What Does 'RCTA' And 'ECTA' Mean On TikTok? The Controversial Slang Acronyms Explained

It seems like every week there's a new slang term going around on TikTok, but that's not always a good thing. Right now, the terms RCTA and ECTA, which stand for "race change to another" and "ethnicity change to another," are gaining virality among users who identify as transracial. Some people are calling those who use them racist. Here's why.

@user83261048102 looking for other rcta mutuals / supporters ! let me know your subliminals & workouts to look more korean !!! / hashtags : #rcta #ecta #joke #goofy #southkorean #south #korean #kuwait #kuwaiti #lol ♬ original sound – 愛してます

What Does 'RCTA' Mean?

RCTA stands for "Race Change to Another." It is essentially another term for "transracial," which refers to the idea that you can transition to another race. One of the most infamous examples of transracial people is Oli London, a British influencer who, for a time, claimed to be Korean and was undergoing plastic surgery to resemble K-Pop singer Jimin. Another is Rachel Dolezal, who sparked controversy when she claimed to identify as Black.

While it's not clear when exactly the term RCTA was coined, it started to gain popularity on TikTok in September 2022. That month, TikTokers started posting videos under the hashtag "#RCTA" claiming to come out as another race. The majority of videos seem to be white people coming out as Korean, Chinese or Japanese, explaining why they want to do so and what strides they're taking to become more like the race they identify as.

@rctasoojin #rctasoojin #rcta #rctakorean #transracial #korean #koreangirl #aesthetic #srs #fyp #viral ♬ cookie – 🦗

@faerriidr3ams_ i saw a lot of hate and wanted people to understand my life before judging… #rcta #ecta #rtca #chinese #race #racechangetoanother #china #chinesegirl #rctachinese ♬ original sound – •

How Is 'RCTA' Used Online?

Since the term took off on TikTok, people who claim to be RCTA are posting "introduction" videos where they essentially come out as transracial and explain why. Most of these videos feature text explaining the transition and what they're doing to transition over videos of people representing their race. Others are posting videos that help people through their alleged racial transitions.

The term is also being heavily criticized on TikTok and across social media as racist. Many people find the idea of transitioning race to be offensive. Sometimes, the people claiming to be RCTA base their alleged newfound racial identity on stereotypes, essentially becoming a walking stereotype of the race they claim to identify with most. This criticism has inspired lots of trolls and bait accounts that appear to be RCTA-only to make fun of the people actually claiming to be RCTA, such as TikToker @hellmarifromspace, who posted a video pretending to help RCTA people with their makeup only to apply clown makeup and tell RCTA people to get help.

@hellmarifromspace for my 씨발새끼 (cute) rcta audience out there, i hope this helps! 💞✨🌸 – #fyp#rcta#transracial#korean#asian#andGO#japanese#chinese#ulzzang#kawaii#asianfisher#asiaboo#eastasian#racechangetoanother#pls#get#some#help ♬ Kimi No Toriko – Rizky Ayuba

@aventtea sorry for my #japanese accent🥺 i’m just so #asian already🥰🥺 #rcta #rctaisvalid #racechangetoanother #rta #rctaasian #04 #05 #06 #07 #kawaii #怖い #こわい #かわいい #可愛い #kowai #japanese #real #nosatire #nosatire🥶 #totallyseriousvideo #totallyserious ♬ KAWAII – sped up – Tatarka

@myrctajourney no hate please ! #fyp #foryou #foryoupage #rcta #southsudan #🇸🇸 #rctavalid #fy ♬ original sound – omgitslilny

@blessedhurdy Btw not saying you cant be new, just be casual with it#rcta #ecta #transracial #blackwomenoftiktok #african #fyp #fup #alttiktok #nonbinary #lgbt🌈 #lgbt #rctaisvalid #hehimpronouns #fy #🇿🇦 #🇨🇫 #baitaccount ♬ original sound – luv

What Does 'ECTA' Mean?

The term ECTA, meaning "ethnicity change to another," has also been going viral alongside RCTA videos. Being ECTA means you're transitioning ethnicity rather than race. For example, a Chinese person claiming to transition to Japanese. ECTA users are posting similar videos to RCTA users and are gaining just as much hate for being perceived as racist. They've also inspired a lot of troll and bait accounts, effectively muddying the waters and making it hard to tell what's genuine and what's not.

@www.poopeater.com Just woke up but I cannot NOT post about this #wtf #transracial #rcta #ecta #greenscreen ♬ original sound – amanda :D

---

For the full details on RCTA, be sure to check out our entry on the meme here for even more information.