What Does “SW” Mean on TikTok?

TikTok is known for its users developing their own language and mannerisms within the app itself to communicate with their audiences better. However, given TikTok’s popularity, we often see TikTok slang leaking out into the real world and being adopted by users on other social media platforms.

Those who are not in the know might find it difficult to keep up with new slang coming up every now and then. One such term that keeps popping up every now and then

is SW. If you are unfamiliar with it, continue reading as this article will explain to you what SW is.

What does “SW” stand for and its meaning?

While SW can stand for a lot of things, it’s mainly used as an abbreviation for “Sex Worker” or “Sex Work”. It is mostly used by people who engage in sex work and want to discuss it without being banned. 

TikTok does not allow material that is sexually explicit in nature and tends to remove content related to that or ban accounts that share such content. However, due to the heavy handed way TikTok handles content moderation, sometimes even discussions by or about sex workers ends up being removed, even if they don’t feature any adult content. 

Users on TikTok have a history of finding ways to circumvent content moderation methods, like using Fake Body hashtags in order to trick the content moderation bot or by changing the spellings of words in order to avoid detection. “SW” is another way of TikTok users trying to destigmatize Sex Work and allow for it’s discussion on the platform while avoiding being banned.

What does Accountant mean on TikTok

Before SW, Accountant was another term that Sex Workers use in order to fool the content moderation bot. Its origins can be traced back to when TikTok user Rocky Paterra, who describes himself as a struggling actor, explained how he used to tell people he was an accountant instead of an actor as it prevented people from asking too many questions about it which he was tired of answering.

Sex workers started using the word Accountant in a similar vein, since it prevented people from asking too many questions about their profession and also became a way to circumvent content moderation.

Other Meanings of “SW”

While “SW” is primarily used to abbreviate Sex Work or Sex Worker, it does have other meanings too, albeit with lesser use. We will discuss these meanings as well.

1. Starting Weight: According to Urban Dictionary, it is often used by people attempting to lose weight and tracking their progress on social media. In this context, SW is used in order to keep a track on the amount of weight they plan to lose.
2. Star Wars: SW can also be used as a short form for the popular movie Star Wars
3. Subwoofer: It can be used to talk about a unit of a loudspeaker that is meant to reproduce the bass of audio frequencies.
4. Software: Software refers to any computer programs
5. Sarcasm Warning: Used to indicate sarcasm.
6. Smoke Weed: Used to encourage people from smoking weed or marijuana or as a reference to the popular song by Snoop Dogg called Smoke Weed Everyday

In which condition do people say “SW” on social media?

While SW is mostly used as a hashtag or an abbreviation by people to talk about Sex Work on TikTok in order to avoid being banned, outside of TikTok, it is used for a variety of other meanings as well. We will cover its usage and situations below.

1. I cannot believe that the person I matched with was a SW (Sex Worker).
2. Let’s have a SW (Star Wars) marathon.
3. Man, I got a new SW (SubWoofer) and it has changed my music experience.
4. What SW (Software) do you use for editing videos?
5. SWs (Sarcasm Warning) is needed on the internet, since you don’t really hear the tone of someone’s voice online.
6. Lets SW (Smoke Weed) 

Other Slang that TikTok has Generated

TikTok is responsible for most of the new trends and slangs that we come across. Here are a few other slangs that TikTok has popularized.

1. No Cap – Not Lying
2. Glow Up – Transformation 
3. CEO – CEO of something
4. RN – Right Now
5. BBL – Brazilian Butt Lift
6. FYP – For You Page
7. ASL – Age, Sex and Location
8. ATP– At This Point
9. Fake Body – To Fool Bots
10. Paper- Money

FAQs