THE BUZZ | Your #1 Pop Culture Entertainment News Source
  • Home

BTS Army Post #BlackARMYsMatter to Call Out Racism and Harassment Within the BTS Fandom

5/14/2018

0 Comments

 
Picture
A recent article has called out a disturbing trend of racism, against black women within the BTS Army fandom. Now, fans within the BTS Army are taking action with two anti-racism hashtags: #BlackARMYsequality and #BlackARMYsMatter.

On Monday, BuzzFeed News published a story that spoke to 14 fans who say they have experienced some level of racism just for stanning for their favorite K-pop group. One woman talked about how she posted a selfie in a BTS group chat and later says she discovered her photo had been edited to make her look white. Other black fans reported being harassed online and attacked with racial slurs. Earlier this year, the hashtag #BlackArmyBeauty went viral after being started by 15-year-old Elismarie Ortiz to empower black BTS fans.

Fans began using the #BlackARMYsequality hashtag to create a supportive, anti-racism community — and to let racist people within the community know they aren't going anywhere. Hashtag creator and BTS fan Tayira (@cultfye) came up with the hashtag in February and worked on it with several fellow BTS fans. The 16-year-old told Teen Vogue that her reason for creating the hashtag was because she and other ARMYs of color began receiving racist messages through the social network Curious Cat, which BuzzFeed News also mentions in their article. Curious Cat told BuzzFeed News in a statement that they are working to stop harassment on the platform, saying, "As we stated on our Twitter recently, we are aware of the issue and have been banning all the individuals behind these messages which are brought to our attention."

Tayira has since mobilized many fans to take action. A group of fans are trying to get #BlackARMYsMatter to trend on Twitter on June 8 and bring more awareness to the issue by creating a safe space for black people to share their experiences. "I wanted to take a stand against it and to create something so that the fandom would acknowledge the racism instead of pushing it under the rug and going on as if nothing happened ," Tayira told Teen Vogue. "When I first posted it there was some negativity like 'This will never work,' and 'You’re wasting your time,' but along with that there was a lot of people supporting me, black and non-black ARMYs."

Using the new hashtags, one person tweeted, "Black ARMYs aren’t leaving this fandom. In fact, there will be more Black ARMYs as a result of this cb. This fandom needs us too. Whether racists want to admit it or not. We support BTS, defend BTS, more than some will ever know. If this fandom is a family + #BlackARMYsequality."

For Tayira, the experience has changed the way she thinks about the BTS fandom. "When I first entered the fandom I wasn’t aware [of the online harassment], so seeing many black ARMYs receiving the Curious Cat messages, and then receiving them myself really made me take a step back from the fandom," Tayira told Teen Vogue. "Creating this hashtag showed how many actually want to see the racism go away and how many only cared about how the fandom looked to other people."

Curious Cat sent a statement to Teen Vogue about the reported harassment on its platform. The statement reads, "We are aware of this awful situation taking place on our platform. Right now, and for a while now, our number one priority has been our user's safety and experience. We believe anonymity can be an entirely positive experience, and we have no plans to let it be exploited in such ways. We are currently trying to think of the best ways and features we can bring to our platform to make this happen, and they are soon to come. We want our community to have the best experience Curious Cat can give them, and we can assure that will be the case. It's great to see a community come together against such injustice, but they can be sure to count on our full support, and Curious Cat will be a safe platform for everyone."

SOURCE: TEEN VOGUE
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.


    what's
    ​buzzin

    Picture
    Justin Bieber Releases New 'Anyone' Music Video Featuring Him and His Wife Hailey Bieber

    Sabrina Carpenter Signs New Record Deal With Island Records

    Zayn Malik Releases New Album 'Nobody is Listening'

    Billie Eilish Premieres New Video For 'Lo Vas A Olvidar' With Rosalía!

    ​Rapper, Lil’ Kim's Narrated, 'American Gangster: Trap Queens Season 2' Features Stand out star Dwen Curry
    Picture

    Picture
    FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM
    @buzz_access​
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    ADVERTISEMENT
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture

    past
    news

    October 2022
    September 2022
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016

    RSS Feed

Picture
HOME | CONTACT US | TERMS OF SERVICE

  • Home