About

Rainbow Kiss is an NSFW slang term often referenced on TikTok that refers to a kiss that combines menstrual blood and semen after oral sex is performed by both heterosexual partners. Rainbow Kiss content acts as a form of shock media and is similar to other Don't Google buzzwords. Many creators filmed themselves before and after Googling "rainbow kiss" as the term trended online in mid-2022.

Origin

On March 13th, 2003, rainbow kiss was added to Urban Dictionary ^[1] by user duncan, who defined it as, "performing cunnilingus on a menstruating female, often followed by orally swapping semen and blood/other secretions." Over the course of 19 years, the definition received roughly 2,900 likes and 1,400 dislikes (shown below).

Additionally, on July 14th, 2003, Urban Dictionary^[1] user Clayton added another definition for "rainbow kiss" that mentioned, "let us perform that rainbow kiss we heard about in school." This assumes that the "rainbow kiss" originates from public school rumors.

On August 7th, 2008, Twitter^[2] user swearalotdotcom tweeted, "New Swear: rainbow kiss," however, this was most likely the accounts "randomized" creation of a slur for LGBTQ+ people. On February 28th, 2009, Twitter^[3] user CheekyAndy tweeted, "never look up rainbow kiss or snowballing felching on google damn mates lmao." This is the first confirmed instance of the term spreading outside of Urban Dictionary.

Spread

In April 2009, more Twitter^[4] users referenced the humorous idea of performing a "rainbow kiss" in tweets. This continued on Twitter^[5] in late 2010. On April 5th, 2010, Redditor boken321 uploaded a post to /r/reddit.com^[6] that namedropped the "rainbow kiss."

On September 24th, 2011, an anon on 4chan's /tv/^[7] imageboard started a thread that stated, "Would you give Bella a rainbow kiss?" and attached a link to Urban Dictionary's definition. Multiple 4chaners add to the thread, expressing disbelief at the sexual maneuver. On October 5th, 2011, Redditor isopro added a post to /r/AskReddit^[8] that cited the "rainbow kiss" as something they wished they'd never learned about.

On December 16th, "rainbow kiss" was referenced again on 4chan's /s4s/^[9] board (shown below, left). On June 9th, 2017, "rainbow kiss" was mentioned by Twitter^[10] user BastardTheGod in a tweet that received over 220 likes in five years (shown below, right).

On September 14th, 2019, Redditor Zhangwa posted a rainbow kiss meme to /r/TIHI,^[14] showing a woman washing her eyes after reading its definition. In three years, the post received over 870 upvotes (shown below, left).

On July 27th, 2020, Twitter^[11] user pra_tea_k tweeted, "Do not Google 'rainbow kiss'." and received over 120 likes in two years. On November 5th, 2020, Twitter^[12] user drpenking posted a hilariously long-form and hyper-serious tweet that outlined what a rainbow kiss is and ended with, "Don't do it." The tweet received over 470 likes in two years (shown below, right). On December 1st, 2020, Twitter^[13] user vertragut earned roughly 3,700 likes in two years for a tweet that said not to Google "rainbow kiss."

Rainbow Kiss TikToks / Don't Google Trend

"Rainbow kiss" became a recognizable "Don't Google" trend on TikTok starting in late 2020. On November 25th, 2020, TikToker^[15] treeclimber5 posted a video that showed a screenshot of the "rainbow kiss" definition, earning roughly 845,500 plays and 14,300 likes in a year and a half (shown below, left). On November 29th, 2020, TikToker^[16] nymonsalve posted a video that stated, "Record yourself BEFORE you search up 'a rainbow kiss' and AFTER," earning roughly 10.4 million plays and 2.3 million likes in a year and a half (since deleted).

Inspired by the virality of nymonsalve's TikTok,^[16] many creators referenced "rainbow kiss" as a term not to Google in memetic content going into 2021 and 2022. Discourse about rainbow kisses peaked again in mid-2022. For instance, on June 25th, 2022, TikToker^[17] basementb1tch.com wrote in text overlay, "Me thinking the rainbow kiss is something cute," on a video that received roughly 167,200 plays and 3,600 likes in one month (shown below, left). On July 1st, TikToker^[18] yuen_kei posted a TikTok that stated, "When she has never tried rainbow kiss 💋," earning roughly 1.7 million plays and 357,900 likes in one month (shown below, right).

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References