# Side Part Vs Middle Part Debate The Side Part Vs Middle Part Debate is a TikTok argument that broke through in early 2021, with Gen Z users calling side-parted hair a giveaway that someone is an out-of-touch millennial while middle parts belonged to the young. The fight sat next to related generational callouts about skinny jeans and the crying-laughing emoji. ## Overview The Side Part Vs Middle Part Debate is a TikTok argument playing out mostly under the hashtags #sidepart and #middlepart, where Gen Z users insist side-parted hair marks someone as an out-of-touch millennial while middle parts belong to the young[1]. The bit sits alongside other generational callouts on the app, including scorn for skinny jeans, capitalized text, and the crying-laughing emoji[3]. Together those cues form a checklist TikTok teens used to sort strangers into age brackets by aesthetic choice alone[2]. Most videos in the debate are visual side-by-sides. A user films the same face styled first with a side part, then flips to a middle part, with the middle part framed as obviously more flattering[1]. Some clips crossed millions of views on their way to mainstream press coverage by early 2021[2]. Middle parts got tied to bigger Gen Z looks like curtain bangs, while side parts brought to mind mid-2000s scene kids and Disney Channel teens[4]. For millennials watching from outside TikTok, the fight came as a shock because side parts had been the default in the 2000s and 2010s during the Lauren Conrad beach-goddess era, and middle parts had been culturally dead since the 1990s[1]. Vox rolled the callout into a wider portrait of stereotypical millennials that also included the crying-laughing emoji, saying 'doggo,' and being weirdly attached to Harry Potter[2]. ## How It Spread By fall 2020 the argument was pouring into mainstream press. On October 21, 2020, feminist writer Jessica Valenti tweeted asking someone to write about TikTok teens hating on the side part, calling herself fascinated by it[1]. On October 29, 2020, Glamour published 'TikTok Teens Have Spoken: The Side Part Is Dead,' pushing the argument well beyond TikTok's Gen Z core; the Glamour writer even described being asked mid-appointment if she wanted to try a new part, and having her hairstylist flick her side part into the middle for the first time since about 2005[1]. The debate peaked in early February 2021. BuzzFeed covered it on February 3, then Narcity followed on February 8 with the pitch that skinny jeans and side parts were dead giveaways of being 'old,' framing the whole thing as a Gen Z assault on millennial style[3]. On February 10, the official Google Trends Twitter account posted a U.S. map tracking searches for 'middle part' and 'side part' after a jump in interest, and two days later writer @nwalks joked on Twitter that her middle part just made her look like Jared Leto[5]. Millennial responses ran from lighthearted to defensive. Vox weighed in on February 16, 2021, framing the whole thing as fake generational warfare and quoting writers joking that trying a middle part made them look like Rick from Degrassi[2]. Vox also highlighted a mom-influencer post that listed infertility, postpartum depression, a C-section, and pandemic-era homeschooling as reasons the writer had no time to care what Gen Z thought of her hair[2]. Bustle followed on February 17 with a defense of the side part, sending two of its millennial editors to switch parts for a day; one editor recommitted to the side part after the trial[4]. ## How to Use The classic version uses @missladygleep's original audio. A creator films themselves with a side part, then flips to a middle part, and typically lets the middle part win by pretending to be startled by how much better it looks[1]. Text overlays often call millennials out by name, or use dismissive phrases scoring the comparison against the side part[1]. Millennial-facing versions flip the template again: someone shows themselves refusing to change, or trying a middle part and hating it, or comparing themselves to figures like Rick from Degrassi or Jared Leto after the switch[2]. Bustle's editor-swap format is another common variant, running a multi-day trial and reporting back on whether the switch is worth keeping[4]. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is Side Part Vs Middle Part Debate? A TikTok argument where Gen Z users called side parts a millennial giveaway and middle parts the younger, more flattering option[1]. ### Where did Side Part Vs Middle Part Debate come from? It grew on TikTok through 2020, with a July 29 video from @missladygleep daring viewers to prove they looked better with a side part than a middle part[5]. ### What does Side Part Vs Middle Part Debate mean? It's shorthand for a generational fashion fight, using hairstyle as a marker for millennial vs Gen Z identity alongside skinny jeans and the crying-laughing emoji[2]. ### How do you use Side Part Vs Middle Part Debate? Film yourself switching between the two parts, typically using @missladygleep's audio, and let the middle part win the comparison[1]. ### Is Side Part Vs Middle Part Debate still popular? It peaked during a wave of mainstream press coverage in February 2021 and tapered after that, though the generational-callout format kept going in other forms[2]. ### Who influenced the middle part trend on TikTok? Charli D'Amelio, who crossed 100 million TikTok followers in 2020, is often credited as an accelerant since her middle-parted look was widely copied, along with Addison Rae and Bella Poarch[1]. ### What did Glamour say about the debate? Glamour's October 29, 2020 headline was 'TikTok Teens Have Spoken: The Side Part Is Dead,' and the writer described switching her own long-standing side part into the middle mid-appointment[1]. ### Is there a political angle to the debate? A widely quoted TikTok/Twitter comment framed it politically, claiming Democrats have middle parts and Republicans have side parts[5]. ### How does it connect to skinny jeans? Narcity framed skinny jeans and side parts together as the two big Gen Z callouts of millennial style, pitched as dead giveaways of being 'old'[3]. ### Did millennials defend the side part? Yes. Bustle ran a February 17, 2021 piece where two editors tried middle parts for a day, and one editor recommitted to the side part after the trial[4]. ### When did the debate peak? The February 2021 window brought BuzzFeed, Narcity, Vox, and Bustle coverage back-to-back, plus a Google Trends map on February 10[5]. ## References 1. [https://www.glamour.com/story/tiktok-teens-hate-side-parts]() 2. [https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2021/2/16/22280755/tiktok-gen-z-millennials-skinny-jeans-side-part]() 3. [https://www.narcity.com/en-us/people/tiktok-says-skinny-jeans-side-parts-are-out-according-to-gen-z]() 4. [https://www.bustle.com/style/gen-z-side-parts-versus-middle-parts]() 5. [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/side-part-vs-middle-part-debate]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/side-part-vs-middle-part-debate Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library