By Marni Rose McFallShareNewsweek is a Trust Project memberVideos involving dogs patiently waiting for their food are quickly going viral on TikTok. But there’s a hidden meaning behind the seemingly innocuous clips of patient pups.
The videos are actually being used to make a point about misogyny and violence against women.
Why It Matters
Whether focused on wellness or fun dance videos, trends regularly sweep the internet, taking off online and encouraging other social media users to join in, in turn creating social moments, which are sometimes big and sometimes small.
Though many social media trends are light-hearted, they can serve as a window into important topics like racism or sexism, such as with 2024's "man or bear" debate.
The trend involved asking a question: “Would you rather be alone in the woods with a man or a bear?” The vast majority of women picked the bear, which in turn sparked anger from men, and evolved into a broader discussion about violence against women.
These trends likely resonated given the significance of violence against women as an issue. One in 6 women in the United States has experienced attempted or completed rape in their lifetime, and an estimated 17.7 million American women have been victims of rape, according to statistics from RAINN.
...What To Know
The trend, circulating on TikTok and Instagram, features a woman placing a piece of food in her open palm next to a dog. The dog waits patiently—often until given explicit permission—without taking the food.
Creators are using this as a commentary on violence against women, contrasting the dog’s restraint and understanding of the word “no” with the rhetoric that men are “provoked” into harmful behavior.
The videos are set to the song "Labour" by Paris Paloma, which has become something of an anthem for discourse about women’s rights online.
Loading tiktok content...
In a video shared by @cravencoutrney, the woman holds a plate of food while the dog stands still beside her. At one point, she places a piece of food on the dog's head, and the dog stands calmly next to her without eating it. As of press time, that video has been viewed 6.9 million times and has the text overlay “Dogs > men."
One comment on that video, which has been liked over 75,000 times, reads “Never compare a dog to an absolute animal.”
The framing echoes the “man or bear” trend by contrasting the behavior of men with the behavior of an animal, and raises similar questions about how social media shapes discourse around violence against women and girls.
View contenthttps://www.instagram.com/p/DRjYXIAjomf/
What People Are Saying
Courtney Craven captioned her video on TikTok: “It’s unfair to compare dogs to men - the loyalty & trust of a dog are far greater.”
Saadia Mirza shared her take on the trend on Instagram, which has been viewed over 10 million times, and wrote: “Even dogs know that 'no' is a full sentence.”
A comment on Mirza’s video, liked over 100,000 times, reads: “And this is why I never compare [men] to dogs… it’s a disservice to dogs.”
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