THE REVOLUTION WILL BE MEMEFIED: CUTE WINTER BOOTS
Written by Katrine K. Pedersen - first published on digitalcritiques.com
“Cute winter boots” is trending on TikTok—not because of the season, but because, after Trump’s inauguration, it has become a protest meme. Some call it a joke, others a revolution.
This season, “cute winter boots” is trending—but not for the reasons one might expect. While fashion weeks are in full swing, this phenomenon has nothing to do with seasonal trends. Instead, “take your cute winter boots on” has become a coded phrase on TikTok, signaling readiness to fight against Trump—particularly his immigration policies and the mobilization of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The trend began in late January, with videos where users either showcased their winter boots or ironically commented on how cute they were. It’s an example of algospeak, where politically charged words are replaced with harmless expressions to avoid censorship and shadowbanning.
After President Trump blocked a TikTok ban on January 19, 2025, media outlets like Forbes reported on the debate it sparked—including speculation about a possible MAGA shift on the platform. Under the hashtag #CuteWinterBoots, TikTok users are sharing videos featuring an audio clip from Rudyard Kipling’s poem Boots (1903)—a spoken-word recording from 1915 that originally described the monotonous march of British soldiers during the Boer War. The poem’s rhythmic repetition, reflecting exhaustion and helplessness, has previously been used in military training, films, and video games like Call of Duty: Black Ops 6. Now, it has found a new context in the Cute Winter Boots TikTok trend.
Many of the earliest videos have since been taken down. User @Xxking._.dirtxx victor (gerard’s version) commented on the censorship in a TikTok video where he nonchalantly lifts his black boots as if he were on a catwalk while lip-syncing to Billie Eilish’s Bad Guy. Another video, still online, resembles a classic DIY tutorial: a person sewing a fabric patch with the words “KILL THE CISTEM” onto a denim jacket. The video, posted by TikTok user @theactualqwertykeyboard, is accompanied by hashtags like “DIY” and “punk”—but also the words “Deny, Defend, Depose” and the message: “Winter boots! Don’t stand down (Ignore the sewing, I’m not very good at it).”
“DENY, DEFEND, DEPOSE” AND THE LUIGI MANGIONI PHENOMENON
“Defy, defense, depose” has become a slogan in the wake of the idolization of Luigi Mangioni—also known as “the Manhattan shooter”—who is accused of murdering Brian Thompson, CEO of UnitedHealthcare, on December 4, 2024, in New York City. After the incident, the phrase became associated with Mangioni because it was allegedly found engraved on bullet casings at the crime scene.
Since Luigi Mangioni’s arrest, protests and demonstrations have erupted both in the streets and online. The phrase has been widely used to criticize insurance companies’ practices of denying claims, defending their decisions, and evading accountability.
On TikTok, the words have taken on new life in videos that play with their double meaning. For example, user @cruciatus30 posted a video of a pile of dollar bills with “Deny, Defend, Depose” written in red, accompanied by the caption “Love these winter boots so much” and Melanie Martinez’s song Soap. According to the American platform Know Your Meme, the video received over 1.6 million likes within three days.
THE CULTURE WAR CONTINUES IN THE COMMENTS
The phenomenon has sparked reactions from the right, including far-right conspiracy theorist Jack Posobiec. During a panel hosted by Steve Bannon at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), Posobiec issued a call to action: “Welcome to the end of democracy. We are here to overthrow it completely.” He added, “We didn’t get all the way there on Jan. 6, but we will,” while raising his clenched fist in the air. The video can be seen via CNN.
He has also targeted #CuteWinterBoots, calling it “Luigi-style violence.” On his X profile, he reposted videos with the caption: “Look at this ‘Kill the CiStem’ with the phrase ‘Cute Winter Boots!’” His post has triggered a wave of transphobic comments and calls to fight against “the alphabet people.”
Far-right voices interpret the trend as an escalating threat, viewing memes as calls to violence. However, they have not only mobilized their own followers but also amplified its viral effect. Hate, extreme reactions, and controversy fuel engagement, and for every video taken down, new variations emerge—some ironically playing with the attention Posobiec and his followers have drawn to the phenomenon, others more confrontational.
THE REVOLUTION IS ABOUT TO BE TELEVISED..
“…You picked the right time, but the wrong guy.” The surge of #CuteWinterBoots videos on TikTok right after the Super Bowl halftime show wasn’t entirely coincidental. Kendrick Lamar’s performance, packed with subtle political messages, resonated deeply with audiences already engaged in anti-Trump online activism. The halftime show is an example of how pop cultural events serve as an ongoing catalyst for memetic resistance, where music, politics, and internet culture blur into a single, chaotic battlefield. The revolution is about to be televised, is a direct reference to Gil Scott-Heron’s iconic spoken-word piece The Revolution Will Not Be Televised (1971). His work critiques mass media’s role in shaping and sanitizing political movements, making your phrasing particularly interesting in a contemporary context where social media has altered the premise of what can be "televised."
Scott-Heron argued that real change would not unfold as a neatly packaged media spectacle but rather in everyday life, beyond the reach of corporate-controlled narratives. In contrast, Kendrick Lamar’s take indicate that the revolution is now being broadcasted —not only through traditional television but via digital, user-generated platforms like TikTok, where memes and cultural references serve as tools of political discourse.
Within this framework, the Super Bowl halftime show becomes an arena where culture and politics intersect in a form of mediated resistance. If Scott-Heron saw television as a way to obscure and pacify revolution, your framing implies that social media has flipped the dynamic: The revolution is not only being documented but also memetically staged and disseminated by users themselves, shaping the larger battle over narratives.
A MEMETIC PROTEST—OR JUST A JOKE?
A protest meme like #CuteWinterBoots is a patchwork of irony, nonsense, bots, outrage, hate, polarization-driven algorithms, and reactions—where even criticism and opposition become part of its circulation. This diffuse and unpredictable dynamic is precisely what gives a protest meme like #CuteWinterBoots its viral power.
The culture war has fully erupted in the comment sections of countless posted and reposted videos about winter boots—becoming a battleground for the ongoing conflict between Trump supporters and anti-Trump movements.
#CuteWinterBoots is yet another example of how the internet dissolves the boundaries between activism, irony, and viral nonsense. For some, it’s a political protest—a way to bypass censorship and organize resistance against Trump and his policies. For others, it’s an inside joke, a playful experiment with platform dynamics and the absurdity of online communities. And for others still, it’s about provocation, reaction, or capitalizing on the trend.
As so often before, it becomes impossible to pin down a single meaning. But the crucial question isn’t what such a protest meme means—it’s who is exploiting it and how it is being used in a politically heated U.S.