I hadn’t been active on TikTok for a while, so imagine my surprise when I opened the app and saw purple profile pictures everywhere. At first, I had no idea what was going on. And I’m pretty sure a lot of people felt just as confused as I did. So in this article, we’re breaking down what this sudden purple PFP trend actually means, where it started, and why so many people are joining in.
How Did This Trend Start?
The movement started with a South African activist group called Women for Change, who are bringing attention to the crisis of gender-based violence and femicide in South Africa. South Africa has one of the highest femicide rates in the world and the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) reported that 60% of women killed are murdered by intimate partners. To speak up against this, Women for Change required a few things done by people to raise awareness.
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If you look into their website, you will notice that they have announced a nationwide “shutdown” for November 21, 2025 asking women and LGBTQ+ people to take part in it. As part of this protest, they encouraged people to change their profile pictures to purple as a visible sign of solidarity online, and that’s how the Tiktok “trend” came up.
Everyone who saw this in their website and the purple PFP’s of others also changed theirs to be purple. The color purple was chosen because it symbolizes justice, strength, and remembrance for victims of violence.
The whole campaign sparked curiosity about the purple PFPs, and just like me, many people learned more about their purpose. Through researching it, more and more people became aware of the struggles faced by African women.
What About The Green PFPs?
You might have also seen green PFPs on Tiktok. But to be quite honest, they are quite harmful and should not be put as your PFP.
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The green PFPs appeared as a kind of counter-trend to the purple PFP movement. Some people, mainly men, started using green to raise awareness about male victims of gender-based violence. Now don’t get me wrong, men’s struggles matter too. Ignoring male victims' pain is not acceptable.
But this specific campaign is for African women, and adding more colors can distract from their situation. This day is supposed to be awareness for African women only. It’s better to save other awareness campaigns for another day so we don’t take attention away from the urgency of the purple PFP movement.
Conclusion
Changing your profile picture might seem like such a small action, but seeing so many purple PFPs genuinely made me pause and look deeper into what was happening. I didn’t know anything about this issue before, it was the trend itself that pushed me to learn, to care, and eventually to write about it. And once I understood the reason behind it, I felt the need to join in too.
Now my own TikTok PFP is purple, not just because it’s a trend, but because it represents awareness, solidarity, and a voice. Even if it’s a digital one. I hope that by reading this, you not only understand the meaning behind the purple PFPs, but maybe feel inspired to be part of it as well.
I myself feel proud to be a part of this trend aswell. Sometimes awareness really does start with something as small as a color.
