How cultural identity can be manifested on TikTok?

“Yeehaw agenda” was a fashion-based trend in popular culture spread from 2018 to 2019, where artists and celebrities drew from cowboy culture in various aspects such as outfit, music and attitude etc. This trend was especially associated with Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road” featuring Billy Ray Cyrus, a country-rap song that was on the top of the billboard for a record-breaking 19 weeks. 

“Yeehaw agenda” was initially boosted by the #YeeHawChallenge on TikTok. What people did with the #YeeHawChallenge is to have cowboy outfits (hats, jackets, boots etc.) and dance with the rhythm of the “Old Town Road” to show their swag. People (black people in particular) used this hashtag to express themselves to others in terms of showing optimistic attitudes by cheerful dancing. 

Memes also played a vital role in elevating the “yeehaw agenda” on TikTok as Lil Nas X tried to promote the “Old Town Road” as a meme. Lil Nas X had the experience of creating memes and going viral on Twitter, so he was keen to work closely with TikTok as thousands of people use his music for content creations,  and the collaboration was considered as an opportunity for TikTok to show how music artists can grow a fanbase and promote their music with the app. One of the most iconic user-generated hashtags was the #yeeyeejuice which is the transformation to cowboy by drinking the “yee yee” juice. The hashtag started with people participating, and it turned out some people made their cats transformed into cowboys as well. User-generated content was a driving force for elevating the popularity of the “Old Town Road”, which refers to the concept of “produsage” coined by the Australian media scholar Axel Bruns. “Produsage”  blurs the boundaries between passive consumption and active production.TikTok users tend to both produce and consume on a daily basis, hashtags are able to connect people who have the same interests.

In terms of the social impacts,  the #yeehawchallenge brought the black cowboy culture back to the public, which was a culture being white-washed by Hollywood for such a long time. The presence of black cowboy and cowgirl emphasized the importance of black cowboy history as the African American communities had significant roles in the historical American West. In addition, As Hess (2005, cited in Fraley 2009, p.43) states, “Hip hop fans expect artists to lyrically express an authentic hip hop identity by revealing personal truths representing a legitimate geographical background linked to lived experiences that reach back to cultural origins of predominantly Black urban neighbourhoods”. Poverty is identified as a major issue for African American communities, Lil Nas X was couch-surfing and had serious financial problems before being famous. Therefore,  Lil Nas X became a role model when he successfully launched his career through hard work because many African Americans can be resonated by his experience. He strived to speak up for the communities in the creation of the  “Old Town Road” as black community-related elements were presented such as the “neighbourhood” being highlighted in the music video. Therefore, “Old Town Road” was recognized as an authentic representation of the communities. The performativity of dancing to the “Old Town Road” strengthened the solidarity among the African American communities as black people gather virtually to represent themselves with their unique identities. It also created a free space for marginalized groups such as the Black LGBTQ community to present themselves in terms of empowering the cowboy aesthetics. 

In conclusion, mobile media has become a significant tool in terms of shaping cultural identity. The “yeehaw agenda” generated meaningful discussions of social issues such as race, gender, user-generated content on TikTok encouraged people to join in the discussion and build their own mindset towards society.

Reference:

Fraley, T 2009, I Got a Natural Skill…: Hip-Hop, Authenticity, and Whiteness, Howard Journal of Communications, vol.20, no.1, pp.37-54, viewed 12 March 2022, <https://www-tandfonline-com.ezproxy.lib.rmit.edu.au/doi/full/10.1080/10646170802664979?scroll=top&needAccess=true>.