What stood out most this year were the city rivalries that have been trending.
There are some things on Pakistani TikTok that are only meant to be seen and not understood, like Land Cruisers with bull’s horns attached to the bonnet. Or gold-plated iPhones with Arabic inscriptions. Or dining rooms with purple tables and strobe lights on the ceiling.
Other things are readily understood but were rarely seen, at least before this digital avenue came along: people on the fringes economically, socially, largely excluded from mainstream echo chambers. Working-class people, queer people, men who dress as women, women who dress as men and professional bodybuilders who scarcely dress at all. People with hundreds of thousands, and often millions, of followers.
Composite Illustration by Samiah Bilal
There are some things on Pakistani TikTok that are only meant to be seen and not understood, like Land Cruisers with bull’s horns attached to the bonnet. Or gold-plated iPhones with Arabic inscriptions. Or dining rooms with purple tables and strobe lights on the ceiling.
Other things are readily understood but were rarely seen, at least before this digital avenue came along: people on the fringes economically, socially, largely excluded from mainstream echo chambers. Working-class people, queer people, men who dress as women, women who dress as men and professional bodybuilders who scarcely dress at all. People with hundreds of thousands, and often millions, of followers.