About

A Boyfriend Haul is a video genre on TikTok parodying shopping haul videos where girls show off their boyfriends and share their pros, cons and features with the viewers as if their boyfriends are items that they purchased. The trend became popularized on TikTok in July 2022. Some interracial couples participating in the trend were criticized as racist for how the girlfriends discussed their Black boyfriends in their videos, with some Black creators comparing the videos to slave auctions.

Origin

In July 2022, TikTokers began posting parody "shopping haul" videos where instead of items that they purchased, women show off their boyfriends to the camera while describing their "features," including some of their pros and cons, jokingly talking about them as if they're items. The trend was started by TikToker^[1] @isabelle.hansen on July 2nd, 2022, in a video garnering over 200,000 views in a month (shown below).

Spread

The trend spread across TikTok over the course of July and August. For example, on July 20th, 2022, TikToker^[2] @olivia.antongiovanni posted a boyfriend haul, garnering over 1.5 million views in a month (shown below, left). On August 6th, TikToker^[3] @haleypham posted a boyfriend haul that garnered over 580,000 views in three weeks (shown below, right).

Slave Auction Comparisons Controversy

In late July 2022, some Black TikTokers began criticizing interracial couples participating in boyfriend hauls, particularly the girlfriends of Black men, comparing the way they talked about their boyfriends to slave auctions. On July 28th, TikToker^[4] @zaraarije posted an apology for a now-deleted boyfriend haul that gained criticism for this reason, garnering over 100,000 views in a month (shown below).

Around August 7th, now-private TikToker @haiandcrew's interracial boyfriend haul video became the subject of criticism by Black TikTokers for the way she talks about her boyfriend, joking that she "purchased him." For example, on August 7th, TikToker^[5] @oneyatootuff posted a duet reaction to the video, garnering over 480,000 views in two weeks (shown below, left). On the same day, the clip was shared to Twitter,^[6] garnering over 7,800 likes and 400 retweets. On August 12th, TikToker^[7] @thewokemama posted a compilation of boyfriend haul videos she found racist, followed by a video of a woman in an interracial couple explaining the controversy behind the trend, garnering over 630,000 views in two weeks (shown below, right). On August 24th, Newsweek^[8] and The New York Post^[9] published articles discussing the backlash to the trend.

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References