There was a recent trend on multiple social media platforms, primarily TikTok, regarding adding a purple tint to your profile picture to protest against the GBV (gender based violence) crisis and femicide in South Africa. Netizens put a purple tint on their profile picture as a symbol to signify mourning and solidarity, and to call for GBV to be declared a National Disaster. Started by the non-profit Women for Change, this trend spread fast across platforms; however, it didn’t run as smoothly as intended. Misinformation on the background of the purple profile picture was quick to emerge, even starting a “purple vs green” profile picture war. This trend shows the importance of many good and bad factors, varying between getting a broader audience by using the media, to making sure that misinformation won’t be an issue when people ask “Why?”
What is the reason?
In South Africa, mass femicide was a large issue as of late 2025, and women demanded change. The GBV in South Africa was not considered a National Disaster, and therefore the government did not recognize it as an issue. Women were boycotting the government and were desperately trying to spread awareness on the issue. They turned to social media and created “The Purple Profile Picture Trend.” Overnight, both women and men began to change their profile picture to have a purple tint to help support the women in South Africa and protest against the GBV crisis, and comment sections were soon flooded with users having purple profile pictures. The protest was going smooth online until misinformation was spread and arguments rose.
Some people online misunderstood the purpose behind the trend. These people saw it as spreading awareness for women’s issues and not as a protest against GBV, this made some people feel almost “left out” because the trend was only in favor of women. Therefore, a new trend was started: “The Green Profile Picture Trend.” By turning your profile picture green, you were supporting men’s mental health and male sexual violence victims. Although supporting those things are important, that doesn’t align at all with the backstory of the purple profile pictures, and by making a rival trend it seems almost like the male agenda was attempting to veer away from the real purpose of the purple profile pictures.
The online spectacle.
This new trend sparked major online controversy, with many arguments being made about the origin of this trend and why it’s happening. And while the purple profile pictures still held strong, the green profile pictures were spreading fast and people who were fed the misinformation felt it right to change their profile pictures to both green and purple.
As the green profile pictures spread, so did the misinformation. The background behind the purple profile pictures were still being said as a color to spread awareness about something. More and more netizens were spreading misinformation with every different colored profile picture. With that, more colors began to appear. People were tinting their profile pictures blue to spread the gospel, and others were tinting their profile pictures yellow as a gag to represent gambling. Every new color that appeared brought more disrespect to the women struggling to protect their rights in South Africa.
The trend was slowly fading as green and blue profile pictures spread, but there was a light at the end of the tunnel. In November of 2025, GBV was officially declared a National Disaster. The protest worked and action was taken against the femicide and GBV. The online protest worked overwhelmingly well, and action was taken in real time. This trend will most likely be used as a warning and an inspiration in future online protests. It shows how important it is to make sure communication on the purpose of a trend is clear, and also how well an online protest can take shape and be important in real life events.
How does this affect WCHS?
Though Woodford County High School itself is not a purpose of this trend, many students participated. Some had purple, some had green, some had blue. I myself hope that the students of Woodford County take into consideration the importance of the effects of this trend on the world and how even the slightest change can make a huge impact. The students of Woodford County are big with social media, as are many teens today, and it is important to look back on this trend and realize how much power you have online. The youth is the future of our world and it is important we know our impact.
