What is the ‘RCTA’ meaning on TikTok?

If you spend long enough on TikTok you’ll start to see certain phrases and acronyms  pop up again and again. Phrases like IB (Inspired By) or moots (mutuals) are all a part of the fast-growing Gen Z dialogue. Although one particular TikTok phrase has ruffled some feathers, that phrase being RCTA or ECTA. So what exactly does the acronym stand for and why has it got so many people upset?

Let’s cut to the chase, RCTA stands for Race Change To Another, or Ethnicity Change To Another if we’re talking about ECTA, (It’s the same thing.) Those who are RCTA are trying to actively change their own race/ethnicity because they believe that they identify with said race more than their own.

Of course, this has been branded as problematic, and for good reason. Some of the defense for RCTA likens it to being transgender. Firstly, no, it’s not akin to transgenderism, not even close. Race is inherited attributes, gender is not.

A person who is trans may have a male body but a female gender identity; clearly there’s a disconnect between their body and who they really are. Male and female brains are different so it’s possible to be born with your brain being one and your body another. But you can’t be white and born with the brain of another race, because when it comes to the brain there is nothing that inherently makes it one race or another like there is with gender.

Furthermore, there are plenty of scientific studies and academic research that validate transgenderism. One TikToker pointed out that there are no such studies into RCTA.

Most of the issues surrounding those who call themselves RCTA are the fact that many of these perceived behaviors from other races are based on stereotypes. For example, one TikTok boils Japanese culture down to their looks, food, and fashion. Most people don’t need this spelled out for them, but changing your own features and lifestyle to fit into the stereotypes of a particular race is racist.

But hold on, it gets even weirder because we’re going to talk about “face claiming.” Essentially a face claim is a model who represents an ideal version of the race an RCTA person wants to be. They can be models, celebrities or just random TikTokers who the person thinks looks the most like how they themselves want to look. Sometimes they even reach out to other users to ask if they can claim their face.

The whole idea has now sort of been hijacked by people who are satirizing it. But you’ll still find plenty of genuine videos of people trying to change their own race, or giving others tips on how to do so themselves.