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Gay Twitter Took Over the #ProudBoys Hashtag & It Was Epic
Twitter users are reclaiming the "Proud Boys" phrase from the far-right, white supremacist group.
A mention from Donald Trump during last week's first Presidential Debate may have emboldened the Proud Boys (remember the now-infamous "stand back and stand by" shoutout?), but Gay Twitter is rightfully not letting the far-right, men-only political group with affiliations to white supremacy (an organization that the Southern Poverty Law Center classifies as a hate group) take up any more online space.
Over the weekend, LGBTQ+ users on Twitter decided it was not going to let the hate group suck up any more of the air out of the room than they already have, and in an effort to reclaim the "proud boys" phrase and replace hate and intolerance with love and pride, Gay Twitter took over the #ProudBoys hashtag, flooding it with images of out and proud gay men (a lot of couples!) living their best and most authentic lives!
\u201cI wonder if the BTS and TikTok kids can help LGBTs with this. 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\u201d— George Takei (@George Takei) 1601590494
While NowThis News reports that it's hard to pinpoint exactly where the queer reclamation of #ProudBoys started, out Star Trek legend George Takei tweeted last Thursday that it would be cool if LGBTQ+ Twitter could follow in the same footsteps as online K-Pop fandoms when it comes to a successful social media blitz. (Over the summer, K-Pop Twitter successfully supported the Black Lives Matter movement online by obstructing a ton of racist hashtags.)
"I wonder if the BTS and TikTok kids can help LGBTs with this," Takei wrote. "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."
Of course, the results were absolutely queer and wonderful, and we loved to see it!
\u201c#ProudBoys on route \ud83d\ude02\ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08 https://t.co/RABayty2i6\u201d— Being LGBTQ Podcast\ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08 (@Being LGBTQ Podcast\ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08) 1601813573
\u201cGood morning Gorgeous!#ProudBoys \ud83c\udf08 https://t.co/TzVre2z5XX\u201d— Allana Harkin (@Allana Harkin) 1601905766
\u201cLook at these cute lil #ProudBoys (#retweet and make this hashtag about love, not hate)\u201d— Bobby \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 (@Bobby \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6) 1601832466
\u201cMe and my husband on our wedding day being #ProudBoys.\u201d— Nick Malkin\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6\ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08 (@Nick Malkin\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6\ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08) 1601879570
\u201cSome boys just do Pride better \ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08 \u2764\ufe0f\ud83e\udde1\ud83d\udc9b\ud83d\udc9a\ud83d\udc9c #ProudBoys\u201d— Nick G \ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08 (@Nick G \ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08) 1601854680
\u201cI\u2019m proud of the #ProudBoys in my extended family. Ray and Joe were together 55 years. They were married August 1st 2013, the day same sex marriages became legal in Minnesota. They met in 1960. They were together 53 years before they were allowed legally to marry.\u201d— Andrea \ud83d\udc3e\ud83d\udc36\ud83d\udc15\ud83d\udc31 (@Andrea \ud83d\udc3e\ud83d\udc36\ud83d\udc15\ud83d\udc31) 1601873138
\u201cExcited for our wedding! 6 years of growth and love. Wouldn\u2019t have it any other way. #ProudBoys\u201d— Christopher Ubiadas (@Christopher Ubiadas) 1601887492
\u201cTwo #ProudBoys + their two proud kids = \u2764\ufe0f\ud83e\udde1\ud83d\udc9b\ud83d\udc9a\ud83d\udc99\ud83d\udc9c\u201d— Travis\ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08Mayfield (@Travis\ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08Mayfield) 1601856666
\u201cCan single gays also do #proudboys ?? \ud83d\udc41\ud83d\udc44\ud83d\udc41\u201d— stan (@stan) 1601870622
\u201cSome boys just do Pride better. \ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08 #ProudBoys\u201d— OVR \ud83c\uddf3\ud83c\udde6\ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08\u2640\ufe0f (@OVR \ud83c\uddf3\ud83c\udde6\ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08\u2640\ufe0f) 1601884665
\u201c@GeorgeTakei #ProudBoys you say? #atlanta has plenty!\u201d— George Takei (@George Takei) 1601590494
None— EP \ud83e\udddc\ud83c\udffb\u200d\u2640\ufe0f\ud83c\udf0a \u2600\ufe0f (@EP \ud83e\udddc\ud83c\udffb\u200d\u2640\ufe0f\ud83c\udf0a \u2600\ufe0f) 1601911600
\u201cWe're Proud and we're Boys and Nazi cowards can fuck right the fuck off. #ProudBoys\u201d— Sam J. Miller (@Sam J. Miller) 1601822947
\u201cWhen I met this man we weren\u2019t allowed to marry. The law changed & we had our trip to the registry office & our official day of love because society changed -is still changing- thanks to all the brave allies of all genders & loving families & #ProudBoys #LoveMakesTheWorldGoRound\u201d— Damian Barr (@Damian Barr) 1601825751
Don't mess with Gay Twitter!
Raffy is a Los Angeles-based writer, editor, video creator, critic, and digital director of Out Magazine. The former editor-in-chief of PRIDE, he is also a die-hard Rihanna and Sailor Moon stan who loves to write about all things pop culture, entertainment, and identities. Follow him on Instagram (@raffyermac) and Twitter (@byraffy), and subscribe to his YouTube channel.
Raffy is a Los Angeles-based writer, editor, video creator, critic, and digital director of Out Magazine. The former editor-in-chief of PRIDE, he is also a die-hard Rihanna and Sailor Moon stan who loves to write about all things pop culture, entertainment, and identities. Follow him on Instagram (@raffyermac) and Twitter (@byraffy), and subscribe to his YouTube channel.
