Gen Z Is Using This TikTok Song to Come Out to Family and Friends

Coming out can be a very scary thing to do, especially when you don’t know how your loved ones will react. But in a recent TikTok trend, Gen Zs who identify as bi, gay, or lesbian are using the power of music to come out to their families. 

In May, TikTok user Kate Gill posted a video of her singing and playing an original song with a ukulele. Titled “Ken & Barbie,” the song is about a boy coming out as gay. Since being posted, the video has racked up 3.4 million views on the app. 

“What if he wants Ken, not Barbie? Why should he have to say sorry?” lyrics from the song goes.

As requested by her followers, she went on to make two other versions of the song. One for people who identify as bisexual and another for those who identify as lesbian. Since then, people have used the songs to help them come out to family and friends. 

They sit their loved ones down, play the song, and record their reactions, asking them to pay close attention to the lyrics. No words needed.

In this TikTok video, 20-year-old Adrienne Ryne Hights from the Philippines, comes out as bisexual to his mom. Tearing up, he asks his mom, “Do you get it?” to which she simply says, “yes,” before enveloping him in a tight embrace. 

Hights told VICE that he was nervous before coming out to his mom because he did not know what to expect. 

“I went to the bathroom and told myself ‘Alright. I’m gonna do it. This is it. The time is now. It’s now or never’,” he said. “After coming out to her, I felt relieved. Like I can finally breathe. I also felt closer to her.” 

Instead of being disappointed, like Hights initially thought she would be, his mom told him, “I’m very proud of who you’ve become and will always support you.”

Hights said that he decided to use the song not only because he could relate to it, but because his mom really loves music.

“I felt like it would be a great way to use it for us to connect together,” he said.

Jayda Johns, 17, from the United States came out as lesbian to her parents in a similar TikTok video posted last week. 

Johns told VICE that even though her mom “already had the idea because it was obvious,” she was happy to find out that her mom is fully accepting of her. 

“She tries her hardest to include me in relationship talks and asks me questions like ‘Have you found a girl yet?’ to make me feel comfortable in who I am,” she said.

Meanwhile, her dad “isn’t too accepting,” but “since I am his daughter, he supports me.” 

“Before coming out, I felt trapped and scared. After coming out, I feel better about myself and I can finally talk about who I truly am without feeling trapped,” Johns said.

The song has been used in thousands of other similar videos.

These videos have gone viral, receiving hundreds of wholesome, supportive comments.

Although the app has its controversies, it has also become a safe space for many communities, like people who identify as LGBTQ. On TikTok, you’ll find LGBTQ users sharing everything from dating advice to traumatic experiences with conversion therapy. 

According to a recent VICE survey, 48 percent of Gen Z respondents said they identify as something other than heterosexual, while 41 percent said they identify as neutral on the spectrum of masculinity and femininity.