Char Lang! and the “Chakaret Factory”

As people driven by the essence of freedom, we are often enamored by the idea of production. We are born into a world that rewards output — we work, we create, we perform. But when things go awry, the instinct to “reset” creeps in. In a society obsessed with efficiency, the concept of starting over seems almost sacred. Yet, what happens when this mechanical impulse is projected onto human identity itself?

A “Reset” for the Golden Ticket

In a recent TikTok storm, a song once bristled in Moira Dela Torre’s discography resurfaced as the unlikely anthem of this trend. While Filipino hits like Sarah Geronimo’s Tala evoke nostalgia and weepy emotions, Titibo-tibo took on a far different route online. It became the soundtrack for the so-called “factory reset” trend. 

The genesis of the prompt is deceptively playful. TikTokers, accompanied by the upbeat strains of Titibo-tibo, filmed themselves “switching” identities and transitions from queer or nonconforming expression to a stereotypically heteronormative presentation. 

It is all ironic. What we once thought was a melancholic love song intended to narrate self-discovery had now been appropriated as a satirical tool to illustrate a “reset” of sexuality or gender. However, what seems like humorous or fascinating content can subtly legitimize beliefs that queer identities are malleable—or worse, undesirable.

Factory of Sugarcoated Consequences

The dangers are real. When society normalizes the idea that sexual orientation or gender can be put to restart, it perpetuates harmful notions and reiterates false claims from the anachronistic times of conversion therapy. Queer individuals may face heightened scrutiny, harassment, or assault under the assumption that their identities are “phases” that can and probably should change over time. Any “fascination” these videos generate is harmful, opening the door for predators to target queer people and falsely suggest that they can be changed through other remedies.

This is not merely a playful trend—it manufactures misconceptions about human identity, packaging complex experiences as though they were consumable products. Gender and sexuality are not industrial lines of assembly that you can put a label on and discard when sensed as damaged. Reducing a person’s identity to a mere “reset button” trivializes one's individuality and undermines the very concept of self-determination.

“Waley Wonka”

There is no such thing as a factory reset, no matter how appealing the idea sounds. Unlike what is seen in countless reels, just because a woman stops dressing up in boyish clothing doesn't mean she's “back to default.” The boy you've seen in a dress before, who's now married to a girl, didn't “overcome a glitch.” Gender is a wide spectrum, identity is fluid, and each person’s journey is far too intricate to fit into neat, binary phases. To assume otherwise is to ignore the fundamental unpredictability and richness of humankind. 

This is why passing the SOGIE Bill is highly critical. Beyond legal protection, it educates the public by cultivating awareness and empathy for those who are still apprehending their identities and steer them away from being misunderstood or dismissed. 

Although the blame for trends like “factory reset” does not lie squarely on those who participate in it. We must remember that they are also victims entangled by the lack of exposure to comprehensive SOGIE education. This whole trend only embodies that when society denies understanding, it defaults to these reductive solutions, depicting a reset button to “fix” what is perceived as wrong. But queerness is a total “waley” from being a glitch to be debugged.

The “Chakaret Factory”

In Filipino gay lingo, “charot” is simply a  joke, a playful tease, while “chaka/chakaret” translates roughly to “ugly” or “unattractive.” Identity is neither. Human beings are not commodities on a production chain. We are not items to be pressed, polished, or rebooted by whatever the factory has dictated us to do.

Queer existence cannot be undone. Even if one attempts to erase every marker and cover up every expression of individuality, the essence remains. Gender, identity, and sexuality are deeply intertwined with the spaces that we occupy and defend—they are not superficial choices nor aesthetic trends. Society owes every individual compassion, understanding, and respect, rather than the fetishization of identity as a mechanized fixation.

As the trend’s song says, “walang matigas na tinapay sa mainit na kape ng iyong pagmamahal.” Love, in all its forms, softens even the hardest boundaries we never thought it could. And that is love, but so is queerness.