Gay Twitter Is Taking Over the Proud Boys Hashtag
In case you spent your weekend spiraling down a Twitter rabbit hole, reading updates surrounding President Trump's battle with Covid-19 -- firstly, take a break, get some water, go for a walk, and meditate. You probably need it. Secondly, in the vortex of scrolling, you may have missed one of the weekend's most wholesome stories -- gay men on Twitter are doing God's work, taking over the Proud Boys hashtag on Twitter.
From an adorable couple getting photobombed by a dinosaur ...
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... to doggo getting photobombed by a cute couple ...
To '90s family snaps ...
... and even a kilt-clad wedding pic ...
... gay men have been using the hashtag to express their pride, reclaiming the term from the far-right group of the same name.
The takeover seems to have stemmed from actor and social media figure, George Takei, who tweeted about the idea last week. "I wonder if the BTS and TikTok kids can help LGBTs with this," the Star Trek star tweeted on Thursday. "What if gay guys took pictures of themselves making out with each other or doing very gay things, then tagged themselves with #ProudBoys. I bet it would mess them up real bad. #ReclaimingMyShine."
According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, a nonprofit advocacy group, "The Proud Boys are self-described 'western chauvinists' who adamantly deny any connection to the racist 'alt-right,' insisting they are simply a fraternal group spreading an 'anti-political correctness' and 'anti-white guilt' agenda." They recently (or, well, what feels like a literal lifetime ago after everything that has gone down in the past seven days) garnered headlines after President Trump told them to "stand back and stand by" while answering a question about white supremacy during the debate.
While according to CNN, some social media accounts seemingly from Proud Boys members "embraced" The President's words, sharing them in memes and online posts, the leader of the group, Enrique Tarrio, told the outlet that while he was happy about the remarks, he says he doesn't consider them to be an endorsement. He says instead, he sees them a call for the Proud Boys to simply continue what they're doing.
As the reclamation of the Proud Boys hashtag gained popularity online, with a growing number of gay couples sharing their adorable pictures on social media, Takei took to Twitter to share his pride surrounding the campaign. "...We're proud of all of the gay folks who have stepped up to reclaim our pride in this campaign," Takei tweeted, referencing his husband, on Sunday as the trend grew. "Our community and allies answered hate with love, and what could be better than that."
To my rainbow-toting proud boys, keep sharing your wholesome snaps and living your best lives. We are proud of you!
