Meaning of 'ECTA' on TikTok explained as new term emerges
By Emily Bell
As you’ve been scrolling through your For You Page on TikTok, you’ve probably seen the word ‘ECTA’ appear in many videos, but what does it mean? Read on for a full explanation of the acronym.
New words and phrases pop up on TikTok all the time and it’s hard to keep up with all their definitions. The site has its own vocabulary of words like ‘glazing’, ‘yellow person’ and ‘type timing’.
Meaning of ‘ECTA’ on TikTok
‘ECTA’ stands for ‘ethnicity change to another’ and is a fairly new term used by people who have or are changing their ethnicity.
This is also referred to as being ‘transracial’ which is when someone identifies as a different race than the one associated with their biological ancestry.
However, the same term also commonly describes someone raised by adoptive parents who are of a different ethnic background.
Another popular phrase is ‘RCTA’ which has the meaning ‘race change to another’ and describes those who are changing their race.
Race describes someone’s physical and behavioral traits, while ethnicity refers to the culture of someone from a certain region.
CDTR and CDTE are similar
Two other acronyms that fall within the same bracket are ‘CDTR’, which means ‘change to desired race’ and ‘CDTE’ which is ‘change to desired ethnicity.
People on TikTok are also using the terms ‘dead race’ and ‘dead ethnicity’ to discuss their race or ethnicity before transitioning.
This follows the same format as ‘dead name’ which describes a transgender person’s birth name after they have transitioned and chosen a new name.
Know Your Meme explains the terms started gaining popularity on TikTok in September 2022 when people began making introduction videos of them ‘coming out’ as transracial.
Acronyms take over TikTok
The terms ‘ECTA’, ‘RCTA’, ‘CDTR’ and ‘CDTE’ have gone viral on TikTok as more and more people are changing their race or ethnicity.
This is usually because they don’t feel connected to the race, ethnicity or culture they were born with and feel more aligned with another one.
One person wrote on TikTok: “I used to be American but I am now South African since that is the race I feel a part of.”
“Hello I’m a new RCTA and I’m white transitioning to Chinese,” another said. “The reason I feel the need to transition is due to the bullying I’m experiencing.”
However, the term is becoming problematic and controversial as some are claiming it’s a form of racism and fetishization of certain cultures.
