FlopTok / Floptropica

About

FlopTok and Floptropica refer to a genre of TikTok memes that play on the slang term "flop era" and use predominantly feminine and LGBTQ+ meme references and characters (such as Wendy Williams, Jiafei and Deborah Ali-Williams) to paint a universe called Floptropica located on the imagined Floptropica Island, where the characters and memes exist. The genre plays on the precursor Badussy War which also used female, meme icons in a satirical, world-building manner. Overall, FlopTok is similar to "Stan Twitter" memes and utilize low-quality and moldy videos for aesthetic purposes. FlopTok memes started in 2021 and trended en masse going into 2022 and 2023.

History

Before FlopTok

According to some online, like on the WikiTok Fandom^[1] page for the subculture, FlopTok videos became prevalent on TikTok in 2021 despite the term "FlopTok" and its hashtag not surfacing until early 2022. FlopTok's aesthetics were a natural progression from Stan Twitter memes, as in, early FlopTok videos were shitpost compilations of multiple, low-quality "Stan Twitter" videos set to TikTok sounds that used remixes of multiple "Stan Twitter" artists such as Nicki Minaj or CupcakKe, among others.

As stated, the FlopTok aesthetic existed in TikTok videos before the term's coinage in early 2022, predominantly prevalent in videos labeled with text overlay reading, "⚠️ AESTHETIC WARNING ⚠️." These "⚠️ AESTHETIC WARNING ⚠️" videos using FlopTok aesthetics surfaced as early as 2020. For instance, on September 29th, 2020, TikToker^[2] @imnotdrytbh posted a video of this nature, using multiple, low-quality "Stan Twitter" memes and an Adele sound, earning roughly 1.1 million plays and 410,200 likes in three years (shown below).

Flop Era / Crop or Flop

Starting in mid-2021, the term Flop Era started to trend on TikTok, predominantly inspired by a TikTok^[3] posted by Billie Eilish in early July 2021 (since deleted). Within early FlopTok circles, FlopTokers accused each other of being in their "flop eras" similarly to how Eilish was accused of being in her "flop era" in her July 2021 TikTok (YouTube upload shown below).

The humorous "flop era" accusations led to the catchphrase "crop or flop" becoming a spam comment within the FlopTok community. The spam comment was used to provoke the creator of a TikTok video to either crop the "Stan Twitter" video they used and repost it or "flop" as a repercussion of doing so (similar to the Halloween saying "trick or treat"). FlopTokers began abiding by the "crop or flop" comments that surfaced in early 2022, ultimately responding to them with separate videos. For instance, one of the earliest known examples of a "crop of flop" response video on TikTok was posted on January 6th, 2022, by TikToker^[4] @nastypeachy, earning roughly 8,700 plays in one year (shown below).

Origin of FlopTok

Starting in early 2022, "FlopTok" was coined by the TikTok community that posted the low-quality "Stan Twitter" memes and used the spam comment "crop or flop." The hashtags #flop and #flopera were used prior to 2022 in December 2021.^[5] Currently, the earliest known video to use #floptok was uploaded by TikToker^[6] @flopedflop on March 4th, 2022, who posted a low-quality video of a woman laughing with a caption related to the Me When I Post X On X, Put My Phone On Vibrate, And Put It In My Ass concept but in reference to Nicki Minaj stans. The video received roughly 2.6 million plays and 697,800 likes in 11 months (shown below).

In the comment section of TikToker^[6] @flopedflop's video, TikToker @flopedflop left a comment reading:

Before I and other flops soon disappear from tik tok. I would like to say thank you all for joining flop tok 💔💔 forever in our hearts #ripfloptok

The comment was in reference to the date March 7th, 2022. Leading up to the date, many TikTok users, specifically those who shared cropped "Stan Twitter" memes, were under the impression that TikTok's March 7th update was going to ban the ability to share small-sized, low-quality videos that weren't specifically made on the TikTok app. Many videos from "crop or flop" TikTokers coined the term "R.I.P. FlopTok" leading up to March 7th as a way to identify the community they'd built that they thought was going to be no more after March 7th (examples shown below).

Despite the fear, the March 7th, 2022 incident never happened and FlopTok remained on the platform. For instance, on March 8th, 2022, TikToker^[7] @4lubb posted a video that proclaimed that the "Flops survived" and referenced the memes Pussy Tight, Pussy Clean, Pussy Fresh and Another Day, Another Slay. Over the course of 11 months, the video received roughly 54,200 plays and 11,500 likes (shown below).

After March 7th, 2022, the term "FlopTok" remained on the platform, becoming more viral as time went on. For instance, on August 4th, 2022, TikToker^[8] @mikeysdior posted the most viewed #floptok video over the course of the hashtag's 11-month time frame. The video referenced Shakira in Jail and over the course of six months, it received roughly 12.6 million plays and 3 million likes (shown below).

Floptropica Island

On January 14th, 2023, TikToker^[9] @floptok_slay_queen posted a video that included a screenshot of a private island for sale off the coast of Chile. TikToker^[9] @floptok_slay_queen urged their followers and the rest of FlopTok to pool together and buy the island to name it Floptropica Island. In one month, the video received roughly 13,700 plays and 1,900 likes (shown below, left). After the video's upload, TikToker^[10] @floptok_slay_queen posted another video related to the island on January 15th, gaining roughly 166,100 plays and 37,800 likes in one month (shown below, right).

More Floptropica Island related videos surfaced on January 15th, gaining more engagement. For isnstance, TikToker^[11] @alphab0ss69 posted a video about the private island on January 15th, earning roughly 269,400 plays and 38,100 likes in one month (shown below).

Floptropica President Deborah Ali-Williams

Starting in late January 2023, FlopTokers started using videos of Deborah Ali-Willams, the lead funeral director and owner of All Peoples' Funeral Home in Houston, Texas, for their FlopTok memes. They then started labeling Deborah Ali-Willams as "Floptropica President." For instance, the earliest known example was uploaded on January 29th, 2023, by TikToker^[12] @baguetteboi1 whose video showed a fake Google search for "President of Floptropica Island." The video received roughly 32,200 plays and 5,200 likes in 19 days (shown below).

Related Memes

Badussy War

The Badussy War is a "Stan Twitter" and FlopTok TikTok trend about an imaginary war regarding the '-ussy' variant 'Badussy.' TikTokers engaging in the trend share black-and-white "war footage" using photoshopped images of celebrities like Kim Kardashian, Cardi B, Trisha Paytas, James Charles, Nicki Minaj, Kris Jenner, Jiafei and other feminine or LGBTQ+ meme icons to make them look vintage as if from the 1800s. Creators also remix their names to resemble imagined Badussy War generals, soldiers and colonels, such as "Cardiac B. Arrest." TikToks surfaced in late 2021 although the lore recites that the war took place from 1904 to 1991. Many memes made about Floptropica Island in early 2023 referenced the Badussy War.

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References