the internet."
"We were surprised to see innocent fun upsetting so many people online," she said. "Not sure how us doing a dance in the office warranted so much feedback and hatred like this."
Craig Schweighoffer, the CEO of York St Brands, which encompasses Tbh Skincare and Boost Lab, told Business Insider in a statement that "our staff's safety and well-being is always at the forefront."
"We have a workplace that employs 90% females and are proud of what the team is doing during this time," he said.
@tbhskincare Feeling inspired by all the love x #genzbossandamini #bootsandaslickedbackbun #workhumour #tbhskincare #skincareroutine
♬ original sound - tbh skincare
Legal troubles
Still, the reaction shows that companies should be careful when engaging with social media trends, warned Roxanne Hart, an employment lawyer and the director of Hart & Co Lawyers.
Hart shared some of her concerns in her own TikTok, saying the women had become "the laughing stock of the internet" and the end result "could be limiting for their careers."
Hart told BI the video had swerved into the "Wild West" of the internet, where even the most frivolous content posted by women can lead to rape and death threats.
There's also an important power imbalance companies should consider before putting their employees out there for the world to see — especially if they are making comments about their bodies, Hart said.
"What happens when the 'freak in the sheets and a calculator' lady gets her next finance job, and the boys in the office start making jokes about her being a freak in the sheets?" she said. "She's supposed to just take that on the chin?"
In Australia, where Tbh Skincare is based, mental health is covered by a workplace's insurance. So, if employees are affected mentally by being bullied online due to a social media video, they could make a claim, Hart said. She added that it's also a company's legal responsibility to eliminate sexual harassment in the workplace.
@roxannehart.lawyer ♬ original sound - roxannehart.lawyer
The company will likely see a boost in exposure and sales from the virality, but the benefit to the staff is less clear.
"What are these staff getting out of it?" Hart said. "I don't think that they're influencers, they're just normal workers. What do they get out of just being embarrassed?"
Staff should also be discerning about taking part in content that their workplace posts, Hart added.
"Be smarter about the things that you say, try to be funny in other ways," she said. "You don't need to reduce it to anything sexual, especially when you're dealing with young women. I think that's just going to lend itself to a lot of problems."
The internet is forever, and young workers should assume anything posted will be visible to future employees, Hart said.
Gen Zers and millennials have gotten "slightly too comfortable" with posting everything, she said.
"Probably like 10 to 15% too comfortable."
In response, Wilde, the company's CMO, told BI in a statement that responses that "direct people to go look at the inappropriate comments" are "disappointing."
"At the end of the day, we're choosing to focus on the positive comments," she said, which there have been many, and "not give too much attention to the negative."
"I am so proud of how the team has handled it all," Wilde added. "We have all banded together and are supporting each other through it."