Swashbuckling bi pirates have been set loose across TikTok, and shiver all our timbers- these seafaring looks are everything.
Near the end of 2020, bi pirates rose up from Davy Jones’ Locker to take over TikTok with the hashtags birates, bipiratetiktok and bisexualpiratetiktok. In the spirit of legendary queer pirates, the bi community are serving up jaw dropping looks with a seashanty in their hearts and adventures on the horizon.
Mixing together seasoned cosplayers with people who just so happen to have a puffy shirt and oversized leather jacket at hand, the trend set sail. Predominantly, the videos showcase a creator in modern clothes before revealing their full birate outfit to the tune of Ricky Desktop’s ‘The Banjo Beat Pt 1’.
Important question: How do I join Bi Pirate TikTok???!? pic.twitter.com/wOGIZeBjna
— Mina (@lasersushi) September 10, 2020
Since birates have come aboard, corsets are no longer the universal symbol for historic lesbian couples on a beach. In one video, a TikTok-er gets excited as a corset brings out their inner bar-fighting pirate.
please let this be the next thing oh my god cause if it is MY TIME IS NOWW pic.twitter.com/TWz3mx0iLC
— ANDRO GIN 🏰 (@AndroGinKing) February 10, 2021
Another video features a person offering words of encouragement for those who want to set sail for the seven seas, “It’s not the clothes that make the pirate, it’s the heart. We’re pirates, we live to break the rules. Wear what makes you feel like a pirate.”
Speaking with them about what this trend means for the bi+ community, James Wilder, whose sword-wielding captain look was among the first birate videos on TikTok, shared, “I think a really big part of why pirates (or piratecore, as some call it) are so appealing to me and others in the LGBTQIA community is the theme of freedom and agency.”
“There’s something so incredible about this idea of leaving behind anything and anyone that would try to put you in a box in favor of seeking adventure and becoming whoever you want to be,” Wilder continued.
While bi pirates plunder the watery depths, aceassins, the lesbian mafia, non-binary vampires, and so many more, are rising up across TikTok. Queer people are carving out their own space on the platform to foster a sense of community and encourage creativity.
© 2021 GCN (Gay Community News). All rights reserved.
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