Yesterday, I posted about Matthew and Paul and how their joint Instagram account was taken down due to homophobia on the platform. Well, I am happy to announce, after 130K shares of the article linked in the last post, they are back up and running! Love wins, again! I guess Instagram will learn next time they try to mess with someone who haw an entire army of people behind them!
They were also featured in one of my favorite publications, Pink News, as well as Instinct. We are all so happy the guys got their amazing account back. Now, they can get back to posting about love, relationships and being true to yourself.
Here is what they posted on their Instagram, after it was restored!
We’re back!! One week ago, our account was disabled for violating Instagram’s terms. What was our violation? “Pretending to be someone else”. Obviously, this is untrue — but it was alarming to see how easily trolls can have an account disabled.
We work hard to bring quality content to the internet. Not just with our Instagram posts, but the podcast we produce each week. I’m not gonna lie, it’s disheartening to be targeted by hateful people. They’re not just attacking the two of us, but our entire community.
As gay men, we are often left wondering “was this an act of homophobia?” And, unfortunately, I think that’s a question gay people confront all the time.
Did that cop pull us over because of the rainbow bumpersticker? Was the laughter from that passing car preceded by a gay joke? Was that picture or video removed because it featured same-sex affection?
And in our case: Was our entire account disabled because it promotes a healthy, loving gay relationship? Are there people out there who fear positive gay role models? This week, we have learned the answer is an unequivocal “Yes”. This is not the first time we have had to deal with this, and it certainly wont be the last.
That’s because homophobia is alive and well. In fact, it’s thriving. Which really only bolsters our desire to create more positive gay content.
In the week since this happened, we have learned that thousands of LGBTQ+ creators were targeted just like we were. And, sadly, many of them don’t have the platform we have, nor the ability to contact journalists and reporters (and get a response.)
Thank you, Trolls, for reminding us why we continue to fight for the rights and visibility of LGBTQIA+ people. We are a strong and resilient community. Your light will slowly dim, and ours will burn ever-brighter. You will never outlast us.
Love. Always. Wins. -Matthew and Paul xx
Lets make sure thisi never happens again! Whether to Matthew and Paul or any other LGBTQ content creator on any platform!
