TikTok’s latest trend —#beigeflag — already has over 1.4 billion views.
Unlike the TikTok trends that could land you in the hospital, the beige flag meme exposes potentially troublesome signs in a relationship. It’s a more low-key take on the popular online red flag discourse.
“The idea of beige flags — or compromising versus settling — as well as deal breakers in a relationship, come up quite a bit when discussing dating,” Alyssa Mairanz, founder of New York City-based Empower Your Mind Therapy, told CNN. “Having terms like this can be helpful for people to describe situations or feelings that they are unsure about more accurately.”
Beige flags often tackle issues like how someone communicates via text or what’s on their dating profile. Blaine Anderson, who runs a coaching website revealed one of the top beige flags on dating profiles: “I love to travel.” For Anderson, the term is “non-descriptive.”
Another beige flags include an inability to make plans, overusing GIFs in messages, and not returning messages or calls within a reasonable time.
Beige flags aren’t necessarily bad, according to Tina Wilson, relationship expert and founder of the dating app Wingman.
“Modern-day society has conditioned us through popular culture and beauty standards to see things as unacceptable when they’re just part of someone’s character,” Wilson told Harpers Bazar. “They might not be dealbreakers like red flags, which are warning signs that shouldn’t be ignored, but are instead odd traits or funny habits which are seen as not ideal by the other person in the relationship.”
While beige flags should not be ignored, they shouldn’t be used as the end-all-be-all for relationships.
“Self-reflection is a major factor in overcoming beige flags and really thinking about what you want in a partner,” said Wilson. “Think about your expectations and establish if they are reasonable.”
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