Raise a finger if the only time your ethnicity is ever portrayed, it’s through the lens of trauma or tragedy. Worse, put another finger up if most of the representation you’ve seen of yourself is mostly reduced to struggle, stigmatization, and suffering, stripped of any kind of nuance or depth. Put a last finger up if you’ve ever wondered why people who look like you are essentialized, their existence associated with only pain, poverty, or criminality. If you’ve got three fingers up, chances are that you’re from the Global South—where your entire sense of self is framed as a perpetual pity party, while others get to celebrate their glow-ups, untouched by the weight of stereotypes.
As the saying goes, “he who laughs last, laughs best,” and if TikTok’s algorithm is any indication, the tables are starting to turn. Those who once controlled the narrative in media and culture are now getting a taste of their own medicine—thanks, in part, to a new trend dubbed the “Fenty Pose.”
@rjdossantos #fenty #usa_tiktok ♬ Rodeo – City Girls
Shabby, slouched, and zombie-like, several internet users have been sharing posts of themselves striking odd poses, allegedly imitating the physical effects of fentanyl use, a synthetic opioid drug U.S. officials have been battling against for the past few years.
30 to 50 times more potent than heroin, the sedative’s primary clinical utility is in pain management and relief for cancer patients and those recovering from important medical procedures. Over the past decade though, it has managed to take over most streets across the Atlantic, recreationally, becoming a recurrent sight on social media, where passersby would record people visibly struggling with the substance’s effects, sharing these distressing moments for shock value, to raise awareness, or worse, as a form of voyeuristic entertainment.
In numbers, it has been reported by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) for the United States Congress, that between 2015 to 2020, “the rate of opioid-involved overdose deaths— driven by fentanyl — (…) doubled, from 10.4 to 21.4 per 100,000.” Since, this devastating epidemic has only kept on its way of growth, with the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) reporting 73,838 fentanyl overdose cases in 2022 alone. With all this in mind, the trend of mimicking opioid effects on TikTok can feel disturbing, as it not only trivializes the severity of the opioid crisis but also risks normalizing dangerous behaviors amongst young, impressionable audiences.
fenty pose??? https://t.co/t9jUhfZe9J
— jania nd santamaría 🇵🇸 (@janierbot) February 5, 2025
With both notions of drug abuse and American culture having now merged into one, it stands to reason that the United States no longer carries the image of the ideal, “promised” land it once enjoyed, where virtually anything, and everything, is possible with enough hard work. Instead, alongside the labels of ignorance and geographical cluelessness, it is now the turn of substance misuse to add itself to this growing pile of unflattering stereotypes the country of Uncle Sam seems unable to shake off. And the internet only seems to be fanning the flames of this narrative— for better or worse.
Now a defining feature of the nation’s portrayal in widespread media, one could argue that bullying your bully is the perfect form of revenge. And for those of us having gone through generations of trauma, can it be ourselves or our elders who had to come to terms with life-impacting tropes, perhaps a few viral videos mocking the complexities of addiction aren’t as harmful as many would like to make it seem. In fact, it could be viewed as a kind of poetic justice as those who’ve perpetuated these stereotypes are now reaping what they once, and sometimes still, sew. After all, when you’ve been reduced to a caricature of pain and suffering for so long, a little role reversal might just be the shake-up the status quo needs— even if the ones posting the videos aren’t exactly who you’d expect (yes, these videos are still predominantly being made by white people.)
That said, while there is definitely a certain level of irony in flipping the script, if we’re being honest, we should aim at striking a balance between reclaiming power, as well as our stories, and perpetuating a cycle of harm. At the end of the day, addiction is no joke, and mocking it doesn’t really help anyone. Maybe, just maybe, we could skip the theatrics and try something more productive, like holding the systems that lead to addition accountable or, dare we say it, showing a little empathy rather than shooting at people in dire need of help for cheap laughs.
