The Flower Summer Cup challenge encourages kindness by asking TikTok users to give women flowers. Photo: Handout
Filming yourself giving flowers to women is a new challenge that's on the rise on TikTok. It emerged in the wake of another, much less poetic challenge, the Boiler Summer Cup, a cruel trend that targets plus-size women.
It all began with the #boilersummercup challenge, which involves men competing to kiss as many plus-size women as possible in a nightclub. Men film themselves in the process and, among friends, compete and earn points based on the potential weight of the person, the challenge starting at 80 kg.
In addition to being an insulting and macho trend targeting women, this challenge is a worrying driver of fat-shaming.
If the first video that started the buzz has been removed and is no longer visible on the social media site, some users are still talking about it via the associated hashtag, which has 30 million views, by posting clips.
The trend, which developed mainly on Italian TikTok, has thankfully not been well received by the site's community, who have been quick to call out the body shaming that it reinforces.
But as trends move fast on social networks, another young TikTok user has been fighting back by suggesting that people counter this challenge with a new one: the Flower Summer Cup. Instead of earning points by kissing women according to their weight, maybe we could just give them flowers? That's what Marylin (@marylinzemmy) proposes - from two points for a daisy to 10 points for a rose - the winner being the person who offers the most flowers this summer.
Proof that kindness is still out there, the initiative has already gathered more than four million views, buoyed by the participation of influencers. It's a much more positive summer challenge that will hopefully have a greater impact than its predecessor. - AFP/Relaxnews
