Tag: social media

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Gays Gone Wild? Fire Island Social Media Posts Go Viral

In this episode of ‘Gays Gone Wild,’ “Fire Island” was trending on Twitter today after several social media posts went viral featuring tons of shirtless gays at shoulder-to-shoulder parties at the gay summer mecca, Fire Island. No masks, no social distancing. Journalist Chris Weidner curated the following posts and reports via Twitter. Among the ‘Covidiots’ is an apparent 23-year-old Giancarlo Kristian Albanese, currency analyst at EverythingFx. It looksl like he was planning on returning to his parents house (where he lives) in White Plains, NY. Except – his mother reportedly if undergoing chemotherapy, and his brother commented on Giancarlo’s post saying he is now unwelcome at home.

And then there’s Corey Hannon who told social media that he had been suffering from COVID-19 for over a week but went to Fire Island anyway.

Hannon later posted an ‘apology’ video which seemed to twist and turn itself in knots. On one hand, he said he never actually tested positive for COVID-19, but he believed he had experienced it. BUT – even though he took a test for the virus, he still headed out to Fire Island to frolic in the sun amid the gays. He ‘apologized’ for the ‘misrepresentation’ of his COVID story and that his video rant was never meant to be posted to his account as it was just ‘bad humor’ intended to be shared among friends. He also denounced so-called ‘cancel culture’ for how his own posts on social media came back to bite him in the ass. First of all, pal, stop posting every second of your life on social media if you don’t want to deal with the ramifications. You’re not that cool. Second, we can’t cancel what hasn’t happened. I’d never heard of Hannon before today. The idea of ‘cancel culture’ is to ‘cancel’ prominent individuals who have abused public trust in having a following. Dude, you ain’t that famous…

Twitter was NOT havin it:

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Poof! Gone! What Happened To RuPaul’s Social Media Accounts?

RuPaul (screen capture)
Where in the virtual world has RuPaul gone? Fans noticed on Thursday, the 6-time Emmy Award winner had deactivated his Twitter account (“This account doesn’t exist”) and removed all posts on his Instagram account (“No posts yet”). Just gone. Poof. Shantay-ed away. The move has left many fans feeling confused, with one user tweeting: “Can someone please check on @RuPaul. Mother deleted everything on her Instagram.”

“Why did RuPaul just totally decimate his entire Instagram tho — what is happening?” tweeted another fan. One fan, referencing the recent reports that Ru seemingly admitted to allowing fracking on his Wyoming/South Dakota property, responded asking “Did the oil wells dry up in Wyoming??”

Another posited that the world’s most successful drag queen had been hacked, posting a recorded video showing posts disappearing from Instagram one by one. The fan wrote, “@RuPaul someone is hacking your Instagram and deleting your photos.”

Multiple outlets, including The Randy Report, have reached out to RuPaul’s reps about the deletions but received no comment. Page Six points out that Season 10 Drag Race alum Kameron Michaels also wiped his Instagram account on the same day. But early this morning, Michaels posted a note on the Gram of Insta saying he is ‘fine.’

“There is no stunt. No scandal. No big reveal,” wrote Michaels. “Without going into all the whiney details about my own personal issues, I simply want to start over.” Michaels went on to say he cringed at many of his past posts because he began to tie his self-worth in reality “to that of my online content and I’m erasing that toxic behavior.” He added, “As far as someone else doing the same thing I did, weirdly on the very same day…I have mo idea why they or their team erased their content.” Another coincidence – or not? – the timing of RuPaul’s deletions happened the same day as the debut of Canada’s Drag Race, the 4th iteration of the popular reality series. While Mama Ru’s personal social media pages have been deleted or deactivated, for now, the official RuPaul’s Drag RaceInstagram account remains active, although the most recent post was from June 12. The 5th Season of RuPaul’s Drag Race All-Stars is currently airing on VH1.

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‘Rona Rave’ Guests Denounce Social Media Attacks & Gay ‘Cancel Culture’

L-R Chris Weaver, DJ Alec Brian (screen captures)
Two attendees of last week’s now-infamous ‘Rona Rave’ in New York City have posted statements to the community at large admitting attending the shindig was a mistake, but also denouncing social media’s ‘cancel culture’ for the attacks the party-goers have experienced online. As I reported last week, videos of the party were posted by adult entertainment performer Ian Frost to his Instagram Story during the event. And when I say ‘videos,’ I mean some 31 videos were shared tagging many of the attendees with their Instagram handles. In the clips, you can see the 30+ party-goers were not of a mind to keep ‘social distancing’ practices in place, nor was anyone seen wearing a face mask amid the purple/pink party light. Twitter user Phillip Henry downloaded some of the clips and shared them to his followers, and quickly news of the event went viral.

Many were angry that, with New York City being THE hotspot in the U.S. for COVID-19, the party seemed reckless and dismissive of the efforts of frontline workers. Chris Weaver, who performs drag under the stage name Nedra Belle and is a past contestant on NBC’s The Voice, began his video message on Facebook saying that he respects all those medical and essential workers. In fact, he shares he has friends “serving on the front lines,” and he’s “reached out to a couple of them to let them know that if they need anything, I’m there and would love to help in any way I can.” He then segues into the social media “dragging” aimed at the party-goers and adds that there’s now a “call for us to be ‘canceled.'” “I’m a human,” says Weaver. “I make mistakes just like you make mistakes. It’s life.” “I fully understand that I have to deal with the repercussions of what I did and that it’s just a reality that we have to face,” he adds. “But, I won’t be scared or run into a hole or a box because you don’t agree. Okay?”

Admitting that attending the party was ‘dumb,’ Weaver says in hindsight, “If I had to do it all over again, would I have attended the event? I would have not.” “Everybody’s all up in arms and so upset – that I can understand,” he continues. “There are thousands and thousands of people who have perished from this, and that is unfortunate.” “But I didn’t go out with the intent to hurt anyone,” explains the singer. “I didn’t go out with the intent to say, ‘Oh I’m gonna go out to this party and not wear a mask to get the virus and to spread the virus.’ That’s not what I did, that’s not what I plan on doing and that’s not who I am.” Weaver also shares that he’s suffered a personal loss during the COVID-19 health threat as his 31-year-old cousin succumbed to the disease last week. “So, for all these negative comments, let me tell you something about the gay community, the LGBTQ+ community. What we do is we are so good at building each other up. But we’re even better at tearing each other down. And the problem with that is, we can drag and drag and drag folks all day and all night, but there’s never a chance – where is the chance for redemption? Where’s the chance for somebody to make up for their mistakes or to get it right? We don’t give that, but we wanna cancel folks.” “Some people are going to look at this video and say… that’s the thing, people can issue an apology and people are never satisfied,” he continues, although there’s no apology in the 11-minute video. “People just want something to attack people on. If you want to cancel me, cancel me, I mean that’s, it is what it is. And I’m hoping that you open up your hearts, not just for me but for those who you have attacked. Please know that your reaction causes reaction. Think about the person on the other side.” “And so I love you all,” he says concluding his message. “And for those of you who are still on this train with me, thank you. For those of you who aren’t, I’ll see ya.” He then sings an a cappella “Let There Be Peace on Earth” and signs off with a call to keep practicing social distancing. “It’s hard, I know. I just needed a moment, y’all.” The DJ who was captured in one of the videos, Alec Brian, also posted a Facebook video with similar sentiments saying he regrets accepting the gig, he took the job on the spur of the moment, and since then he says he’s been attacked on social media by people who didn’t bother to learn the “whole story.” Again, there was no ‘apology’ to anyone but he does say he used the money he earned at the party to buy 300 face masks that will be donated to those that need them.

According to the New York City Health Department, at the time of the party, there were 171,723 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the city; 43,383 hospitalized, 13,724 confirmed deaths and another 5,383 probable deaths. Today, those numbers have escalated to 178,766 confirmed cases. 44,812 hospitalizations, 14,753 confirmed deaths, and 5,178 probable deaths related to COVID-19.

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Twitter Shades David Geffen For Socially Tone-Deaf Instagram Post

The Twitterverse threw all kinds of shade at out billionaire David Geffen after he sent ‘stay safe’ regards from his $590 million yacht currently parked in the Caribbean. Wrote Geffen, “Sunset last night…isolated in the Grenadines avoiding the virus. I’m hoping everybody is staying safe.” Now, it’s very possible Geffen missed the mark by accident. That his post, with the world in the midst of a planetary crisis, went socially tone-deaf in a humble brag kind of way without meaning to. I mean, we all send out the photo-drone over the yacht to capture our truest sense of concern at sunset, yes? In fairness, Geffen does a lot of great things with his billions including funding several LGBTQ organizations as well as giving financial support to Los Angeles area health clinics, theaters, museums, and charities for the homeless. Let’s not lose sight of that. But folks on Twitter, who might be worried about having jobs when the pandemic comes to an end, weren’t having it. There have been over 10,000 responses to his post so far. See below. p.s. Geffen took his Insta private amid the f*ck ton of shade thrown his way.

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Mayor Pete Phones Writer Who Called Him A ‘Lying Motherf*cker’

Mayor Pete Buttigieg phoned the journalist who called him a 'lying motherfucker'
Mayor Pete Buttigieg on the campaign trail (via Buttigieg campaign/FB)
So, this happened… An op-ed titled “Pete Buttigieg is a lying MF,” penned by Michael Harriot for The Root on Monday, took Democratic presidential candidate Mayor Pete Buttigieg to task for remarks he made in 2011 during his first run for mayor of South Bend, Indiana. In a video clip which recently resurfaced, Buttigieg said: “Kids need to see evidence that education is going to work for them. You’re motivated because you believe that at the end of your education, there is a reward; there’s a stable life; there’s a job. And there are a lot of kids—especially [in] the lower-income, minority neighborhoods, who literally just haven’t seen it work. There isn’t someone who they know personally who testifies to the value of education.”

In his essay, Harriot took offense that Buttigieg didn’t point out inequalities in the U.S. education system which stacks the deck against low-income students of color in terms of funding and post-college employment opportunities. Harriot used a story from his childhood about having to jump a wide ditch in order to walk to the one high school in his town from what he described as ‘the bad section of town.’ He contrasted himself with Buttigieg, whom he called a “lucky motherf*ck*r” for being able to attend better schools because, being white, “he didn’t have to jump a ditch.” In reference to the brief 2011 remark by Buttigieg, Harriot wrote, “This is why institutional inequality persists. Not because of white hoods and racial slurs. It is because this insidious double-talk erases the problem by camouflaging it. Because it is painted as a problem of black lethargy and not white apathy.” He goes on to say Buttigieg didn’t “misunderstand” or “misstate” the issue. Instead, he called the mayor a lying motherf*ck*r” and characterized Buttigieg’s comment as knowing he had stated “a baldfaced lie.” It would be simplistic to try and summarize the full op-ed here, but I encourage people to read it for themselves to form their own opinion about the charges leveled by Harriot. It is worth pointing out, however, that Harriot takes over 1,100 words to express what he felt Buttigieg should have said in less than a minute during that 2011 television roundtable discussion with three other people. In response to the op-ed, Buttigieg’s campaign reached out to Harriot asking if the mayor could call him to discuss the issue one-on-one. In a follow-up piece, Buttigieg reportedly began the conversation with the writer saying, “I don’t think I’ve ever been called a ‘lying motherf*ck*r’ before.” During the chat, it appears the two were able to find some common ground or agreement on the issue of institutional racism in education. “I conceded that the problems with institutional racism are so complex and go back so far that I’m not sure that anyone—a mayor, a governor or even a president—could fix them,” wrote Harriot. “Buttigieg, however, insisted that there are some things that people in power could do to make things more equal, a point I actually agreed with.” Harriot shares that Buttigieg asked him if he disagreed with the point he had been trying to make back in 2011, that “sometimes children don’t get to see the possibilities.” “Do you think the lack of positive examples of educational success can lead to mistrust and a lack of confidence in the system?” asked the mayor. Harriot’s answer was both yes and no, saying, “The lack of confidence [in the system] doesn’t have anything to do with role models or support from parents, it’s because the shit is true!” The writer concluded saying he felt for Buttigieg to reach out one-on-one was “brave and it symbolizes that he is willing to engage with people and voters on this issue.” “I didn’t think that Pete Buttigieg was going to dismiss or ignore black voters,” he added. “But I think that in an effort to remain moderate, some candidates don’t want to be as confrontational about these necessary issues, because it does ostracize some voters.” Harriot says his initial op-ed “wasn’t meant to inspire outrage” but rather “to make a necessary point about black voters and real issues.” Near the end of the second article, Harriot writes, “The only thing I actually know about Pete Buttigieg is that he is a white man. But Pete Buttigieg listened, which is all you can ask a white man to do.” In reading the follow-up piece, it sounds like the two had a productive talk. Later, during a campaign stop in Iowa, Buttigieg told reporters about the 2011 remark, “What I said in that comment before I became mayor does not reflect the totality of my understanding then, and certainly now, about the obstacles that students of color face in our system today.” The mayor went on to say his point of the remark was to underscore “the need for mentorship and the need for career pathways.” “The problem is to the extent that that feels like it’s validating a narrative that sometimes blames the victim for the consequences of systemic racism, I understand why he [Harriot] was upset and I understand the perspective and largely agree,” he added. Some thoughts I had watching this all unfold over the course of 24 hours: Buttigieg’s difficulties in attracting black voters’ support have been widely reported and discussed. In the last Democratic debate, Buttigieg acknowledged the struggle saying he welcomes “the challenge.” There were several ways the mayor could have responded to the op-ed and ensuing kerfuffle. The path he chose was to reach out directly to the person who raised the issues and, as Harriot writes, “listened.”  I think that shows an openness to learning. Reading Harriot’s first essay, it seemed to present the 2011 remark as the entirety of his thoughts on the subject. But as I mentioned earlier, the comment took place during a television roundtable with three others early in his political career. Besides having a limited amount of time to expound on a very complex issue, he was fairly new to the idea of encapsulating sophisticated answers in a 60-second window. I’m not sure how much nuance you can include in that opportunity. While I won’t even pretend to have the answers to solving the inequalities in education in the U.S., I do think role models and mentors are a good thing. Minority professional associations exist in great part for that reason. And speaking of nuance, reading the enormous amount of comments on social media it was clear that some folks were chiming in after glancing at a headline without bothering to read either of the essays by Harriot. In today’s heated political environment, I urge people to actually read what it is being discussed. To do otherwise perpetuates vague opinions without knowing the facts. I have no favorite in the current presidential cycle other than ‘voting blue no matter who.’ At this point in time, I see strong qualities in many of the leading Democratic contenders including (in no particular order) Sens. Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren, Cory Booker, Amy Klobuchar, and Bernie Sanders, as well as former Vice President Joe Biden and Mayor Buttigieg. And we’re a long way from Election Day on November 3, 2020. Over the next 11 months, I think it’s important that in the process of choosing the Democratic nominee we don’t participate in a circular firing squad. My stance is if you think your choice is best, how about extolling their strengths rather than tearing down the other guy. In light of the U.S. intelligence community’s certainty that Russia interfered in the 2016 election in part by sowing and supporting discord among American voters, yelling at each other only falls into the trap. We can all have an opinion about who’s the best choice to become the next president, and lord knows I love people with opinions. I think we all knew this could be a rough primary season. Here’s hoping candidates and their supporters can participate in our democratic process with civility and an ear for listening. All of the candidates have their own experiences, skill sets, talents, and intelligence. Other than Biden, whose years as veep give him at least some insight to the realities of responding to world calamities, everyone who sits in the Oval Office begins with some kind of learning curve. How a person handles a learning curve is important. In this situation, Buttigieg chose to lean in, ask questions, and listen. I think that’s a good thing. 

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Semi-Nude Social Media Took This Poet Off The Shelf

Author Ben Kline (via Tumblr)
Ben Kline, a poet, was recently thrilled when he was informed a chapbook of his poetry was accepted for publication. A chapbook is a small book, generally in the range of 20-40 pages. They are a useful format for emerging writers to introduce new work to the world and give voice to writers who may need it. In this day and age of shrinking attention spans, chapbooks are used to showcase top-shelf poetry or short stories in a format that one can finish in a single sitting. Kline’s collection, Sagittarius A*, was accepted, and according to a recent post he made online, he spent a week with an editor from the publishing house discussing edits, release date, cover design and more. He also pulled the chapbook from consideration with two other possible publishers. But then came an odd twist in the tale of Kline’s chapbook, which he shared in an essay on his personal website. Kline writes that he received a disconcerting email informing him a woman in the publisher’s office took a moment to check out his Twitter account. That led to her perusing his Instagram account where he apparently had been posting nearly-nude photos that were usually coupled with poems which “delved into contemporary matters of queer life.” From the email:

Yesterday, a woman at our office did a Google search of your Twitter handle, pinecreekpoet, which led to your Instagram account, which we all saw at the office and mostly didn’t think twice about at first—however, a couple of hours later, we found her seven-year-old daughter crying with her mom’s phone, having seen your entire account. She was very, very upset and confused and upset about all the nudity, and this led to a long talk about what is and isn’t appropriate for an adult to post on a public, family-friendly website and what does and doesn’t fit [our publisher’s] image, especially because we have our first children’s books in the works right now.

The email went on to say the powers that be asked some of the authors on their roster how they would feel being on the same imprint as “someone who has posted hundreds of public nude selfies?” Mind you, Instagram doesn’t allow full-frontal nudes, and most of us have seen the eye-candy/beefcake posts on Instagram… The answer, it appears, is some of the ‘other authors’ (especially women, per the email) felt a “bit creeped out” by the idea. Further, the publisher shared that if the photos were “somehow connected to your career, etc…we’d have no problem with it, but being connected to an author who has posted public nudes/semi-nude photos nearly every day for the last seven years with no obvious reward other than personal satisfaction is something that makes us all feel uncomfortable.” The email closes with rescinding the offer of publishing Sagittarius A*. Kline has since taken his social media private “to avoid them attempting to smear” him with other publication companies.

Sample from Kline’s Instagram (via Alan Ilagan.com)
The story leaves me with some questions. One, how and why did a 7-year-old come upon a phone (don’t these things lock?) with the images readily available? And seriously, what 7-year-old becomes “very, very upset and confused” to the point of crying because of a semi-nude body on Instagram? Again – there are no full-frontal photos on the Insta. Two, what would it matter if a collection of astrophysics-inspired poetry penned by a guy who has posted semi-naked photos on his social media were to be published on the same imprint as a children’s book? Who is going to connect one project of a completely different realm to the other? Three, it would be one thing if Kline were seeking a job in the field of teaching or at a conservative law firm. But poets and poetry cover a wide-ranging world of words and creative thought. Why would his Insta-thirst traps have anything to do with other authors at the publishing house? Kline ends his essay saying he felt offended by the “tone/language/implications” of the email in a homophobic vein. “There are lots of queer poets who have queer and/or sexualized content on their social media,” writes Kline. “My selfies on IG were almost always paired with poems that delved into contemporary matters of queer life. They were not just images posted ‘with no obvious reward other than personal satisfaction.’” Finally, as Kline resumes submitting Sagittarius A* to publishers, I want to share the cover of Kline’s Going Fast In Loose Directions. Surely the image itself, which the publisher had to have come across, was a clue to the writer’s style and predilections?
(image via Amazon)
(h/t Boy Culture)

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Star Athlete Banks More From Instagram Than His Day Job

Cristiano Ronaldo (image via Instagram)
It sure pays to be popular. And hot. I came across this article about how much Instagram celebrities make from their huge followings. I find the subject fascinating. According to Business Insider, soccer superstar Cristiano Ronaldo earns more from his Instagram account than he does from playing for his Italian soccer club Juventus. The 34-year-old hottie is the most followed person on Instagram with over 187 million followers. And he puts that fame and celebrity to work. Social media firm Hopper HQ reports that Ronaldo has earned $47.8 million from his 49 sponsored posts on the photo-centric social media platform. That’s more than the reported $34 million a year he earns from his day job. One marketing executive told Hopper HQ, “Companies are paying almost $1 million for posts to access his insane reach.” It also puts him way ahead of other Insta-celebs. Rugby star Leo Messi came in second with $23.3 million in Insta-earnings, followed by reality star Kendall Jenner with $15.9 million. Click over to BuzzBingo to see what famous ‘influencers’ make broken down by category (sports, fashion, travel, entertainment…) and more. Here are some of the more recent sponsored posts by Ronaldo:

 

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Light up your body this summer with the brand new High Summer CR7Underwear collection .

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Cold days ask for good quality footwear! Check our CR7 Fall/Winter collection. #PLAYFECTIONISM #CR7fw19 #CR7

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Thousands Attend Funeral Of Veteran With No Family

Thousands attend the funeral of military veteran Edward Pearson (screen capture)
It was a small obituary for Edward K. Pearson, 80, that appeared in a local newspaper recently. It simply said he was going to be interred at Sarasota National Cemetery on Tuesday and that, “This veteran has no immediate family and all are welcome to attend.” And then, social media happened:

From Bradenton.com:

The pavilion at Sarasota National Cemetery was designed to hold 3,200 people for funerals that would be typical for well-known individuals.

U.S. Army veteran Edward Pearson was not a well-known person, but the 80-year-old’s funeral was standing room only on Tuesday as at least 4,000 people packed into the pavilion. The line of cars kept streaming into the cemetery and an hour into the service, hundreds more were still trying to get in to send the veteran off with honor.

“I started getting calls from all over the country and some from as far as Germany around 8 a.m. (Monday),” said cemetery volunteer Tina Beeler. “I haven’t seen this many people since this place was dedicated. The response has been phenomenal.”

There were veterans, retired veterans, active duty personnel in uniform, family of veterans, friends of veterans, students with teachers. All just wanted to pay their respect to a man they had never met.

According to his military discharge papers, Pearson served in the U.S. Army from 1962-1964 and after being honorably discharged went on to become an engineer. Click the video below to watch.

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John Duff Skewers ‘Influencers’ With New Music Video “RICH”

The very easy-on-the-eyes John Duff (above) recently dropped his latest music video, “Rich,” which takes aim at pop culture’s obsession with so-called ‘social media influencers’ or online celebrities. Duff says the inspiration for the mid-tempo hip-hop track came to him when he was trying to come up with “the most obnoxious song I could think of about being famous for being rich.” The song’s lyrics poke fun at how seriously some social media mavens (and their followers) take themselves.

Train our waists And pad our hips F*ck your plans Let’s plump our lips Plastic products out here sellin it Hate on me – it keeps me relevant B*tch, I know you wish  

The music video includes viral internet celebs like the ‘human Ken doll,’ Justin Jedlica; Chris Crocker of ’Leave Britney Alone’ infamy; and self-proclaimed ‘c*ck destroyer’ Rebecca More. Along with several swipes at plastic surgery, the video also parodies ad campaigns for ‘Keeping Up With the Kardashians.’ Back in February 2018, Duff told Instinct, “We need more real bitches. I can’t stand the curated ‘influencers’ who think they are cool – it makes me so uncomfortable and it helps no one. Making an ass out of yourself – that helps people.” And in August of last year, Duff dropped his over-the-top homage to his pop music divas, “Girly.” In a recent Instagram post, Duff admitted that he’d planned on releasing “Rich” sooner, but he “wasn’t prepared.” Saying he felt “lost in other people’s perception” of him, he also shared that making “‘light-hearted’ work in such dire times” seemed selfish.

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My new song and video, “Rich”, drop this Friday 9|13. The video was set to release last year, shortly after “Girly”, but I called it off. I wasn’t prepared. Mentally, emotionally, physically – I was a mess. Of course I was happy with the reception of “Girly”, but success does not equate to wellness. I got lost in a persona – lost in other people’s perception of me I was stuck. Stuck on “why”. Why am I doing this? Why am I here? Why? I felt selfish in my pursuit of art – especially making “lighthearted” work in such seemingly dire times. I’ve learned a lot in this past year, but I think the most important thing is: Whatever you bring to the table is good enough. Your only job is to show up. Not everyone is going to Mother Teresa – and that’s ok. That was her mission, maybe not yours. We’re pretty helpless creatures, but everyone is worthy of their own star in the sky. Being imperfect does not mean that you don’t deserve to take up space. You are here. Create. Be seen. You’re worth it. Any way, back to me: Enjoy the show, dolls.

A post shared by John Duff (@iamjohnduff) on

Having moved through all that, his mantra now is, “Create. Be seen. You’re worth it.” Today, Duff is all about “holding a mirror to what it is that we do every day, as a culture – what we worship, how we consume, how we cope.” Check out John Duff’s ode to the infamous, “Rich,” below; and follow him on Instagram here. https://youtu.be/6Z7jNYHwtjA (lead image via Instagram)

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Dating Apps: Is It Wrong To Ask ‘Are You Masculine?’

An exchange between two gay men chatting on a dating app has gone viral and sparked a huge conversation about ‘masculinity’ and gender expression. Facebook user Ethan Jeremiah posted a screen capture of the quick conversation on his Facebook page on September 7. It’s not clear if Jeremiah was part of the actual chat as the image has been shared several times across the inter-webs. In the chat, the first person inquires, “Are you a masculine guy?” The second person responds with a question: “What would you define as masculine? Lol.” “Not a flaming gay queen lol,” says the first guy. Guy number two didn’t seem to care for that definition which was termed as ‘toxic masculinity’ by some commenters. “I have too much going on in my life to worry about how someone perceives my personality based on heteronormative ideas of gender expression,” read his response. “I just am. I’m not worried about masculinity or femininity nor do I really care where I fall in line with someone else’s perception of those things.”

The comments on the post were wide-ranging:

“Best answer ever.”

“ Your clapback was everything.”

“So savage, yet so eloquent.”

“Some people’s idea of masculinity is another person’s “Hey, gurl!”

“I don’t mean to be that guy, and I respect everyone no matter how they act or sound. But I’m gay. I like dudes. I like dudes that sound like dudes. If i wanted to date someone who sounded feminine id date a girl.”

Another Facebook account shared the screen cap and the comments were just as varied:

“YESSS FOR THE READ!”

“So you’re fem and dramatic. Got it”

“No one is masc , give that bitch a couple drinks and put on some Beyoncé. The queen always comes out.”

“Anyone who asks that question has zero self confidence.”

And this comment took the author to task for having language skills: “First of all, you apparently don’t have much going on in your life if you have that much of a vocabulary. Secondly, I sympathize with the guy asking about being masculine. I’d rather not be with a ‘flaming queen’ either.”

The conversation took several turns as some felt the “masculine/flaming guy queen” comment was out of bounds, while others gave the first guy props for “knowing what he’s looking for.”

This all got me to wondering about ‘social etiquette’ on dating apps – was the initial question off-base? Or was the response addressing ‘gender expression’ over-the-top?

(lead image via Depositphotos)