The powerful hashtag was created by Vaneet Mehta, a software engineer and LGBTQ+ rights advocate who’s grown tired of seeing biphobia on Twitter.
The biphobia towards Bi men recently has been so shit and honestly, in MY LGBT+ history month?! How dare! So I’m bring back #BisexualMenExist for some much needed positivity! Drop a pic below with the hashtag and RT this thread! Allies, also RT! I’ll start! 💖💜💙 pic.twitter.com/BYl1D2hzvV
— Vaneet Mehta #20ThemTy 🌺 (@nintendomad888) February 24, 2020
Mehta told HuffPost that he tweeted in response to a Twitter conversation that recently broke out over a conversation on Netflix’s new reality show, “Love Is Blind.” In one episode, a couple gets into a tumultuous fight after the man in the relationship, Carlton, comes out as bisexual to his fiancée, Diamond. Diamond casts doubt on Carlton’s sexuality, and many on Twitter took her side.
“One of the main things I saw on Twitter was a poll trending asking women whether they would ever date a bi man,” Mehta said. “Most people voted no. I also saw quite a few comments insinuating that bi men were basically gay and just lying to themselves. It was upsetting.”
Bi men from across the Twitterverse chimed in sharing their photos and stories including actor Joshua Rush (Disney Channels’ Andi Mack) and former NFL player Ryan Russell (Dallas Cowboys, Tampa Bay Buccaneers).
#BisexualMenExist no matter how masculine we are, no matter whether we are dating a man or woman, and we deserve to be seen. Just like everyone, we deserve to be loved. pic.twitter.com/SdxG0RBwth
— R.K. Russell (@RKRelentless) February 25, 2020
#BisexualMenExist (and some of us have wives 🥰) pic.twitter.com/rgxw7DyVfk
— Max Emmerson (@MaxEmmerson) February 25, 2020