The Controversial Rise of RCTA

By Isabella Zhu and Srihita Madiraju Apr. 5, 2026

A TikTok video begins with soft, ASMR-type music and an anime-style background. In the comments below, viewers insert before and after photos of their progress, claiming their skin tone has lightened and their eyes have changed shape after listening to the video for a night. This social media trend, known as RCTA (Race Change to Another), features young adults who claim to transition to another race. Often, they are discontented with their current race or desire to align their physical appearance with their internal identity despite biological restraints.

RCTA stems from transracialism, a concept where an individual chooses to alter their appearance and lifestyle to match the identity of a race other than the one they were born with. Beginning around 2020, a growing number of social media content creators sparked controversy by promoting the trend, which most commonly consists of teenagers and young adults attempting to look more East Asian through cosmetic alterations, lifestyle changes and audio subliminals. The trend correlates to the rising popularity of K-pop, K-drama and anime, as viewers may glamorize these cultures and feel the need to imitate them.

Within RCTA, practitioners often utilize subliminal spaces — recordings of ASMR-type videos and audios containing hidden affirmations — to manifest their racial transitions. Examples of claims include the promise of monolids, pale skin and a small nose bridge. While psychological research does show that subliminal messages can influence minor aspects of behavior, perception or mood, the effects do not possess the ability to cause lasting physical changes or alter biological traits. Practitioners also frequently use non-consensual face claims of celebrities — often K-pop idols or East Asian actors — as blueprints to track their progress. As seen in the case of Oli London, the individual sparked controversy in 2020 after identifying as "transracial" and undergoing plastic surgery to resemble BTS member Jimin.

"It was surprising to see someone who is not East Asian trying to manifest into that culture just because they like the aesthetic of it. It seems more like fetishization rather than true cultural appreciation," Sophomore Rebecca Huang said.

Critics argue that RCTA crosses the line from appreciation into appropriation. While appreciation involves celebrating another culture's traditions, studying its language and learning its history, appropriation occurs when elements are taken out of context in ways that ignore a culture's background. Rather than genuinely engaging with East Asian culture, RCTA primarily focuses on physical characteristics like eye shape, skin tone and facial structure, allowing practitioners to "try on" an identity without facing the discrimination, stereotypes and systemic challenges that Asian communities navigate daily.

"East Asian cultures getting positive attention and being appreciated by people from different demographics is a good thing, but the RCTA trend tends to take it too far. There are much better ways to appreciate and accept other cultures than essentially taking it and claiming it as theirs," Senior Timothy Song said.

Despite the RCTA community's beliefs, science presents race as an ancestral reality that cannot be changed. The original use of the word transracial — to describe the adoption of children from other races into nuclear families — has persisted for decades, and members of transracial communities have expressed criticism of RCTA for misusing the term.

"At first, I thought RCTA videos were satire, because it seemed too surreal to see people treating my racial identity like something you can choose to put on and off. I am worried that this trend might influence people to see East Asian culture as just a trend and not a real identity," Freshman Alice Gu said.

Social media algorithms on platforms such as TikTok and Instagram often promote unusual content, allowing trends like RCTA to rapidly gain visibility and influence younger audiences. As the trend continues to evolve online, it raises important questions about when admiration for another culture crosses into appropriation — and whether racial identity can ever be separated from ancestry and lived experience. 

Ultimately, the RCTA trend reflects the tendency of the internet to overlook the nuances and complexities regarding identity for the sake of pure aesthetic and physical characteristics. While admiration for other cultures is healthy and necessary, it is important to recognize the difference between appreciating cultural traditions and attempting to adopt a racial identity that should be shaped through ancestry and lived experience, not simply by physical traits.

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About the Contributors

Isabella Zhu

Page Editor

Isabella Zhu is a sophomore at Leland High School and the Viewpoint page editor for The Charger Account. She enjoys reading books and browsing Netflix in her free time.

Srihita Madiraju

Staff Writer

Srihita Madiraju is a senior at Leland High School and a staff writer for The Charger Account. When she isn't busy lifeguarding she loves going to the beach with her friends, going on long walks, and reading.